90 Day Wonder

Katie Couric to interview Leon Cooper on Labor Day

Seventy years ago thousands of Americans were killed or wounded during the battle of "Bloody Tarawa" in November, 1943. Finally, the remains of the dead will be found, identify and returned home. My film.  "Return to Tarawa -the Leon Cooper Story" was seen by Congress,resulting in direction to the Defense Department to  send a team to Tarawa--now at work.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER--Right?

Thousands of WWII MIAs

Congressman Lipinski of Illinois has sent a letter to each of his colleagues in the House of Representatives urging them to support his request of the Department of Defense to greatly increase the recovery of the remains of WWII MIAs, tens of thousands of whom still lie where they fell, in unmarked graves, --in Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Okinawa, the Palaus, the Marianas--during the Pacific  War. Please write or phone your Congressman, telling him/her to support Lipinski. Time is of the essence.  The relatives of these dead, eg., the wives, brothers, sisters, nephews et al, will themselves be dead before long. Who will then claim the remains of these honored dead?
NB The Department of Defense recovers about 100 MIAs per year from all US wars, Korea, Vietnam and WWII, although WWII is more than 90%  of the total number of MIAs (90,000)  Doesn't that make you angry? Don't you want to do something about this disgrace?

Persistence

"Great works are performed not by strength but by persistence," is a statement by Samuel Johnson that has guided me in my efforts to return home the dead of WWII, thousands of whom still lie where they fell.

For example...

Some members of Congress recently viewed my documentary, "Return to Tarawa-the Leon Cooper Story," As a result, this past month the House of Representatives passed a Resolution declaring it to be the "Sense of Congress" that the Department of Defense should send a team of investigators to Tarawa to search for the remains of those who still lie there and then begin their repatriation. The Resolution was sent to the President and to officials of his Administration.

This past month the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors sent a Resolution to the President urging similar action, incidentally, honoring me for my military service and also for my activities since then.

Currently pending before a House of Representatives appropriations committee is language awaiting a $ amount-- to be filled in later--calling for the investigation, discovery and repatriation of WWII MIAs.

The garbage on Red Beach in Tarawa may be cleaned up later this year as plans are underway to install the "state-of-the-art" incinerator I had recommended in my "Action Program for Tarawa." When installed, this incinerator system it would prevent garbage on the beaches and elsewhere from being swept out to sea, destroying marine life. Ironically, the incinerator program and other action I had recommended is being funded by New Zealand, not by our country.

I'm continuing to publicize my efforts: The Army Times and all other Service newspapers are carrying a feature story about my efforts. In other words, more 500,000 newspapers in 100 countries are featuring the story.

The Tokyo Journal has an article about me..."World War II combat veteran is fighting a different battle."

Documentary

My documentary has just been completed--"Return to Tarawa-The Leon Cooper Story."

With Ed Harris, movie great as my narrator, it has already begun to generate interest. History and Discovery TV Channels are reviewing the DVD. American Heritage magazine has asked for a copy for review purposes. A Japanese distributor, who thinks highly of it, has sent the DVD to Japan for further review.

Recognition

Just received - a letter from the editor of Writer's Digest...

..."Your menuscript, ' 90 Day Wonder,' has been awarded Honorable Mention in the Television/Movie Script category of the 74th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition...This year's contest attracted close to 18,000 entries. Your success in the face of such formidable competition speaks highly of your writing talent, and should be a source of great pride as you continue in your writing career."

Reviewers of my book have commented that it would make a great movie.

Would appreciate hearing from any of you -- Do you agree?