2023 Military Story Showcase

The Military Story Showcase recognizes scripts, books, short stories & stage plays in any genre that feature a story about warfare or the military experience.

2023 WINNER

MONTFORD POINT MARINES

by Eugene Allen King

The first Black American Marines train at segregated Montford Point, before seeing combat on the shores of Okinawa during WWII.

2023 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

A FATHER'S WAR by Steven Jon Whritner, story by James W. Williams (based on the book "In His Stead" by Judith Sanders). Retired Army Ranger Thomas Lane once burned for the taste of gunpowder and the thrill of the battle. But as he struggles to cope with PTSD and the death of his eldest son, killed by an IED in Afghanistan, Lane learns that the price of war is far too great. When the National Guard calls up Lane's last surviving son to serve, Lane knows he will do anything to save his child - even if it means going in his place.

A PATRIOT FOR IVANOV by C.L. McGinnis. A cynical military veteran is recruited by the FBI to monitor Russian espionage activities amongst the bustling crowds of Washington, D.C. The veteran soon finds himself caught in an espionage fever dream, where no one can be trusted, and the risks run high.

A SIREN'S SWEET WHISPER by Fred G. Stemme. Can a World War I romance between ambulance driver Hank Braddock and nurse Kyla Laurens survive a phobia-induced regression resulting in severe memory loss? | HourGlassHistoricals.com

ANSWERING THE CALL by Chase "Ski" Myers. An Afghanistan War veteran and high school teacher comes to terms with his PTSD as he trains to defend his classroom. | Sites.Google.com/View/ChaseMyers/Home

ASH by Dave Stockwell (based on the nonfiction book "Route 9 Problem: The Battle for Lang Vei" by Dave Stockwell). A Special Forces medic, Eugene "Ash" Ashley, Jr., forced under fire during the Vietnam War, must attempt to rescue fellow Green Berets trapped by enemy tanks, becoming the first African American awarded the Medal of Honor in Special Forces history. | LangVeiBattle.com

BOOTS by Raymond Urrutia. A bored and aimless platoon of U.S. Communication Marines, serving during an off-peak time in the Iraq War, find that life can be just as harrowing as any battle, as they combat its never-ending predicaments.

CAMDEN STREET STATION by Dennis L. Snider. In 1861, Washington D.C. is threatened by attack, its newly elected President threatened by assassination, and deep hatreds divide the population. The defense of the Capitol and the preservation of the nation's democratic heritage hang in the balance as conspirators threaten to launch all out civil war.

DOGFACE by Beanie Barnes. A young man fights a war on three fronts - as a soldier, as a black American, and within himself - to prove his worth in an indifferent world.

DOOMSDAY SOLDIERS by Michael Yorke. In 1975, five Army Rangers, on a top-secret mission to parachute into East Germany to kick off WWIII, are forced to take refuge with a German family where they clash over the mission, the family, and each other.

END OF SERVICE by J.D. Jordan. An Army man recounts his life and military career on the eve of his retirement ceremony.

FAIRLYLAND AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE by A.S. Templeton (suggested by "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E.T.A. Hoffman). Lured into what they think is a virtual reality game, boy-girl twins and their combat-veteran mother find themselves trapped in a fantasy microcosm, shadowed by a vengeful presence from their ancestral past. | Facebook: @as.templeton.37

FIRE AND WIND by Carl Robinson. In 1945, a young lieutenant joins a green crew of a U.S. Navy destroyer. Boredom and high jinks prevail until an incident on the lieutenant’s watch ultimately sends ship and crew toward a terrifying encounter with the Kamikazes off Okinawa.

HARDSCRABBLE: THE RISE OF ULYSSES S. GRANT by William Ray. The personal portrait of a uniquely American hero’s transformation from obscure failure - lackluster student, disgraced soldier, hapless farmer and businessman - to General-in-Chief of all Union forces in the Civil War, confidant of Abraham Lincoln, and conqueror of legendary Robert E. Lee.

