September 9, 2009 - Vision Fest Film Festival Article
Read Article written by Alan Armstrong about the public reading of his screenplay at the Vision Fest Film Festival .PDF Article
JUNE 11, 2009 - Public Reading of Preemptive Strike
There will be a public reading of my screenplay, Preemptive Strike, at the Vision Fest Film Festival in New York, Saturday, June 20, 2009, at 3:45 p.m. The reading is open to the public and free of charge. However, the location of the reading, The Cherry Pit Theater will seat only about 90 people. For that reason it is desirable to make a reservation via email: 2009Visionfest.com. The reading is expected to take approximately 2 hours, will feature approximately 30 actors and actresses, and is being directed by Ari Taub. The Cherry Pit Theater is located at 155 Bank Street, New York, NY 10014. I am extremely grateful to the Vision Fest Film Festival for the opportunity to have this public reading of my screenplay.
The Preemptive Strike screenplay is based on the life experiences of General Claire Lee Chennault and his involvement in organizing "a guerilla air corps" known today as the American Volunteer Group or Flying Tigers. Contrary to popular culture, the AVG was to be more than a fighter group to defend China from the onslaught of Japanese invaders during the Sino-Japanese War which began on July 7, 1937. Chennault intended to bomb Japan with bombers that would be operated from Chekiang Province in southeastern China, only 700 miles from the Japanese home islands. Chennault's audacious plan became officially endorsed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who signed Joint Army/Navy Board 355 ("the Joint Board Plan") on July 23, 1941, only two days before America imposed a total trade embargo on Japan. The Preemptive Strike story underscores Chennault's struggle to organize his guerilla air corps in the jungles of Burma (a British colony) and the frustrations he experienced when the bombers promised by FDR failed to arrive by early November, as scheduled in the Joint Board Plan.
In 1991, Stone Philips of the ABC News Show 20/20 reported on the Joint Board Plan. Philips confessed, however, he did not know if the Japanese were aware of the American plan to bomb Japan. Today, we know that a Chinese national known only as "PA" betrayed the American bombing plan to the Japanese as early as May 29, 1941, months before FDR finally endorsed the Joint Board Plan. Radio messages from diplomatic offices in Japan intercepted by the American intelligence community and on file in America's National Archives confirm not only that Japan knew of the American plan, but the American intelligence community knew that Japan knew of the American plan at least six months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
It is worth noting that after the Second World War Chennault organized a company known as Civil Air Transport that supported Chiang Kai-shek during the Chinese Civil War, and, in time, performed services for the CIA. Eventually, the CIA bought Civil Air Transport and renamed it "Air America." Chennault's activities in organizing a guerilla air corps lived on as "Air America" was engaged in covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
A project related to the Preemptive Strike screenplay is my book by the same title published by Lyons Press. For further information, interested parties may contact the undersigned.
April 28, 2009 - Alan Armstrong's Battle of Midway performance is scheduled for May 2-3, 2009 at Warner Robins AFB, GA. Press Release
March 28, 2009 - Alan Armstrong's Midway Air Battle Airshow was profiled on Fox 24 News in Macon. The upcoming Robins AFB Airshow is May 2nd-3rd. View the article - http://www.fox24.com/article.asp?pkid=15910
October 27, 2008 - PREEMPTIVE STRIKE, WHICH RE-WRITES HISTORY ON PEARL
HARBOR ATTACK, GOES ON SALE IN JAPAN IN TWO WEEKS
Preemptive
Strike, which tells the story of Joint Army/Navy Board 355 (the Joint Board Plan) -- the secret American
plan to bomb Japan before Pearl Harbor
-- goes on sale in Japan in two weeks. The book is presently
published in America
by Lyons Press. The Joint Board Plan was authored by Claire Chennault, Chiang Kai-shek, and President Roosevelt's aide, Dr.
Lauchlin Currie during the year before Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor.
Forced
into early retirement in 1937,
Chennault answered the call to adventure becoming a soldier of fortune in the
service of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang Government as it battled invading
Japanese forces during the Second
Sino-Japanese War. Since it was apparent to Chennault that the
Japanese ambitions extended to vast territories of Southeast Asia and the
Western Pacific, he devised a plan to strike Japanese interests in China,
French Indo-China and the Japanese home islands and preempt Japanese military initiatives.
The plan initially was looked upon favorably by FDR and his cabinet until Chief
of Staff George C. Marshall objected, ostensibly because it was too dangerous.
In time, proponents for the plan
prevailed. However, this did not
occur before precious time was lost.
