Black Jack Pershing: Love and War
Directed by Bernard McCoy
Description
Drawn from personal papers, archival photographs, and film, the award-winning documentary “Black Jack Pershing: Love and War” tells the story of General John J. Pershing’s military career and his personal life, including tragedies seldom examined. When America entered WWI in April of 1917, its military was hardly prepared for war. There were roughly 220,000 U.S. soldiers and officers. America’s troops initially lacked the training needed to effectively fight a veteran German army that used modern warfare tactics. John Pershing was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to command the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. His nickname was “Black Jack,” and commanding U.S. troops against overwhelming odds in WWI would be the greatest challenge of Pershing’s military career. Twenty months after America joined the fight, Pershing and two million troops helped turn the battle tide. Germany was forced to surrender on November 11, 1918.
Filmmaker Barney McCoy is scheduled to attend.
Director's Bio
Barney McCoy teaches multimedia, broadcast news, journalism and in-depth reporting courses at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Before arriving at UNL in 2006, he was a full-time journalist. McCoy’s television documentary “Black Jack Pershing: Love and War” was a 2018 recipient of the national Sigma Delta Chi Documentary Award from the Society of Professional Journalists and named one of 2018’s top-10 international films in the Accolade International Film Competition. The documentary has also been honored with an Award of Excellence from the Broadcast Education Association, and an Eric Sevareid Award from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. McCoy has been honored with six regional Emmy awards and numerous other citations for journalistic excellence. Another McCoy documentary, “They Could Really Play the Game: Reloaded,” was a 2015 Canada International Film Festival Award winner. McCoy has worked as a documentary director and producer, television and print news reporter, and as a TV news producer and anchor. He has contributed reporting for CBS News, CNN, The Associated Press, USA Today, The Columbus Dispatch, The Kansas City Star, KCTV (Kansas City), Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, the Ohio News network, and public television outlets in Illinois, Virginia, and Ohio. McCoy holds a master’s degree in telecommunications management from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.
Plays in
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Film Block: Honoring WWI
Women in Service, World War I
This film pairing honors the legacy of WWI heroes. This film block includes "The Hello Girls: The Story of America's First Female Soldiers" and "Black Jack Pershing: Love and War."In This Program: The Hello Girls: The Story of America’s First Female Soldiers, Black Jack Pershing: Love and War
Preceded By
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The Hello Girls: The Story of America’s First Female Soldiers
James Theres / Women in Service, World War I / USA / 2018 / documentary / 56 mins
Told through 100-year old letters, photos, archival footage, and interviews with family and historians, the "Hello Girls" reveals the relatively unknown story of 223 American women who served overseas during WWI as telephone operators.Precedes: Black Jack Pershing: Love and War
