ECU GRADS' DOCUMENTARY GOING NATIONAL

What began with an unlikely collaboration between two East Carolina University grads who didn't even know each other until a few years ago has resulted in a documentary that aired nationally on PBS stations all across the country, a presentation of American Public Television and UNC-TV. Not only that, but once the marketing campaign began, a third ECU graduate joined the team to take over the reins of publicity and marketing the VHS tapes and DVDs. The three are: Brenda Hughes, who earned a MS from ECU in 1977 and is now the president of WetBird Productions, Inc. in Wrightsville Beach; Debbie Holloman, 1976 history graduate who earned her masters in 1977, now an attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond; and, Kristen McKeithan, 2001 BS graduate and as of January, 2004, director of sales and marketing for WetBird Productions, Inc.

Their documentary, Thank You, Eddie Hart, is the story of Debbie's uncle, PFC Eddie Hart who was killed in the final weeks of World War II. It was rebroadcast on UNC-TV stations on Monday, May 31, 2004 at 9:00 p.m. Nationally, many PBS stations also aired it in conjunction with Memorial Day and the dedication of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

PFC Hart, who was killed in Germany shortly before the end of World War II, served with the U.S. Army's 83rd Division, 329th Infantry Regiment, Company G. The 22-year-old was killed in an ambush in Barby, Germany, a few weeks before Germany surrendered. After his death, PFC Hart was buried in the Netherlands American Military Cemetery in Margraten, alongside over 17,000 other U.S. soldiers who sacrificed their lives so that others could be free. The Dutch people were so grateful for their liberation from the Nazis that in 1946, they adopted each and every grave there. A young Dutch girl named Betty Vrancken adopted Eddie Hart's grave and promised to visit it several times a year and correspond with Eddie's family. In the process, Eddie became so important to her that when she and her family immigrated to the United States in 1957, she asked her brother, Johan, to continue her commitment to Eddie Hart. He did and for nearly 60 years, the Vrancken family has visited Eddie's grave.

In August 2001, Eddie's beloved sister Hattie and her daughter Debbie decided to visit Eddie's grave for the first time -- a trip that prompted Debbie to try to find out more about the uncle she never knew. She researched Eddie's military service records, posted messages on websites and re-read the letters he wrote home, looking for clues about his life on the front lines of history. About that same time, Brenda, a former broadcast journalist who had met Betty through her daughter-in-law Mary Ann Habets, contacted Hattie about producing a documentary on Eddie and the Vranckens' remarkable commitment to him. Debbie began sharing information she learned about her uncle and soon, Debbie and the WetBird team had contacted hundreds of veterans about Eddie Hart. Miraculously, even though over fifty-six years had passed, they located veterans who remembered Eddie in 1945, in the months before his death. They also learned about a farm in the Netherlands where Eddie and his unit had stayed in February, 1945. In April 2002, Hattie and Debbie, along with Debbie's husband, Bob Walker, and her children, Robby and Rebecca, flew to Europe where they met the WetBird team as well as Johan Vrancken, who accompanied Hattie on her first visit to her brother's grave.

Three years and a lot of hard work later, the result is Thank You, Eddie Hart, an emotional and uplifting story that will renew your faith in the human spirit. BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust Company) and Kilpatrick Stockton law firms were underwriters for the documentary which was narrated by well-known character actor, Pat Hingle (Batman movies, Norma Rae). You can also visit www.thankyoueddiehart.com. VHS tapes and DVDs are available by calling 1-888-703-5033.