History Professor and Student Team Up for Military.com Documentaries

Think about what is going on around the world today with our national security and servicemen and women. How did we get to this point? What is the history behind it?

There is a new documentary series answering these and other questions relevant to the evolution of the U.S. military and our protection—from “terrorist attacks” to “animal warfare” to “urban combat,” — all with production roots firmly established here at East Stroudsburg University.

“Americans should care about this,” Michael Gray, Ph.D., said. “It makes you aware of what’s going on around us and the importance of our own security.”

Gray, associate professor of history at ESU, is hosting “Battlefield 101,” a documentary series which can be viewed on Miliary.com. Yet Gray’s background goes much deeper. The history professor authored a book “The Business of Captivity: Elmira and Its Civil War Prison.” And in March 2014, he was awarded a federal grant to continue his research on Civil War prisons, which he plans to develop into two more books. In April, he was interviewed by a writer for CNN.com for a story that marked the 150th anniversary of the most deadly year for Civil War prisons.

With all of his research and knowledge of military history, Gray was a perfect fit for this production according to Lou Reda of Lou Reda Productions of Easton, Pa. Dr. Gray was approached by representatives from Lou Reda Productions—a company with 30 years’ experience and recent Emmy nominee for “Brothers at War,” narrated by Charlie Sheen. “Gray was an excellent choice for this initiative. He specializes in military history, and he is charismatic,” Scott Reda, executive producer, said.

His first time on set, Gray noticed interns working diligently at the expansive Easton archives. He began thinking about viable ESU students who might be fitting candidates to intern with the production of Battlefield 101. Soon after, Ryan Clauser, a history major from Bethlehem, Pa., became the first of Gray’s students to land an internship with the production company.

“Ryan has a passion for 20th Century military, particularly aviation, and he is a great asset who makes the episodes stronger,” Dr. Gray said. Clauser made the most of preparing for that career at Reda Productions, spending his time researching, writing, and even dabbling in some production initiatives. He was thrilled to pick up some valuable editing skills along the way as well.

Clauser, who recently had an article published on WWI aviation and is in the process of applying to graduate schools invested long hours in the archives and studio. “This has been a great opportunity,” he said, “It is changing the way I think about history, interpret it, and approach it now and through the rest of my career.”

As Clauser’s internship and interest in the production progressed, he was unexpectedly asked by Reda’s Producer and Director Liz Reph if he would like to begin writing episodes.

Ryan began scripting the series, including the second highest performing episode of “Battlefield 101” titled “Urban Combat,” which has reached more than 15,000 viewers to date and should eclipse more than 20,000 by month’s end. “Arial Dogfights,” Ryan’s specialty, was another episode he wrote, hitting 4,000 views in less than 24 hours.

“These episodes are not just about war. It goes so much deeper than that— this is stuff that is happening in the world now,” Clauser said. “We want to make our history program at ESU better, and I think projects like this can help make that happen.”

Gray couldn’t agree more. Living near the Lehigh Valley Heritage Center in Allentown, Pa., the professor hopes to create more connections for students, especially those interested in documentary and docu-drama work. “You can’t like history without documentaries,” Dr. Gray said. “Ken Burns revolutionized the field of Civil War, reaching a mass audience, and academics should be aware of that.”

“This internship is great for Ryan’s career and I would love to see other ESU students working with Lou Reda Productions in the future,” Gray said. “It is a firm that produces feature documentaries, national television programs and original web series, and has been nominated for and won prestigious awards. It’s a company that values the work of students like Ryan, and the staff is eager to help them take their knowledge and interests to an entirely new level.”

Besides creating opportunities for other students, Gray ultimately hopes to turn “Battlefield 101” episodes into an online thematic military history course at ESU.

The hard part, according to Gray, was trying to perform on camera with very little experience. Despite any missteps, Gray is pleased with the outcomes – the productions make learning fun, creates internship opportunities for history majors and, hopefully, will teach many different audiences about the critical value of our rich military history.

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