Semper Fi: Tales of Marines in Hollywood

The classroom consists of brand new 17” Apple MacBook Pro laptops running Final Cut
Studio 2 and Adobe Photo Shop, Panasonic HVX200 High Def video cameras, digital SLR
cameras and professional lighting. The professor begins class by dimming the lights to play a
clip from Braveheart and asks his uniformed students to pay close attention to editing transitions
and shot composition in the opening three minutes of the film. This may not sound like typical
basic training for United States Marines, but at this base it is. The classroom, located on the Stu
Segall Production Studio lot in San Diego, California, houses the Wounded Marine Careers
Foundation (WMCF), which vigorously trains veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan for
careers in film and media. Producer Stu Segall generously offered the foundation space for
classes on his 20-acre lot in Kearney Mesa and unlimited access to his professional lighting and
grip equipment, stages and sets, including a simulated Iraqi village. The WMCF inaugural class
of 19 Marines and Navy Corpsmen graduated on March 20, 2008 and are now pursuing careers
in the motion picture, advertising, photography and video production industries. Founded last
year by Emmy-award winning filmmakers Kevin Lombard and his wife Judith Ann Paixao, the
ten-week career training and job placement program is a chance to start over for seriously
wounded Marines whose previous career paths were cut short. Originally approached to make a
documentary on the vast number of wounded vets returning from battle, Kevin and Judith
decided it wasn’t their story to tell. Instead they presented the idea of a school to the Marine
Corps as a way to let the heroes tell their own stories. Besides the healing provided through the
art of storytelling, the school applies the Marines’ pre-existing skill set to a new vocation. The
students use the same attention to detail and uncompromising dedication, but instead of guns and
rifles their tools are cameras and microphones. "If you want to check out camera equipment in
the evening or any other sort of equipment, it'll be just like checking out a weapon," Gunnery
sergeant Nick Popaditch told the class.

“This is a war of disability, not a war of deaths,” says former Army physician Ronald
Glasser, M.D., author of Wounded: Vietnam to Iraq (2006). According to the Pentagon, the
official number of wounded service members from both Operation Enduring Freedom (In and
Around Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom is over 30,000 as of June 2008. More than
ever before, veterans are surviving injuries that would have been fatal during previous wars.
Linda Bilmes at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, notes that there are just 6
deaths per 100 injuries in Iraq and Vietnam compared with 28 per 100 in Vietnam and 38 in
WWII.i Improved equipment and armor have helped to save lives, as has innovation in
immediate medical care in combat zones. As one of the WMCF graduates, Corporal Eric Cohen,
USMC (Med Ret) puts it, “We were prepared to die for our country, but we were not prepared to
be disabled.” Government programs and private non-profits like the Wounded Warrior Project,
the Military Family Network and the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, among others, help
wounded service men and women returning from the war, but the Wounded Marine Careers
Foundation is the first organization to offer industry-specific career training and job placement
outside the military as well as the tools and creative outlet to share their experiences.

The school day begins at 11:00am, when the Marines and their instructors get together for
lunch; then from noon until 7:30pm, they work. The faculty of leading media industry
professionals collectively holds three Academy Awards, twenty-one Emmys, eight Cine Golden
Eagles and numerous other awards. Two are professors from the USC and NYU film schools.
Each of the full-time instructors is an expert in his field, teaching the latest standards of
Hollywood technology in the subjects of cinematography, photography, script writing, editing,
sound design, and lighting. For the first four weeks of the program all of the students must take
the same courses after which each Marine chooses the field he wants to specialize in exclusively
for the remainder of the program based on whatever he feels most passionate about. Certified by
the VA and given the status of an official U.S. Marine Corps Post, wounded Marines still on
active duty can be stationed there to continue work on their film projects while they recover and
await medical discharge. The school is regularly monitored by Marine Corps Officers because it
includes both civilians and military. “Yeah, they keep a close eye on us. Very close,” says Victor.

