Bring My Father’s War to Your Students, Members & Community

Educational, institutional and community screening opportunities are available for schools, colleges, libraries, museums, veterans organizations and other groups.

A Firsthand Record of World War II

My Father’s War: Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers is an award-winning documentary based on Charley Valera’s bestselling book. Nine World War II veterans tell their stories in their own words—no actors, no script and no reenactments.

The documentary spans both the European and Pacific theaters and represents veterans from every branch of the U.S. military, giving audiences a broad and deeply personal view of the war through the people who lived it.

Designed for Education, History & Conversation

Two Versions Available

Broadcast Edition — 56:46
Ideal for classroom, library, museum and scheduled programming.

Extended Edition — approximately 80 minutes
The complete documentary experience for screenings and special events.

More Than a Screening

When scheduling permits, filmmaker and author Charley Valera is available to introduce the documentary and participate in an audience Q&A, either in person or virtually. Discussions can include the veterans featured in the film, stories not included in the documentary, and the decade-long effort to preserve these firsthand accounts.

A complimentary Educator & Discussion Guide is also available, with key themes, educational uses and suggested post-film discussion questions.

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Screenings Already Reaching New Audiences

My Father’s War has played to sold-out theatrical audiences and community groups. Florida Gulf Coast University is presenting the documentary as part of its November 2026 veterans programming, and the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Georgia is scheduling a 2027 screening.

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Why I Made My Father’s War

My father, Giovanni (John) Valera, served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Like so many veterans of his generation, he rarely spoke about what he had experienced.

His four sons simply assumed there wasn’t much to tell.

Years after my father died, I obtained a copy of his military discharge papers. What I found stunned me. There, in black and white, was a wartime history we had never known—campaigns stretching across North Africa and Europe, from Tunisia and Sicily to Normandy, Northern France, the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.

I later obtained copies of his military roll calls, allowing me to trace where he had been and when.

One discovery was particularly personal. My father’s parents and some of his siblings were born in Sicily—the same island where his own wartime journey would eventually take him.

I had the photographs. I had the military records. What I didn’t have were his stories.

And by then, it was too late to ask.

That realization made me wonder how many other veterans had carried extraordinary memories home with them, only to remain silent for decades—and how many families, like mine, never thought to ask.

So I began sitting down with World War II veterans and asking the questions my brothers and I never thought to ask our own father.

Those conversations became My Father’s War.

The mission has remained the same ever since: preserve their voices, their memories and their stories while we still can.

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Licensing & Screening Options

Every institution and event is different. Educational use, institutional screenings, public/community events and filmmaker Q&A programs can be arranged to fit your audience and setting.

Contact Valera Media for availability, licensing information and screening options.

Charley Valera | Valera Media
charley@charleyvalera.com
Call/Text: (978) 479-7443