By Ann Butler
Herald Staff Writer
It started with a simple question: “What’s the best history of the SEALs out there?”
When former Navy SEAL and colleague Dick Couch told her, “There isn’t one,” new Durango resident and documentary filmmaker Carol Fleisher Scobby knew what her next project would be.
“Despite the widespread attention paid to the (Sea, Air and Land Teams) since they eliminated Osama bin Laden, the story of how these clandestine commandoes evolved in response to changing threats – from World War II to the War on Terror, and how their extraordinary abilities shaped U.S. and world history – has remained untold,” she said.
“Navy SEALS: Their Untold Story” debuted Tuesday on PBS as part of the public television’s “Stories of Service” initiative. The story of the Sea, Air and Land Teams, which began during World War II as Naval Combat Demolitions Teams and Underwater Demolition Teams, is told through interviews with more than 100 former special operators. Actor Gary Sinise narrates the two-hour documentary.
Researching the history and filming of the documentary was challenging because of that secrecy.
“It took a year-and-a-half just to get the details in place – permissions from the Pentagon and Naval Special Warfare Command, collaborations with PBS and Oregon Public Broadcasting, financing from Anheuser-Busch,” Scobby said.
Scobby, who has won numerous awards for her work, including an Emmy, was fortunate to already have a working relationship with Couch and the military.
“We are told that this is the first time Naval Special Warfare has assisted with the research of a documentary about the teams and their forefathers,” Scobby said. “We believe this is the first time a documentary has framed the history of the world through the lens of firsthand SEAL reports and missions – some of which have only recently been declassified.”
Among those interviewed were a D-Day demolition team member, admirals, master chiefs, clandestine operators, demolitioneers and snipers. Images shown include never-before-seen footage, home movies and personal mementos.
“The history of the teams has been argued over and recounted in different versions from different sources,” Scobby said. “We vetted everything carefully through trusted sources. Dick and William Doyle, a historian and friend, helped sort through the conflicts. Tom Hawkins, a retired SEAL commander and de facto historian for the teams, was of immense help.”
By the time they began filming, the script was 400-pages long with all the notations.
“We were the first to interview together the two SEAL members that were involved in the only time one Medal of Honor winner saved the life of another Medal of Honor winner,” she said. “We were fortunate to interview Ken Reynolds, 89, the last standing forefather from the Normandy combat team, before he died last year.”
What moment did Scobby find most memorable?
“I was interviewing a SEAL who had fought in Vietnam,” she said, “and I always finish an interview by asking, ‘What did I forget to ask?’ ‘You didn’t ask about the homecoming,’ he said. ‘Nobody welcomed us home.’ Tears were rolling down his face as he remembered. No matter how long it had been, he still felt it. It made it real; they came home to nothing or worse.”
The documentary has a companion book by Couch and Doyle that is being released today as well.
“The facts and warfare history weren’t just vetted by the Pentagon and Special Naval Warfare Command, they also received CIA clearance,” Scobby said. “We want to tell the story, but we don’t want to endanger national security.”
By the time Scobby moved to Durango earlier this year, she had already filmed in the area, getting footage of Ignacio resident Franklin Anderson, who was active in the SEALs. He retired with the rank of commander in 1977 after serving as director of the Basic Underwater Demolition Team/SEALs Training Center in Coronado, California.
“I did sit down and talk with him,” Scobby said, “and he was just as selfless as every other SEAL I’ve talked with, selfless in putting other team members forward who should tell their stories.”
Scobby has spent the last six days screening the film around the country, including at the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, and in Coronado.
“We had a couple of hundred people last night (Sunday) in Coronado, mostly former SEALs and their families,” she said as she was boarding the plane to come home. “They said it was the best ever done on their community, and they’re talking about screening it during Hell Week, that first week of training for new SEALs, so they can learn about the history of this elite group they’re trying to join.”
What does she think about last week’s announcement by Robert O’Neill that he had been the shooter who killed bin Laden?
“It doesn’t match with the SEAL ethos as I’ve come to know it,” Scobby said. “They really believe in team before self.”