It is not an easy ten weeks. The Marines’ various injuries challenge them to juggle their
daunting rehabilitation with learning their new craft. Most are in constant pain and need serious
medication just to function. Besides physical injuries, many veterans suffer from post-traumatic
stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries that slow them down significantly. (When asked how
he would be celebrating this past 4th of July, Corporal Eric Cohen responds, “Me and my boys
will be staying in. We just can’t hear the fireworks.”) Prosthetic limbs, partial paralysis,
blindness, loss of hearing and other physical and mental disabilities generate constant adversity
and despair. The professors at WMCF are very understanding of medical conditions and all
equipment is adapted to accommodate each veteran’s needs. Classes don’t begin until 11:00am
because most of the Marines have doctor appointments and physical therapy in the morning, and
then have to make their way to school from Balboa Naval Hospital or nearby bases such as
Camp Pendleton and the Miramar Marine Corps Air Base. “I’d say during the semester we
averaged one surgery per week. It makes things very difficult,” says Victor M. Maldonado, one
of the school’s deans and the film editing professor. An Apple Certified Pro Trainer in Final Cut
Pro and a Master Trainer in Aperture, Victor once broke his neck and back as a fireman, allowing
him to relate to his student’s disabilities. Cohen, who calls Victor the best instructor he’s ever had
at any school, chose editing because he likes manipulating raw footage with the techniques he’s
learned to turn it into visual storytelling. As for the disabilities, Cohen says: “We’re a lot slower
than your average class, but then again we’re extremely interested in what we’re doing, so we
progress pretty fast.” The medically retired Marine posponed accepting a job at major studio in
L.A. so he could recover fully before going to work full time.

“The thing about Marines is that they are extremely goal-oriented. They are very diligent
in accomplishing their goals despite hindrances, and on top of that, they will help each other do
it,” says Victor. The trait ingrained in all Marines, a genuine desire that most civilians don’t have,
is the need to see their brothers succeed. They never hesitate to pitch in and help each other. In
his book, We Were One, real-time historian and author Patrick O’Donnell writes of the Marines
who took Fallujah as a “modern band of brothers” and calls the men and women fighting in Iraq
part of the “next greatest generation.” O’Donnell writes of the camaraderie between Marines in
combat: “These Marines fought, they gave everything they had. Eighteen and nineteen-year-old
kids not caring about dying. They didn’t do it because they were ordered to do it; they were
doing it for the guy standing next to you… [They] don’t do this for freedom, for apple pie, but
for the man to the left and right.”1 As Cohen puts it, “Their lives are more important than yours at
that point.” The ‘no man left behind’ mentality gives them an edge not only in combat, but
1
We Were Soldiers. Page 152 and 201. Rosalez.
throughout their lives. A separate but equal camaraderie is built among wounded warriors, who
bond over struggles with their disabilities and relate to each other’s symptoms and the painful
recovery process. Unfortunately, this support system is not always sufficient. Cohen said he lost
one of the bravest Marines he knew from his unit, another wounded vet, after a failed
reconstruction surgery caused him loose hope and take his own life.

When Apple’s Director of Global Training, Ann Renahan, heard about the program, she
and Apple came on board and turned the classroom into an official AATCe – Apple Authorized
Training Center for Education- which uses Apple professional software and hardware for a “first
class digital education.”ii This was a huge boon and injected a lot of energy into the program and
really upped the standards of technology used by the foundation. It provided the graduated
Marines the opportunity to receive Apple Pro Certification status in their chosen application to
“give them competitive edge in the job market.” Built into all Mac OS X software are
“handicapped-friendly” special features for the deaf and blind, for example voice-narration and
the ability to zoom in on all graphics. According to HD VideoPro Magazine, the program decided
to use the Panasonic HVX200 because “It’s a high-definition camcorder that also records
standard definition, but does both 1080 and 720 in HD, shoots 24 fps for film like motion, has
variable frame rates for overcranking and undercranking, and uses the P2 tapeless recording
media in addition to DV tape. Small and lightweight, the camera is affordable enough for the
foundation to supply enough cameras to every student.”2 The students also train with Phantom
HD and 35mm movie cameras so that they are qualified in various areas of filmmaking
technology. Last semester a generous donation from the Semper Fi Fund made it possible for
each of the students to keep their MacBook Pro laptops.

