Book ‘Em, Danno: “Hawaii Five-O” Crew Disrespects Pearl Harbor Survivors

guest post by Mike LaRoche

I can’t say I’m surprised by any of this, given the elitist, anti-American proclivities of many members of the entertainment industry.  On Friday, December 9, 2011, two dozen Pearl Harbor veterans gathered at the Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, home to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, to honor the fallen heroes of the Battle of Pearl Harbor.  While the ceremony was underway, a nearby CBS production crew – filming a scene for an upcoming episode of “Hawaii Five-O” – walked over graves and paid no heed to the national anthem or any other aspect of the ceremony.  Once the event concluded, things only got worse.  Writes Steffan Tubbs of Denver’s Newsradio 850 KOA:

Three hundred yards away and clearly visible to them, no one on the CBS production stopped for the anthem or any part of our program.  This included the ending of our presentation – Taps and the moment of silence.  I was perturbed, but because our veterans faced me, they couldn’t see the disrespect.  The ceremony ended and several men hopped on golf carts to visit their fallen comrades buried in other parts of the cemetery.

I decided to take a closer look at the production area from the public thoroughfare and walked closer to see catering trucks, grips, associate directors, production assistants, lighting workers, countless minions and the lead director – a Hollywood-looking middle-aged man wearing a black “AD/HD” t-shirt, a play off the rock band “AC/DC.”  I stopped well behind the cameras and out of view when a local production assistant politely told me to keep moving.  I was not happy and told her we had WWII vets who would likely be in the area.  I was told, “Sorry, sir.  We rented this part of the cemetery today.”  My blood started to boil, but I remained calm and moved on.  As I stood behind the tent, the director yelled at everyone to: “Get out of the line of sight!  If you don’t belong here, clear out!”

I made sure to go where I was basically invisible, 40 yards from the nearest camera when the director heatedly walked to me.  He was not happy.

“Can you please move?” he said sternly.

“OK,” I said.  “Where would you like me to go?  I have Pearl survivors who are here visiting their fallen comrades at a public cemetery.”

He couldn’t have cared less and told me that if we stood behind a tent, that would be fine.  He walked away completely frustrated and yelled at a local assistant: “I am doing YOUR job!  You wanna come back here again?  Do your job!”  I felt sorry for her.  It wasn’t her fault a group of vets actually came back for a real reason to this cemetery.

Read the whole thing.  “Disgraceful” does not begin to describe this scenario: a group of egotistical, self-centered brats who virtually spit on the very men who risked their lives to preserve their freedom.  Is it any wonder that so many Americans despise Hollywood?

(h/t Protein Wisdom and Big Hollywood)

UPDATE:

Linked by BlackFive

 

Thanks for sharing!