Dear Sirs is a documentary that recounts Mark Pedri’s bike trip across Germany as he follows the journey of his grandfather 75 years after he was a prisoner of war in World War II. The film was made by filmmaker Mark Pedri and his partner and producer Carrie McCarthy, who are from Southwestern Wyoming.
“We’ve been everywhere from Wyoming to France and Germany and Italy and Poland back to Wyoming. But what makes this one so special is that it is a homecoming screening for us,” Pedri said.
“Carrie and I are both alumni of UW, so it is very special to be able to show this film to a community we hold dear.”
This is the 11th screening of the film in Wyoming, and the last one in the United States until 2023 as it will be screened in Germany for the remainder of 2022.
The story of Dear Sirs is guided by the personal archive of photos, letters, and documents that Pedri’s grandfather, Sergeant Silvio Pedri of the 95th Infantry, left behind in his house in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
“It all started with a slip of paper from my grandpa. It was a draft card and it listed all of the camps he was marched to during World War Two as an American prisoner of war,” Pedri said.
“This is our story, but it’s also your story. And we want to help you use it to inspire your community. My grandpa always said that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing right.”
That’s why Pedri decided to ride his bike across Germany in the middle of the winter and traced the route his grandpa took as a prisoner of war during World War II 75 years after he had been there.
During the summer of 2018, Pedri and Carrie moved into his grandpa’s house in Rock Springs. While living there they dug into archives of the internet, books, and academic papers trying to piece together the story from the things his grandpa left behind.
“On the 1st of January in 2019, my partner Carrie and I began our six-week journey across Germany following the footsteps of Sergeant Silvio Pedri,” Pedri said.
Pedri rode all the way from Imeldange, France to the Moselle river near Metz, France where Sgt. Pedri and other soldiers of the 95th Infantry were sent on a mission to create a diversion for a larger unit to bring in heavy artillery and take the city of Metz from the German Army. This is where Sgt. Pedri was captured.
The next stop was Saarlouis, Germany where Silvio was kept for a short amount of time. After that was a hospital in Heppenheim where Sgt. Pedri was kept until he was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp in Limburg, Germany.
Sgt. Pedri was then taken to a different prisoner-of-war camp in Sandbostel, Germany. On April 28, 1945, in Westertimke, Germany, Sgt. Pedri was liberated from the Marlug camp after five months of being captured.
After 6 weeks of biking across France and Germany, and following his grandfather’s footsteps, Pedri learned about the story of his Silvio Pedri.
After four years in the making, Dear Sirs was finally ready for an audience. This past Veteran’s Day at UW was the 44th showing of the film.
“Growing up we never told my grandpa thank you or your service. Veterans Day was not a special day in my house, and now I make it about him,” Pedri said.
“I take a lot of pride in having a veteran in our family. We are able to be here today to celebrate Veteran’s Day because of Silvio, and that is very special.”
Dear Sirs is a film that shows the reality of what it is like to fight in a war and return to a normal life. Throughout the film the very personal story of a soldier during World War II is told, leading up to his final days. This film is not only a war story but it is a Wyoming story, and it is a story that can be shared among people all around the world.