IF THE GODS ARE GOOD by Ralph Segman and Seamus Sullivan (based on the book "If the Gods are Good: The Epic Sacrifice of HMS Jervis Bay" by Gerald Duskin and Ralph Segman). The Jervis Bay, an old cargo ship with a civilian crew, is the only defense for a vital British convoy in the early years of the Second World War. When a vastly superior German warship threatens the convoy, the captain and crew of the Jervis Bay know they must sacrifice themselves so the convoy can escape.

JODY by Corey Shields. A letter from home stirs up a debate between a U.S. Army soldier and his sergeant on whether to reveal the contents of the letter to a fellow soldier during the Vietnam War.

MAGGIE'S DRAWERS by Gideon Rabin. A young soldier from Brooklyn undergoes a baptism of fire when his Jewish platoon buddy is killed during a combat training exercise and he must testify in the army's investigation of the hushed-up death, he begins an affair with the dead soldier's sister, and then heads into battle for the first time in the South Pacific during WWII. | ScreenplayMuse.com | Twitter: @StatonRabin

PURSUIT OF PARADISE: THE STORY OF AN EAST TEXAS FARM BOY, THE PACIFIC WAR, AND LOVE by Thomas N. Smith. A young East Texas sharecropper goes to WWII, battles his way through the deadly jungles of the Pacific, and returns to the farm to marry his sweetheart. | Facebook: @TomSmithPursuitOfParadise

REVEILLE by Michael Akkerman. In late 1943, an American squad engages in a skirmish with German soldiers along the Winter Line in central Italy. As artillery shells begin to rain down, the Americans must honor the rules of war and protect their wounded prisoners. Huddled together in a cave and made to see the enemy as human, the soldiers wrestle with unimaginable moral questions that lie outside the boundaries of nationality and allegiance. | ReveilleFilm.com | IMDb | Facebook: @ReveilleFeatureFilm | Twitter: @ReveilleFilm | Instagram: @Reveille_Film

ROUND EYE OVER by Darius Averill (pseudonym for four Vietnam-era friends). In 1969 a team of elite Recon Marine snipers undertake a dangerous covert mission above the DMZ.

STEALING THE MOON by Eric W Carlson. In 1959, a CIA team - led by a veteran female agent - develops and implements an audacious plan to steal a Soviet moon rocket, then return it undetected.

STOP-LOSS by Ramona L. Taylor. After a near fatal accident leaves him in a coma, a former Army Ranger is in a race against time as any hope of returning to consciousness requires him to survive a dangerous journey through his subconscious mind. | CaringFieldFilms.com | IMDb

THE LETTER by Barry Cole. Having survived the hell of Stalingrad, and convinced the war is lost, a German soldier becomes a deserter and returns home to his family. Troubled by his conscience, he decides to return to the war, but before leaving, he writes a letter that will ultimately secure his family's future.

THE MILITARIZED ZONE by Wayne Johnson. A Vietnam-era draftee does his best to have a good time during his two-year army stint, but when he's assigned to a position in Korea, he discovers there's more to life than having fun as he learns the real meaning of life, love and sorrow.

THE NINE LIVES OF WALKER HARRIS by Vaughn Roste, story by Derek Harris (based on the true story of Henry Walker Harris, shot down on November 4, 1944). When his plane crashes behind enemy lines, an American WWII bombardier must fight to remain alive and undiscovered - but his best chance lies with the Italian partisan resistance. | Twitter: @Vaughn09187022

THE VOLUNTEER by Robert Nelson & Jason Morwick. In an effort to track down the Nazi Lieutenant who murdered his parents during the aftermath of WWII, a German orphan enlists in the infamous French Foreign Legion and finds himself thrown into a deadly conflict in Southeast Asia.

TIPPY by Michael Gerald Uva. Against all odds, an enlisted backwoods-auto mechanic ends up a “Triple Ace" Marine Captain fighter pilot during WWII. Bravery has no rank.