APACHE BLUES: Welcome Home
Homeland Magazine had the chance to speak with the filmmakers of Apache Blues: Welcome Home, a new documentary that follows up with veterans of the Vietnam War. The film premieres at the Dances with Films Festival on July 2nd in Los Angeles and tickets are available on the festival’s website. danceswithfilms.com/apache-blues-welcome-home Dave Merlino and Dustin Sweet, the indie filmmakers behind the project, did not know what their 33,000 mile journey around the U.S. would become. What they found through their interviews was just how powerful and healing a conversation could be.
divided nation. Having talked with people from all walks of life, of all political persuasions, from all around the country, that is not nearly as true as we are led to believe. Maybe we should talk and listen more rather than just trying to win arguments and “own” each other. Dustin: There really is nothing like locking yourself in a car for a trip around the earth to test the boundaries of your friendship. I cannot believe Dave still talks to me, or that I continue to get into the car with him. Dave: Also, Passing Lane etiquette is definitely something that needs to be refreshed across the country.
Homeland: APACHE BLUES: Welcome Home is described as a “poignant and soulful story about the healing power of conversation.” Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the film and why you chose to focus on the Vietnam War veterans’ experiences? Dave and Dustin: This started with Dave’s longtime friendship with Kregg Jorgenson, one of the veterans in our film. At one point, Dave offered to film an oral history of Kregg’s stories from the Vietnam War in order to preserve them for his family. It was just two friends sitting down at Dave’s kitchen table but when it was done, Kregg mentioned how good it felt to tell the stories, and maybe other guys from his unit would like to do it as well. We felt that these were stories that we had never really been allowed to hear in school or pop culture without a political lens being forced over them, so the idea for this documentary was born. Let’s get the story straight from the soldiers who were there. But as we were conducting the interviews, once the cameras were turned off you could just see these men visually relax. Like a weight had been lifted. That’s when we knew what our real story was, the healing power these conversations were having. We focused on this unit, because we feel that telling such a tight and personal story, it conveys an experience that all veterans will be able to connect with. No matter what conflict they served in.
Dave Merlino, Dustin Sweet and Director of Photography for Apache Blues: Welcome Home, Charles Schaefer, with Apache Troop 1/9 reenactors at the Tigerland training ground in Louisiana. Melino and Sweet have brought several of their veterans to this event over the years and the veterans absolutely love what they do to keep the history alive.
Homeland: The journey for APACHE BLUES: Welcome Home spanned over 30,000 miles across the continental US. Can you share some of the most memorable moments or encounters you had during your travels? Dave: I really loved stopping for gas or lunch in all of the small towns. We met some of the friendliest people and had the greatest conversations. News and social media loves to hammer the talking point that we are a 26
WWW.HomelandMagazine.com / July 2023
Dave Merlino and Dustin Sweet on set of their previous film, Freedom Fighter.