November 4th 2009 – Honoring our Veterans

A Special Screening at Cinnamon Bay Amphitheater, St John

PROUDLY WE SERVED: Virgin Islands Veterans of WWII

Produced for the American Legion in the U.S. Virgin Islands by Joan Keenan (56 min.) 2009

Click on the image at left to view the film project’s website.

Veterans from the Virgin Islands faced unique challenges as they left a small, predominantly African Caribbean-American community to join the segregated armed forces of the United States. The surviving group of veterans provided a rich source of historical and social perspectives.

The result of over 30 interviews, this important documentary provides insight into the lives and experiences of these veterans: their motivation for serving in the armed forces, their experiences with racism, their contributions and the effects of their service on their lives.

Shot on location in St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John and Maryland.

ALSO FEATURING:

THE ROCK/TRANSFER a short by Janet Cook-Rutnik and Bill Stelzer (8:03 min) 2009

“For amidst these crumbling walls echo a multitude of voices, and each has its own tale to tell.”

Part of the “Facing Locality” exhibition at the Caribbean Museum of Art, The Rock Transfer is about the weight of history collective and personal as well as an attempt to reconnect the past with the present through a symbolic gesture in which an object that signifies the past is moved from one historical place (Annaberg Sugar Factory on St. John) to another (Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in Frederiksted, St. Croix).

The Rock/Transfer was included in the 4th International Video Festival of Jakarta, at the Galeri Nasional Indonesia, that opened this fall in Jakarta, Indonesia.

SPECIAL GUESTS:

WELCOME VETERANS!

Please join us for this special screening as we honor Veterans from the VI and beyond. Distinguished guests will include members of Team River Runner, veterans of the Wounded Warriors Project, as they are hosted by our local American Legion Post 131.

Click on the image at left to find out more about this heroic mission!

YouTube video – Team River Runner, St. John kayak trip: Link.

Wounded Warriors St. John dive trip article: Link