WWII Pilot John Ross to Appear at AMVETS National Convention in Daytona

PRLog (Press Release) - Aug. 10, 2012 - DAYTONA BEACH, FL – AMVETS (http://www.amvets.org) (American Veterans) has invited decorated World War II hero, John Ross (http://johnrossamerican.com/) to their annual National Convention in Daytona. Ross will attend the convention with filmmakers to unveil a trailer of a documentary currently being produced about his life on Saturday, August 11, at 9:00 a.m. It will feature new animation from the filmmakers who intend to animate the feature length documentary.  

AMVETS endorsed the project when the filmmakers undertook a crowd-funding campaign. Funds were raised to visit Ross at his Florida home to complete filming of interviews.  

The project's co-director Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot said: "It was fortuitous that we planned to be in Florida with (John Ross) when AMVETS was holding their convention. They've become great friends and validated our efforts in sharing this American hero's story."   

John Ross gave Colorado-based production companies Worker Studio and Travelin' Productions exclusive rights to tell his story cinematically. What developed is a vision for a dynamic, live-action and 3D-animation documentary film.

“We want to do this for his family, for history, and for John.  He’s a brilliant, self-made man, and being a war hero is only one part of his extraordin6ary 93 years.  He's given several lifetimes worth over the course of one; and while it's all clearly entertaining, most importantly, it's deserving of proper documentation,” said Hemschoot, founder of Worker Studio and co-founder of Travelin’ Productions.  

The film will focus on Ross’ time as a P-38 Reconnaissance pilot, during which he flew 96 missions over Europe. He was shot down three times and presumed dead, but persevered and became one of the most decorated US Army Air Corps pilots during WWII.  His reconnaissance missions were crucial to victory at the Battle of the Bulge and it is said Hitler himself placed a bounty on his head.

Asked to sum it all up, Hemschoot concluded, “John has lived a ton in his 93 years, and we’ve got to get it all documented while he’s still able to tell it.  After all he’s done, I think it’s the least we can do.”

The annual convention of leading veterans organization, AMVETS,  includes the election of a new national commander. It is being held at the Hilton Daytona Beach, August 4 - 11, 2012.

For more information, please visit www.johnrossamerican.com or contact Jason Cangialosi at 720-222-3360, jason@worker-studio.com.
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About AMVETS:    
A leader since 1944 in pre­serv­ing the free­doms secured by America’s armed forces, AMVETS pro­vides sup­port for vet­er­ans and the active mil­i­tary in procur­ing their earned enti­tle­ments, as well as com­mu­nity ser­vice and leg­isla­tive reform that enhances the qual­ity of life for this nation’s cit­i­zens and vet­er­ans alike. AMVETS is one of the largest congressionally-chartered vet­er­ans’ ser­vice orga­ni­za­tions in the United States, and includes mem­bers from each branch of the mil­i­tary, includ­ing the National Guard and Reserves. To learn more, visit www.amvets.org

About filmmakers:
Worker Studio (http://worker-studio.com/) is a Telly Award Winning, Colorado-based Animation and Visual Effects company, started by Hollywood veteran, Michael “Ffish” Hemschoot, which offers high-end 3D Animation, 2D Animation, Pre-visualization, Digital Compositing, and Visual Effects for the commercial and film communities and beyond.

Travelin’ Productions (http://travelinproductions.com) is an independent production company formed by Sean Bridgers and Michael Hemschoot to develop and produce modestly budgeted digital motion pictures with an emphasis on damn good stories.