A TRUE STORY OF COURAGE, HONOR, RACISM, BETRAYAL and REDEMPTION
In the opening months of the Korean War the United States and South Korean forces were out-numbered, unprepared and over-whelmed. The US military had shrunk to only 10% of its World War Two size. They were in full retreat and in real danger of being driven into the sea.
Washington scrambled to find any unit they could throw into the meat-grinder to buy time while a larger force was assembled.
The 65th Infantry Regiment, composed of Puerto Rican soldiers with 90% White officers was one of those few units that was already trained, equipped and ready to go. It was the only Hispanic regiment in a still segregated Army.
Washington sent the orders....the Puerto Ricans, who had never been tested in combat, were going to war on the other side of the world, in a place they had never heard of, against an experienced, savage enemy that out-numbered them, often by ten-to-one.
Shipped out immediately, the Puerto Ricans landed in Korea very early in the war. They were in combat with three hours of getting off the ship and they stayed in constant contact with the enemy for months without a break, an enemy that attacked in human waves in conditions that dropped to -30 degrees in the mountains.
The bigotry of the time worked against them. The Army leadership called the 65th 'colored troops' and 'rum and Coca-Cola soldiers'. They had no faith in the Puerto Ricans' ability to fight or to be led.
The Puerto Rican warriors of the 65th proved everyone wrong.
THEN THEY WERE BETRAYED
The courage and sacrifice of the Puerto Rican Regiment was betrayed by the racism of the Generals.
By the summer of 1952 the Korean War had changed from a fight for victory to a WW1 style trench war of attrition...men killed for no strategic gain.
The American troops rebelled against the slaughter. Multiple units refused to fight. A Company of the 65th refused to attack a hill that was covered with dead comrades and could not be held.
The Generals in Korea had to put a stop to the mutinies. They court-martialled over 100 Puerto Ricans but brought no charges at all against White units that had behaved the same or worse.
A report written by Major John Eisenhower, son of the soon-to-be-elected President, openly blamed the Puerto Rican's race and ethnicity.
The 65th Regiment was shamed strictly for racist reasons.
The racist attack on their honor was a national disgrace.
BAYONET! tells this important, but unknown, story of a group of young men whose courage and sacrifice, even in the face of prejudice, changed the course of history and helped keep millions free.
BAYONET! is a ten by sixty mini-series...an Hispanic Band of Brothers that is as powerful in every way but even more important than that HBO event because of the official racism.
The production will be filmed where it happened, in Puerto Rico and Korea. Both filming locations offer significant production incentives that will help offset production costs. The team has relationships with potential production services companies and/or co-production partners in both countries.
Puerto Rico is, unfortunately, currently unstable economically. If circumstances persist then the production will shift to the Dominican Republic for those sequences.
The DR is stable and does offer its own generous production incentives. The Team has relationships there as well.
Post-production will be done where the incentives are strongest and the post-production talent and facilities are world-class.
Pete Gibbons, the writer, has trained with the US Army Infantry BNCOC at Fort Benning and has spent time with the US military at Camp Bonifas, inside the DMZ in Korea, as well as in the Balkans and with the IDF along the Syrian border.
Pete has an in depth understanding of small-unit military operations. This knowledge is combined with first-hand accounts of actual battles to create realistic, powerful and unforgettable combat sequences that are rooted in fact.
BAYONET! is Pete's third military-themed project. Lone Soldier - www.idfmovie.com - was moving forward in development when COVID shut everything down.
Pete's hard-hitting documentary, La Mara, a deep, dangerous dive into MS13 was also moving forward and is also on hold.
The Team has a strong, long-term relationship with the US Army that will produce a wide-ranging co-operation and access for BAYONET!.
BAYONET! does something no other film has done...it slots perfectly into both the War Movie genre and the global Latinx market. Each on its own is revenue rich. Together they are atomic.
A third market is South Korea. This is very much their story too. Dunkirk alone saw $23 million in BO revenues in South Korea.
BAYONET! hits a lot of revenue-rich sweet spots.
516.851.9260 - gibbygtnk@gmail.com