Hawai'i man's wartime story to air in December

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

"A Silent Night," a 90-minute television movie based on former Honolulu baker Fritz Vincken's wartime experience about enemies sharing a peaceful Christmas Eve dinner in 1944, is scheduled to be shown Dec. 14 on the Hallmark Channel.

Shooting was completed Friday night in Montreal, executive producer Steve Rubin said.

The film, produced by Rubin's Los Angeles-based Fast Carrier Pictures in association with Mews Entertainment, stars Linda Hamilton as Elisabeth Vincken and 12-year-old Canadian Matthew Harbour as her son.

Fritz Vincken, former owner of Fritz's European Bakery in Kapalama, died Dec. 8 in Oregon, 16 days before the 57th anniversary of a Christmas experience he called "the night God came to dinner." Vincken was 12 years old when he and his mother offered food and shelter to three American and four German soldiers in the Ardennes Forest near the German-Belgian border.

The soldiers put down their weapons to share an evening of good will and peace. After a restful night, they went their separate ways but not before the Germans gave the Americans a compass and directions on how to get back to their lines. The screenplay, written by Roger Aylward, deals with that night in the forest.

After searching for the American and German soldiers unsuccessfully for years, Vincken realized his dream in January 1996 when he went to Maryland to meet Ralph Blank, who was one of the American soldiers at the Christmas Eve dinner. Blank, who served with the 121st Infantry, 8th Division, showed Vincken the compass the German soldiers had given him.

"As the world hears the drumbeats of war, it's nice to be able to present a peaceful, inspiring story," Rubin told The Advertiser in a telephone interview from Montreal.

The project is in post-production and will be delivered to Hallmark in November, Rubin said. "It's really a tribute to Fritz, and his family was very supportive."