Director and producer Michael Horton, founder of the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User
Group, introduced the first class of wounded Marines to the Hollywood community. In what
became a major turning point for the WMCF, Horton invited the class to L.A. last February to
screen clips of their films in front of a large audience of film industry leaders. The Marines and
their professors took a bus up from San Diego to debut their work and then answer questions
about what they had learned. Their biggest fear wasn’t how their films would be received, but
how they themselves would be regarded as Marines.
“There was this anxiety that stemmed from the Vietnam era, when veterans coming
home were treated poorly and ungratefully by civilians who didn’t support the war,” said
Professor Victor Maldonado. The response was the complete opposite—the Hollywood
community embraced and accepted them completely. “The Marines really felt the love. I’ve been
attending these monthly meetings for five years, and I’ve never seen anyone receive a standing
ovation before. People were crying. They weren’t judging these guys; they really wanted to help
them get back into society on a human level,” says Victor. It was a big step for employers
offering to hire disabled workers knowing the challenges it may entail. “The people thought,
‘How much can these guys really know and how good can they be after only seven weeks?’ But
we were answering questions and explaining things to these editors that they didn’t even know,”
says Eric Cohen. They underestimated the uncompromising dedication of Marines.

Things exploded after that meeting with a blitz of networking and job offerings. The
immeasurable energy that Horton’s screening brought to the program gave the Marines a big
2
HD VideoPro Magazine. April 2008. “Wounded Marines Careers Foundation” by Barry Green.
push into the industry. Phone calls came flooding in from actors, directors and producers who
wanted to come to San Diego to volunteer their experience and resources. The American Cinema
Foundation, the Cinematographers Union, and the American Cinematography Editors all offered
to find positions for the graduating Marines. Michael Horton also invited them to screen their
films at the National Association of Broadcasters SuperMeet in Las Vegas in April. “The thing is,
we never asked for help,” explains Victor. “Hollywood came to us, unsolicited.”

In We Were One, Patrick O’Donnell opens the story of the brave and dedicated Marines
who took Fallujah with a quote from the Gettysburg Address: “The world will little note, nor
long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here...It is rather for us to
be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take
increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”
(President Abraham Lincoln. November 19, 1863.)

It’s our turn to pay tribute to their selfless devotion, and the painful sacrifices demanded
by that devotion, by helping mentally and physically wounded warriors transition back into
normal lives. “If we can’t help these men and women on our own soil, then we are worthless as a
nation,” says Victor. “The military needs help from citizens, and it needs to know that we are
there for them.” Regardless of how one feels about the war, as Americans we have a duty to
support our men and women in uniform, both at home and abroad. Unlike previous wars, citizens
are not asked to participate in the war effort; there is no rationing and no draft. If the men and
women in the military did not volunteer, who would protect our country? The WMCF has a
group on Facebook which states, “18-20 year old+ wounded Marines now live in hospitals
without professional skills to transition into civilian careers. This is not about "the" or "a" war.
Our program exists to give back to those who have chosen to serve to protect our daily
freedoms!” The second class of the Wounded Marine Careers Foundation is scheduled to begin
their semester this September. The program will run 14 weeks instead of 10, and plans to include
the Army as well as the Marine Corps, but the class size is fluid depending on funding and
support. By giving them a feeling of acceptance and support to come home to in the form of
organizations like the WMCF we let them know how much they are appreciated by their country.

*Special thank you to our devoted and courageous men and women in uniform for all they have
done and continue to do for our country. You are deeply appreciated.

Resources

Green, Barry. “Wounded Marines Careers Foundation”. HD VideoPro Magazine, April 2008.

Yeoman, Barry. “When Wounded Vets Come Home”. AARP July & August 2008.

Interview: WMCF Instructor and Dean Victor M. Maldonado. This is a small compilation of the
movies that the wounded Marines coming home from Afghanistan & Iraq produced who
attended the school at Wounded Marine Careers Foundation. It is a combination of animation &
documentary style storytelling:
http://web.mac.com/v_maldonado/NAB2008_FCPUG/Wounded_Marine_Career_Foundation.ht
ml

Interview: Corporal Eric Cohen, USMC Med Ret.

i
When Wounded Vets Come Home by Barry Yeoman. AARP July & August 2008.
ii
http://www.apple.com/uk/education/aatce/