“Our commander asked us who had seen (the movie) ‘Captain America,’ and then began explaining that ‘The Avengers’ was being filmed in Cleveland. My hand was up before he had the chance to ask us who wanted to take part,” said Specialist Steven Sergeant of Casstown.
By the time the 931st battalion arrived in Cleveland, the film shooting location had been transformed.
Staff Sgt. Michael Landis of Dayton said, “I remember walking onto the set for the first time and seeing all of the destruction. They made that city block in Cleveland look just like Madison Avenue in New York City had been bombed. It was amazing.”
As trained soldiers, when it came time to engage the enemy, they didn’t hesitate, and fought supervillains and demigods with the same precision and dedication that they would employ on a real battlefield.
“As soldiers you are trained for the real thing,” said Specialist John Gourilis of Enon. “The director (Joss Whedon) would tell us what he wanted and would then tweak and change it depending on how it looked. He was very open to our recommendations and took our advice on a few things.”
Sergeant said, “Most of us are so accustomed to it that you could take a random group of soldiers who’d never even met and within five minutes you can have them moving with the cohesion that we display on the screen.”
Eventually the dust settled, and the heroes emerged victorious. The grateful citizens of “New York” were once again safe from the villainous scourge that threatened their fair city.
“We rocked downtown,” Sgt. 1st Class Robert S. Pope Jr. of Cincinnati said. “Afterwards, onlookers, extras and people on the set gave us a standing ovation, handshakes and took pictures. ... That was an awesome feeling.”
Of course, celebrity has its price. You can’t save an entire city and expect to go back to your normal life unnoticed, as Landis found out.
“My son was recently at a movie where ‘The Avengers’ trailer was played. When he saw me, he jumped up (in the middle of the theater, mind you) and yelled ‘That’s my dad! That’s my dad!’ I thought that was pretty neat.”
As thrilling an experience as it was being in the movie, Landis, Pope and Specialist Daniel Lee of Huber Heights got another surprise. They were also chosen to see the movie last weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
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