Bud is returning …
Bud and Erin, a still from our original film shoot over two years ago.
We are very excited to share that it seems the time has finally come to accompany Bud back to his battlefields.
After a few attempts and last minute cancellations due to pandemic surges, our fingers are crossed. We have a jam-packed itinerary planned, spanning three countries and seven and a half decades of memories.
Since our last update, we have continued our work. When the archives began re-opening earlier this year, we spent many days flipping through thousands upon thousands of pages of documents - approximately 30,000 to be exact! We have scoured the divisional and regimental records seeking precise data upon which to continue building this project. We will draw on the specificity of these documents to track exact locations of important events to bring Bud as close as possible to his memories.
To pinch the current scope of this project into a concise update is a bit of a challenge. In the last four years, so many incredible experiences have occurred, lifelong friendships have been forged, and we are extremely proud of the development of this legacy that will ensure the individual men of the Anti Tank Company, 222 Infantry Regiment, 42 ‘Rainbow’ Division will be forever emblazoned in history. Man by man, we will tell their story through first hand accounts, memories, photographs, documentation and more.
In some ways, the pandemic has been a blessing. It brought us into meaningful contact with hundreds of family members of the A/T Co men, and as a result we have amassed an archive of well over 6,000 wartime photographs alone. For this we are grateful to the families of the men in the company who have worked so closely with us.
By the time we return back to the States, we will have made incredible memories, and we will have the final pieces required to bring this remarkable group of Rainbow men into focus through the completion of a book.
‘Bud Returns’ was the original name of our intended documentary, and Bud has always said: 'It wasn't just me, it was all of us. Let's tell the story of all the men in my company.’
Indeed, Bud will return to the battlefields - and now, he returns as the last surviving member of his company. As he walks the Rainbow Trail, he will be accompanied by the living memory of two hundred men who fought beside him in a world war.
We owe this success to you, and your generous support of Bud, and us, and this project! Thank you for helping us preserve history, and bring forward Bud’s incredible story - and fulfilling his wish to return to his battlefields and honor the men who fought beside him.