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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > The Lounge > Non-Civil War Books, Movies, Music, etc. > "We Are Marshall", Based on a True Story, I Was There |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > The Lounge > Non-Civil War Books, Movies, Music, etc. > "We Are Marshall", Based on a True Story, I Was There |
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| "We Are Marshall", Based on a True Story, I Was There | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Sun Sep 21st, 2008 09:12 am |
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1st Post |
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samhood Member
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Now out on DVD, the movie "We Are Marshall" is based on the tragic airplane crash on Nov. 14, 1970 that killed 75 people, including most of the Marshall University football team, coaching staff, athletic administration and many local supporters. I was a 17 year old freshman at Marshall in the fall of 1970 and learning of the crash on a police band radio, I was at the actual crash site before 90% of the emergency responders arrived. I lived through the aftermath, and being a Huntington kid, I knew many of the victims. The movie covers the crash and aftermath, but the story primarily invloves the reconstruction of the team and the movie's climax is the remarkable last second victory over Xavier University in the first home game of the 1971 season. Not only was I at the plane crash site, I attended the Xavier game that was also depicted in the film. The film is remarkably accurate and much of it was filmed on location on the Marshall campus and the city of Huntington. I would also like to praise the cast and production staff of the movie who spent many weeks in Huntington shooting the film. Without exception they were gracious, humble, and most importantly, very sensitive to the many widows, orphans and other surviving family members of the crash victims who still live in Huntington. Anyone who watches the movie and has questions, please feel free to contact me at shood321@aol.com
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| Posted: Sun Sep 21st, 2008 11:49 am |
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2nd Post |
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PvtClewell Member 
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I thoroughly enjoyed the flick and found it to be very uplifting. The North Carolina connection, of course, is that Marshall had just played East Carolina and had taken its doomed chartered flight back to Huntington. For me, one of the best parts of the movie is when Lengyel visist Bobby Bowden at West Virginia asking for advice on how to run the veer offense, even though they are in-state rivals in recruiting players. I've never been a big Bobby Bowden fan, but I developed new respect for Bowden after that scene. I hope it's factual and not just a movie device to touch my emotions.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 21st, 2008 04:43 pm |
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3rd Post |
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samhood Member
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I have been an ECU fan ever since 1970. Representatives of the school administration, football team and student body attended many of the funerals and memorial services in the days and weeks after the crash. (Too bad I couldn't root them through the overtime at NC State yesterday!) Here is a tidbit of information on the Lengyel-Bowden connection in the movie. The film didn't bother telling it, but Bowden's gracious assistance wasn't completely out of the blue. Red Dawson, who I know well and still lives here in Huntington, is originally from Valdosta GA and was an All-American tight end at Florida State in the 1960s. When at FSU, the offensive coordinator was Bobby Bowden. Coach Bowden then got the head coaching job at WVU. So in reality, in 1971 Red contacted his old coach and asked for help, which Coach Bowden generously provided. In the early 80s, after Coach Bowden moved to FSU, Red and I attended an FSU-Va Tech game in Blacksburg as Coach Bowden's guests. We had a sideline pass and Red introduced me to Coach Bowden after the game. He is as nice a guy in person as he is on TV.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 21st, 2008 06:20 pm |
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4th Post |
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PvtClewell Member
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Thanks for that, Sam. Much appreciated.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 22nd, 2008 05:13 am |
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5th Post |
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Steven Cone Member 
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A wonderful Movie .. I new nothing about the event till 1996 when I had the pleasure of working with Marti Carelli-Gilbert. She was the wife of Albert Carl Carelli Jr. the Offensive Line Coach of the 1970 Marshall Football team.. She was left to raise their two boys by herself.. To see what Marti Carelli-Gilbert is doing these days. In the Dedication section of the site you can purchase "Halftime" Marti's touching & inspirational story how she coped with the tradgedy. BTW.. There was a Coach Paul `Bear' Bryant connection as well to the 1970 team several of the players killed were from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.. They were pointed toward Marshall by none other than Bryant himself. Last edited on Mon Sep 22nd, 2008 05:52 am by Steven Cone |
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| Posted: Fri Sep 26th, 2008 03:42 pm |
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6th Post |
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Devils Den Member 
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Loved the movie and have become a Marshall fan! Hard for me to believe it took so long for someone to tell thier story! Do any of the players that survived still reside in the Huntington area? I believe Huntington had another son made famous by film a few years back when C. Carwood Lipton was given to us in "Band of Brothers"
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| Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 06:44 am |
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7th Post |
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samhood Member
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Devils Den: Of the handful of players that missed the game at ECU, only one that I know of still lives in Huntington. Frank James (now age 56) owns and operates a small public golf course, Orchard Hills, in nearby Barboursville. One other thing to those of you who watched the movie. It was very realistic and historically factually correct (other than the love story between the cheerleader and the son of the manager of the steel mill) with one major exception. The school president, Dr. Donald Dedmon, was not fired, rather, Dr. Dedmon was only acting president when the plane crash occured. He held a high position in the school administration and when our president moved on or retired (I don't recall) Dr. Dedmon was elevated to interim president and did not even apply for the new job. When the new president was hired a few months after the tragedy, Dr. Dedmon returned to his original permanent job (Provost I think) and a year or so later took the job as President of Radford University in Virginia, where he worked for many years and retired. Radford's on-campus athletic center is named the Dedmon Center in his honor. Sam Hood
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| Posted: Fri Nov 14th, 2008 06:48 am |
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8th Post |
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Steven Cone Member
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38 YEARS LATER WE STILL REMEMBER
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