The Backstory By Robert Ferrand
Today, America’s Supremacy on the High Seas, is being seriously challenged by Russia, China and Iran. While the United States Navy is strong and well equipped, the United States Merchant Marine, that provides 95% of the supplies for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, in time of emergency, is on the verge of collapse. Significantly, this is the third time in America’s history that we have allowed the Merchant Marine to deteriorate. This situation could prove catastrophic in a future war. This is a real “National Security” Issue. This is America’s “Achilles Heel”.
Making this issue more complicated, few Americans are even aware of the existence of the United States Merchant Marine. Despite the Merchant Marine critical importance to National Security, even fewer American’s are aware of the Merchant Marine’s role in American History. At a time when the Jones Act being challenged, the maritime industry requires public support to be able to secure the Congressional support necessary for the significant subsidies that will be required to permit America to rebuild its international ocean-going maritime fleet.
This is not a new problem. Over 100 years ago, before World War I, America did not have enough ships to supply an Allied war effort. So, the country had to undertake an Emergency Ship Building Program, at great expense. After the World War I, American allowed its Merchant fleet to deteriorate. 75 years ago, before World War II, America did not have enough ships to supply a Allied war effort. So, the country had to undertake an Emergency Ship Building Program, at great expense. This program was, also, known at the Liberty Ship Effort, which built 2,751 Liberty Ships and hundreds of other classes of Cargo Ships. After the World War II, America allowed its Merchant fleet to deteriorate. In fact, by 35 years ago, the U.S. Maritime fleet had, already, declined to less than 350 ships. Today, of the 50,000 Ships in International Trade, America’s Merchant fleet has deteriorated to less than 100 international ocean-going cargo ships.
During the 1970’s, the Producer, of “Lessons of the Last Liberty”, befriended an old Cape Horner, Harry Dring, curator of the maritime museum, now known as, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Mr. Dring significantly expanded the Producer’s understanding of the importance of the United States Merchant Marine. When the Liberty Ship “Jeremiah O’Brien” powered out of the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay, in 1979, under her own power, Mrs. Dring provided the Producer, her ticket, so that this historic moment could be documented in film.
Understanding the historic importance of this film, the Producer, pressed on at his own expense, and produced a straight forward documentary about the Restoration of the Last “Original” Liberty Ship and the history of the Merchant Mariners, who manned these ships, called “Last of the Liberties”.
However, during interviews for the first film, many of those same mariners, alerted the Producer, to keep his eye on the ball. They explained that the, then, Soviet Union Merchant Navy was attacking the United States Merchant Marine, by shipping cargo well below the U.S. Merchant Marine’s operational costs, thereby reducing U.S. maritime trade.
Something needed to be done, then. So, the Producer made, yet, another film that highlighted Russia’s actions, that film was called “The Last Liberty”. However, while the Producer had received a handsome donation from Mr. Thomas B. Crowley, himself, towards this film production and received accolades from the Maritime Administration, the Maritime Industry saw little need to support this film effort. Films require funding, especially in those days, when films where shot in 16mm film. This film was originally produced at the transition period to video.
In an amazing, totally unrelated turn of fate, while Producing a brochure for a Shipyard in San Francisco, the Producer, looked at the elevator on an Aircraft Carrier, and in a “flash of inspiration” realized there was a totally different way to build a hospital bed. Being in the Silicon Valley, he raised significant venture capital and founded American Life Support Technology and built this revolutionary robotic Specialized Hospital Bed. Thereby, this filmmaker, became an inventor, and his path followed rocky trails rather than following seas. That event is a story in itself.
Thus, over three decades, this “Private Collection” of over 5 hours of 16mm film, has languished in a vault.
However, the actions of President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin have made the original film, “The Last Liberty”, shockingly prophetic. Employing the soundtrack from “Original” 2 films, and significant historic and contemporary footage, created an opportunity to craft a modern tale for modern Americans: Lessons of the Last Liberty.
History is traditionally been written, told, and documented, sequentially, one year after the next. In an era of short attention spans, that strategy takes too much time to span decades and can easily lose the audience’s attention. However, by employing a technique of “visual time travel”, that juxtaposes historic events, that are decades apart “out of sequence”, current events can be placed in an historic context and made relevant to a modern audience. The Lessons of the Last Liberty provides the United States Merchant Marine a modern voice by “Channeling the Wisdom of Ancestors”.