Being proud of our country and the men and women who work to defend it and the freedom it represents, Pyro Innovations has helped to make the 4th of July a memorable day for our troops overseas on multiple occasions.
Sadr City, Iraq
In the last week of June 2005, Mike Tockstein was contacted by a military officer in Sadr City, Iraq through the Pyro Innovations website. The officer was looking for a high-resolution fireworks video for the troops in Iraq since real fireworks were not an option. Mailing a DVD to Iraq in a few days was not possible. So after Mike quickly filmed and edited a “thank you” note to the troops, he uploaded a high-resolution 20-minute 4th of July fireworks display video, fully choreographed to patriotic music, to the Pyro Innovations server that the officer could access. The troop fireworks video was mentioned on CNN and in two printed news publications. Mike was humbled after receiving a letter and challenge coin from the task force commander in the subsequent weeks for his support of our troops overseas. Here are a few quotes from the letter:
“Your fireworks film momentarily transported our soldiers back to America and the celebrations that mark the birthday of our great nation.”
“…we projected the film you sent on a gigantic makeshift screen to the whistles and cheers of all the Soldiers. For the approximately one thousand Soldiers of our Task Force, this film represented freedom and why we remain vigilant in our efforts to bring democracy to Iraq.”
USS Nimitz
A few years later we produced a similar video, this time for the troops at sea with an updated “thank you” note added to the beginning. It was given to a sailor who was serving on the USS Nimitz.
A first hand account of what happened on the USS Nimitz by one of its sailors:
“A request was made to present the fireworks video Pyro Innovations made for the upcoming 4th of July holiday, which would be spent deployed at sea. Not only did the commanding officer say yes to the video, but he also sent it to the rest of the fleet! It turns out that it was sent to 4 other ships and 2 land bases operating in country in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
4th of July came to us with a no-fly day and a long list of activities for the crew to unwind and relax with. The day was amazing.
A HUGE video screen was brought up on deck and set up near the island of the ship. Once nightfall came, the crew was asked to come up on deck to see the “Dedication to our Heroes” presentation. The video started to play and the crew of over 5000 went wild! There was a mix of cheers of joy and tears of honor as the fireworks soundtrack played. Then, just as the finale started to play on the video, the uproar of .50 caliber shots rang out as the skipper added his own finale.
Over 5000 crew on this ship, as well as thousands of other men and women of the US Military, got a small taste of home that night. The response was overwhelming with many smiles and a feeling of joy.”
