Following his father’s footsteps

Amber Willard

NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- Michael Camerieri said he was acting on instinct

when he grabbed handfuls of grenades and rushed into a minefield to

defend an ambushed American squad during the Korean War.

Now, almost a half century after that March day in 1951, his son

Joseph is making a film to commemorate that selfless act and his father’s

other wartime experiences. Joseph Camerieri, who lives in Burbank, is

also trying to have his father awarded a Silver Star, a medal reserved

for those who go beyond the call of duty.

“I had to help them,” said the elder Camerieri, 72, a retired Army

master sergeant.

He said he didn’t realize he was running into a minefield until a

wounded soldier yelled for him to freeze.

“One more step and I would’ve been on a mine,” Camerieri said in a

telephone interview from his Tampa, Fla. home.

Camerieri did not talk to his children about his war experiences until

Joseph started asking questions as an adult. A six-hour interview

followed and his son knew he had to make the movie, called “One of Many,”

to honor all veterans who have stories to tell.

“Nobody has really done stories on the Korean War,” the younger

Camerieri said of Hollywood’s attempts to make realistic films of the

conflict.

Camerieri, 30, works for a Hollywood post-production company. The

aspiring filmmaker plays his father in the 25-minute movie which follows

Michael -- a devout Catholic who initially could not justify killing

others -- from the day he was drafted in late 1950 through the next year.

Almost half of the black-and-white film was shot over three days with

a $15,000 loan. Joseph Camerieri now is working to get funding to

complete the project.

He was astonished as his father’s story unfolded -- nightmares of a

sergeant shoving a gun to his head and swearing to shoot him if he did

not return fire, aiding the ambushed soldiers and, as a radio operator,

being saved by his radio pack when a mortar exploded behind him.

Camerieri was injured by the explosion, which came during a fierce

fight. In the confusion that followed, a letter was sent to his family

telling them he had died in battle.

After memorial and funeral services had been held, his parents

received a letter from the Army explaining that their son was in Japan

after all, recovering from his wounds.

Making “One of Many” has become an obsession for Joseph Camerieri, who

has devoted five years to the project. He said Hollywood Video has agreed

to rent the video in its stores when it’s complete.

For more information, visit www.oneofmanyfilm.com.