Jim Ritterhoff announced that FORCE BLUE will premier a documentary film, FROG FATHERS 2: Last Battle of the Pacific, on November 5th on board the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City.
Narrated by actor John C. McGinley and produced in partnership with World of Warships, the National World War II Museum and the National UDT/Navy SEAL Museum, FROG FATHERS 2 follows the journey of four military veterans as they travel to Okinawa, Japan to rebuild coral reefs that their predecessors destroyed 80 years ago during a horrific 82-day battle during World War II, one of World War II’s bloodiest campaigns.
These former Special Operations veterans – two Navy SEALs, one Army Green Beret and one Recon Marine – have deployed alongside scientists on numerous marine conservation missions throughout the United States and the Caribbean.
In FROG FATHERS 2, they rebuild a coral reef in the warm, Pacific waters off Okinawa that were destroyed while 183,000 U.S. servicemen, 100,000 Japanese and 300,000 Okinawan civilians experienced Hell on Earth between April 1st and June 22nd 1945. Scenes and remembrances are from the suicide cliffs at the southern tip of the island, the network of caves, heavily fortified positions that comprised the vaunted Japanese Shuri Line, Okinawa’s offshore waters where as many as 2,000 Kamikaze attacks occurred, and the behemoth battleship Yamato, the pride of the Japanese Imperial Navy.
Along the way, viewers hear oral histories and stories from the sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines who were there and were memorialized at Okinawa’s Peace Memorial Park where 240,000 names of every man, woman and child who lost their lives during the Battle of Okinawa are inscribed on black granite walls.
The film is a follow-up to FROG FATHERS: Lessons from the Normandy Surf, which premiered last summer during the D-Day 80th anniversary commemoration.
Established in 2016, FORCE BLUE is a nonprofit organization that addresses the rapidly declining health of marine resources and the difficulty returning combat veterans have in adjusting to civilian life. By uniting the community of Special Operations veterans with the world of marine science and conservation in a mission-focused program, FORCE BLUE has created a model of caring, cooperation and positive change with the power to restore lives and restore the planet.
For more information and to donate, visit forceblueteam.org.
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