I heard back from Trevor Manning that it's now okay to share a few images from the film shoot on Arundel Island, where Lt. Hugh Barr Miller, Jr. recovered from his wounds and engaged with the enemy for 39 days. It was hot, miserable, buggy and remote - but these guys do a hell of a job. I hope you enjoy the photos and get excited about the upcoming episode of Ultimate Survivor WW2 on November 18th!

All photos below are courtesy of National Geographic, Icon Films and Trevor Manning, producer. Thank you all for allowing me to share and for including me in the process!!

​-Tammi

The RV PETREL has taken on the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Over the past few weeks they have made many discoveries of both American and Japanese vessels. Their Facebook page has photos and video of all their discoveries for anyone with an account to view. Eventually their main page (RV PETREL ) will be updated with the new discoveries. For those who do not have Facebook accounts, I wanted to post a few photos and some information about some of the vessels they located.
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From the Battle of Midway they discovered the flagship for the Japanese fleet, the IJN Akagi, an aircraft carrier. Akagi was found most recently and due to equipment malfunction of the ROV, there are no close up photos or video. Perhaps they can find the time to remedy that situation when they return to the South Pacific, but for now we do have the sonar imagery. Akagi was heavily damaged during the battle and scuttled on June 5th, 1942.

The IJN Kaga, also an aircraft carrier was an especially poignant find. Kaga was involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Planes from the USS ENTERPRISE aircraft carrier were responsible for the damage done to Kaga, so severe that this ship was also scuttled on June 4th, 1942. Below is a short video of the find.
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Next to the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Japanese vessel IJN Maga, a battle cruiser. The Maya was torpedoed on October 23, 1944 by the USS DACE. Also found was the IJN Mogami, a heavy cruiser damaged enough in the battle to be scuttled on October 25th, 1944.  

The American vessel found was the USS ST. LO, an escort carrier. The ST. LO was first laid down as the CHAPIN BAY, then underwent the first name change to MIDWAY in April of 1943. She carried that name until October 10th of 1944. Shortly after, she was lost by a kamikaze attack on October 25th, 1944.  I don't have any images of ST. LO. To view the video of the ship, click here: ST. LO.

For more information, access their Facebook page if you can, or watch for the updates on the RV PETREL website. Also check out the page connected to Paul G. Allen’s website. 
PETREL plans to return to the South Pacific next year to cover wrecks from the Battle of Samar. We look forward to the discoveries to come!

All photos and video courtesy of Paul G. Allen, Vulcan, Inc. and the crew of the RV PETREL.  

​-Tammi

I can finally make a MAJOR announcement!!! Back in May this year I was contacted by Trevor Manning, a producer for Icon Films in Bristol, the UK. They do film work for National Geographic and have an amazing repertoire of programming to their credit. I had never heard of them at the time, but boyo do I know of them now! Trevor mentioned in the email that they would be producing a documentary, part of a 6 part series about ultimate survival stories and they had chosen the story of Miller and his time on Arundel Island after the sinking of STRONG as one of the subjects. He asked if I would consider working with them on this, and could we talk on the phone soon. Hm. 

It took me about a millisecond to respond to his email and about 2 hours later I received a phone call from his office in England. We had our first chat and it was just wonderful. He was charming, engaging and really interested in my input. I was able to hook him up with Stephen Harding and Fitz Miller, and things progressed nicely from there. What really thrilled me is that they came to me first. He'd found my website and contacted me through my email portal. Icon came to me first, and that was a rush. 

Over the months that followed we emailed frequently and spoke a few more times. I knew when they headed to Arundel (now Kohinngo) Island for the shoot. When he returned, he sent me loads of beautiful photos from the island. We last spoke a little over a week ago and he asked me to send him a STRONG ball cap. Below is a photo of Trevor proudly wearing the cap. And finally, we have some idea when the series will be broadcast. They will start in the UK, then move on to the US and Australia. Once I have these dates I will post them as an update here on the blog page. And even cooler, myself and the website will be listed at the end in the credits! That's a first that I really appreciate! I just hope it results in more people finding the site and contacting me. 

Now that I can talk about it, I need to get permission to share some photos (hope to post some soon). The crew shooting the program goes through some crazy stuff to get this done. What they put up with, the heat, the hardships, chasing the host Hazen Audel, dodging bugs, animals and who knows what else - It's an amazing, dangerous job. I really hope to meet these guys some day!

Thanks again so much Icon Films, Trevor Manning, Hazen Audel and everyone at Icon!

Tammi

*Update: the US broadcast of this series should start on October 28th! Get ready to enjoy these 6 amazing programs, especially the one featuring Lt. Miller!
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So I noticed that I'm getting a plethora of hits from Paris, France in anticipation of the release of Escape From Paris in a few days. For the benefit of a good friend and because I know this will be another spectacular book and a story well told, follow these links for more information or to pick up a copy. 
(*image of book from Hachette site.
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​Hachette site: Escape From Paris

Purchase on Amazon: EFP buy it

​*A few talking points from a press release provided by Steve. I did a little selective editing to turn the bullets into paragraphs. 

"Escape From Paris tells the true story of a group of American aviators shot down over German-occupied France on a single mission—the July 14, 1943 (Bastille Day) raid on Le Bourget airfield outside Paris—and the courageous French family that sheltered them. The book crosses the traditional boundaries of World War II history by blending aerial combat action, a true story of wartime love, the back-alley intrigue of a spy novel, and the courageous tale of two strong and resilient women who survived multiple Nazi concentration camps. The story as told reminds us that the majority of individuals who helped Allied aviators evade capture were women—most men were either working as forced labor in Germany, still in German POW camps, or members of armed resistance groups in the field. The brave individuals who aided Allied personnel faced torture and execution or shipment to the living hell of the camps if caught by the Germans or their collaborators.
 EFP is the result of the author’s discovery of the personal papers of those at the heart of the story; his extraordinary access to areas of Napoleon’s Tomb and the Hôtel des Invalides normally off-limits to the public; his extensive research in American, French, British and German archives; and his interviews with the now-98 year old woman who long ago changed the course of an American flyer’s life. By focusing on the Americans—and those who aided them--EFP illustrates a larger story: European individuals and resistance groups helped some 6,000 Allied military personnel evade capture and return to friendly territory to fight again another day.
 That important contribution to the Allied victory in Europe should not be overlooked as we celebrate the 75th anniversaries of World War II events through 2019 and 2020."

​-Tammi 

*Update 10/6/2019, link to radio interview with WDAY in Fargo, North Dakota.

**Update 10/12/2019: link to Cyrus Webb interview.
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