In May of 2014, I received an e-mail from a TV director in London enquiring of my knowledge on Japanese General Yamashita and his role in the burial of Gold in the Philippines. The director and the producer had found me through my website, and had read my blogs and my e-book, The President’s Gold. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to help. Soon afterward, the director Skyped me, interviewing me right then for a television documentary role on MythHunters. It was, shall we call it, anxious fun. After our chat, she sent a list of questions for me, stating that if I didn’t already know the answers, to find them! Fortunately, my years of research on the riveting subject prepared me well, as I found the questions easy to answer. Wanting to make certain I didn’t err with this great opportunity, I looked up the answers for confirmation. During our follow-up Skype call, poor internet connection caused problems, so we ended up on the phone. We Skyped just long enough for the producer and the director to see how I might present information for the documentary.
When I didn’t hear from either of them for a while, I got nervous. I thought I had not made the cut. Finally, the phone call came, and I ecstatic to learn I was going to be included in their documentary. I flew to New York for an interview, and I spent the night before studying, reviewing, and then studying some more to make certain I felt ready. Despite having a general idea of the questions they might ask, I wanted to come off as natural as possible, without having to refer to my notes.
The first to arrive on location was the camera crew. They quickly set up, then the interview began. Surprisingly, it lasted about an hour and a half. Once completed, they informed me that the story would likely air in the fall of 2014. After the director and producer had moved on, I felt unsure of how the interview had gone. Did I answer their many questions succinctly? Had I stumbled or stuttered? Did I squint beneath the glare of the lights? Did my internal jitters cause me to tremble on the screen? The cameraman told me not to worry, that the producer and director had gotten a lot of good material from me. This put me at ease . . . sort of . . . for a little while.
Fall of 2014 arrived, and I still had not heard a word from the MythHunters crew. Had the documentary been canceled? Had my Q & A ended up on the cutting room floor? On New Year’s Eve (what a perfect way to ring out the old and welcome the new!), I received a phone call from a friend of mine who asked if the preview he’d found online had appeared on TV. I literally jumped out of my chair and ran to my computer, searching until I found the trailer of “Yamashita’s Gold” by MythHunters on the American Heroes Channel. There was my face and my voice, and there was no trembling, no stuttering, and thankfully, no squinting.
Happy New Year to me!
I was—and still am—thrilled beyond words. I am going to be in the MythHunters documentary “Yamashita’s Gold”, talking about a subject I’m passionate about, the history and location of the stolen war loot.
Just this Monday morning, an executive at World Media Rights sent the full documentary to me, along with the exciting news that the American Heroes Channel will air the episode at 1 PM on Sunday, January 11, 2015.
Did you get that? That’s this Sunday, January 11th, at 1:00 pm on the American Heroes Channel! For goodness sake, write it down!
Now pop some popcorn, gather the family and the dog, then tune in, and let me know what you think!