Equally
intriguing is the fact that the Joint
Board Plan was betrayed by a member of Chiang's government known
only as "PA" in a "Purple Code" message from Tokyo to Japanese headquarters in
Southeast Asia that American cryptographers decoded on June 3, 1941. To be clear, the American intelligence
community knew that the Japanese knew of the Joint Board Plan before the attack
on Pearl Harbor. On July 23,
1941, forty-eight hours
after receiving a
plaintive telegram from Madame Chiang urging delivery of the American bombers,
President Roosevelt finally endorsed
the Joint Board Plan - a group of
American airmen led by Chennault along with 100 American fighter planes already
having arrived in the British colony of Burma where they could train without
being harassed by the Japanese Air Force. On the same day, Roosevelt's trusted aide, Dr.
Lauchlin Currie dispatched a confidential telegram to the American Embassy in
Chungking relating that American bombers would be provided to China
immediately. The plan
envisioned American bombers ostensibly under the command of the Chinese Air
Force would be launched from one or more airfields in Chekiang Province in
Southeastern China-only about 700 miles from Japan. However,
Lockheed Hudson bombers that were to go to the Chinese were acquired by the
British and flown across the border to Canada. The net effect of political
infighting and confusion was to deprive Chennault of the resources he required
to strike Japan before the
attack on Pearl Harbor. The book is being published in Japan by Nikkei Publications and
the translator is Ko Shioya, a veteran Japanese journalist with extensive
international experience.
Also, written by Atlanta
aviation attorney and air show pilot, Alan Armstrong, the author of the book, a
Preemptive Strike screenplay recently won first prize at the Vision Fest Film
Festival in New York
in the screenwriting competition. There
will be a dramatic reading of the screenplay in New York next spring.
In association with the release of the book by Nikkei, Asahi
Television is producing a documentary television program to be aired on
December 7, 2008, dealing with the American plan to bomb Japan before Pearl Harbor.
The television documentary is anticipated to include interviews of Alan
Armstrong, Ko Shioya and other people familiar with the Joint Board Plan.
July 3, 2008 - Alan Armstrong was a featured guest on the Gold Seal Live radio program. You can listen to his interview here: www.goldseallive.com/armstrong01.mp3
July 2, 2008 - Alan Armstrong's novel 'Preemptive Strike' has been listed on Google's Book Search. It may be viewed HERE
October 27, 2004 - "Days That Shook the World" hits the BBC. Days That Shook The World returns for a second series, retracing how momentous historical events unfolded in the course of one dramatic day. On Monday, October 18, 2004, the episode "Attack on Pearl Harbor," featuring the Kate debuted on BBC4, one of the BBC channels. Preliminary reports from viewers in the UK indicate that it is a top notch documentary, and its release on the History Channel here in the US is eagerly anticipated.Alan Armstrong, Joe Broker and Keith Wood provided aerial sequences and technical assistance to Lion TV in filming the episode, which documents Commander Mitsuo Fuchida's preparations for the devastating attack on the American Pacific Fleet, which one day later propelled the United States into World War II. Check back for future updates on air times on the History Channel.
October 1, 2004 – “Lights! Camera! Action! – Attorney Journey – Flying into the Movies.”
The October, 2004, issue of The Southern Aviator carries a feature story written by Alan Armstrong, one of the members of Japanese Bomber, LLC, and one of the pilots that flies our replica Nakajima Model Number B5N2 “Kate” bomber. This article explains how the author evolved from being a pilot on the outside of the airshow circle to a pilot who now flies in airshows, as well as for the film industry. The exploits of the Kate, along with the other pilots who fly the Kate, Keith Wood, Joe Broker, and Jack Van Ness, are discussed in this article. The article also features photographs of the Kate during the filming of Days that Shook the World that aired on Monday, October 18, 2004, on BBC 4, one of the channels of the British Broadcasting Company. The article printed in The Southern Aviator consists of excerpts from a manuscript being written by Mr. Armstrong entitled Airshow Pilot.
May 12, 2004 - This Program has been postponed until August 31st. Stay Tuned!!! On Tuesday, August 10, 2004, at 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time, the television show, "Tactical to Practical" will air on the History Channel and will feature an interview of Alan Armstrong in relation to the evolution of pilots of the American Volunteer Group [more commonly known as the "Flying Tigers"] from operating fighter planes to flying transport planes for, among others, the Flying Tiger Line and Civil Air Transport (CAT). The Flying Tiger Line became the largest air freight operator in the world prior to its merger with Federal Express. CAT flew humanitarian missions in China and evolved into a para-military operator supplying Nationalist Chinese forces during the Communist Revolution. CAT had been formed by General Claire Chennault after the end of World War Two. In time, CAT was sold to the CIA and renamed "Air America." Air America engaged in clandestine operations during wars in Southeast Asia including the Vietnam War.
May 3, 2004 - Pacific Flyer April 2004 Kate Article - View it HERE.
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