Documentary release honors Vietnam War hero, veterans' stories

WENATCHEE – Siblings Seth Pierson and Jess Pierson Pappas, along with Jess’s husband Dan Pappas, set out to document the life of their Great Uncle Vic, a decorated Green Beret and Vietnam War hero. 

But, what began as a tribute to his service and sacrifice transformed into something unexpected—a love story.

“I think we really set out on a journey to learn about our Great Uncle Vic and his time in Vietnam, which we did, but we also learned a lot about my Great Aunt Diane, her strength, and their love story...which is truly beautiful and inspiring,” Jess said.

The siblings grew up hearing stories about their Uncle Vic from their Gramps. 

“After our Gramps passed, we felt the need to hear the stories from our Uncle Vic and let him and our Aunt Diane tell their experiences and stories,” Seth said. “It was just lucky to have a sister who has such a great background in videography and documentation.”

The documentary “Uncle Vic” highlights Vic Underwood’s experiences in the A Shau Valley during the Vietnam War and the impact that had on his family back home.

“This documentary is about our Uncle Vic, who was a Green Beret Vietnam war hero,” Seth said. “It is about his experiences in the A Shau Valley, where he earned two purple hearts, the Distinguished Service Cross, and countless other medals. He was missing in action in the A Shau jungle for two days, with two bullet wounds in each knee.”

“It also shares the stories of our Aunt Diane, Vic’s wife, who recounts her fears from receiving a telegram, informing her about Vic being MIA, and her experiences during the Vietnam war and afterwards,” Seth said.

The film will debut on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 4 p.m. at the BPOE Ballroom in Wenatchee. The event will also honor veterans and active military with special guests, music, and stories.

Seth hopes the film encourages other Vietnam veterans to share their stories. 

“We have heard from a lot of other Vietnam veterans that they felt they couldn’t talk about their time in Vietnam when they got back to the United States,” Seth said. “I hope this inspires people to listen to veterans' stories and be able to talk with them about their experiences.”

For Jess, the documentary serves a broader purpose of inspiring people to learn about their heritage.

“I would love for people to be inspired to ask their family members questions, to learn about their heritage and their stories,” she said. “And if people have a veteran in their family or circle of friends, I hope this inspires them to thank and honor those veterans in their lives.”

The project, produced by P2X Studio, the creative agency Jess and Dan founded in Wenatchee, began as a way to document family history but grew into something much more.

“I love learning about people and I love storytelling...I guess that makes sense because Dan and I do this for a living,” she said. “I’ve heard so many people say, “I wish I would have learned more about my grandparents” or “I wish I had some of my parents' old stories written down” or things like that.” 

“Life is busy and goes by so quickly...I think it’s really important to make the time to learn about the people in our lives,” she said. “Whether it’s video or audio recordings, photos or words, just document the stories of the people you love.”

“For me, I’m newer to the family, so I more recently learned about Jess and Seth’s Great Uncle Vic,” Dan said. “And getting to know him and their Great Aunt Diane and learn about their story was really powerful.”

The documentary was a true family effort.

“We, Dan and I, Seth and his wife Allison, and our parents, spent a long weekend in August 2023 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho filming and spending time with Uncle Vic and Aunt Diane,” Jess said. “It was a really cool project to work on together as a family. My parents did a lot of coordinating, Allison kept us organized, Dan and I filmed and directed, and Seth was on camera with Uncle Vic and Aunt Diane.”

“This was a passion project for us and a family project, so we really did everything from start to finish,” Dan said. “We spent hours reviewing the footage, doing research and building the story; we recorded voice over with Seth; we designed and created the graphic treatment and motion graphics; and Jess and I wrote and recorded some of the music in the film.”

For more information and to register for free tickets, visit www.unclevicfilm.com.

Quinn Propst: 509-731-3590 or quinn@ward.media.