Tim Gray, Filmmaker, Founder, and President of The World War II Foundation Inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame
South Kingstown, Rhode Island-The World War II Foundation is pleased to announce that Filmmaker Tim Gray, President, and Founder of The World War II Foundation was inducted, along with eight other prominent Rhode Islanders, into the State of Rhode Island’s Heritage Hall of Fame on October 23rd, 2021 in ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI.
The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame was established in 1965.
According to their website, the Rhode Island Hall of Fame exists to honor and recognize, and to extol and publicize the achievements of those Rhode Island men and women who have, in the words of the HOF induction citation, “made significant contributions to their community, state, and/or nation.” It is also our mission to tell the story of Rhode Island History via interactive technology using the biographies of our inductees, noting their collective impact upon every phase of Rhode Island’s development.
Gray, a 1989 University of Rhode Island graduate, and 1985 graduate of South Kingstown High School, has written, produced, and directed 29 documentary films chronicling the personal stories of the World War II generation. The films range from 60 minutes to 90 minutes in length.
World War II Foundation films rank in the top-5 of most requested programs nationally by PBS and Public Television stations. Gray is a recipient of American Public Television’s National Programming Excellence Award, in addition to being awarded many regional Emmy Awards and other national film recognition for his work.
Some of the past, current, and future narrators of Gray’s documentaries include Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Dan Aykroyd, Gary Sinise, Tom Selleck, Jane Lynch, Matthew Broderick, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Greg Kinnear, Jim Nantz, Bill Belichick, Damian Lewis, Jon Seda, Jason Beghe, David McCallum, Liev Schreiber, Kyle Chandler, Tim McCarver, Dale Dye, Shane Taylor, and Peter Kessler.
On June 6, 2012, the World War II Foundation dedicated the Richard D. Winters Leadership Monument in Normandy, France, which has become one of the most visited monuments in Normandy. The 13′ statue recognizes the leadership of all American junior officers on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
The World War II Foundation also inaugurated the Normandie-World War II International Film and Media Festival in France six years ago, the only film festival in the world focused solely on World War II films. It attracts some of the top actors in the world including many from HBO’s Band of Brotherstelevision series.
In 2018, The World War II Foundation dedicated the World War II Global Education Center and Museum in Rhode Island. The center, with over 5,000 original WWII artifacts, a small theater, and a library seeks to educate future generations about WWII. The Center has been called “one of the best small World War II museums in the world.”
In 2019, The World War II Foundation established the Senator Bob Dole World War II Leadership Award, which is now given annually to a veteran of WWII who returned from the war and devoted their lives to public service and educating current and future generations on the subject of World War II.
The World War II Foundation films all its documentaries on location, including film trips to Guadalcanal, Corregidor, Bataan, Manila, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, the Russell Islands, Banika, Peleliu, Japan, Guam, and the Republic of Palau. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (12 times), Normandy, France (16 trips), Holland, England, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland (including the Auschwitz and Treblinka Concentration and Death Camp locations), the Czech Republic, Germany, and all over the United States, including the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, where Tim met the President and presented him with 2 of his films. The World War II Foundation currently has another eight films in various forms of production and post-production, including a filming trip to Iwo Jima in 2022.
“To be inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame is a great honor, especially when you look at the names who have entered the RI Heritage Hall of Fame over the past 55 years,” Gray said. ” I can think of many World War II veterans, especially some close friends of mine who landed in the first wave on D-Day at Omaha Beach, who deserve this honor much more than I do,” Gray continued. “That generation saved the world. There is no higher honor than that. I dedicate my induction to all those heroes.”
Tim Gray is a frequent contributor on national television on the subject of World War II.
He is also a visiting lecturer on film and World War II history at Davidson College in North Carolina and offers Zoom internships for Davidson students through the World War II Foundation.
Tim spent the first 15 years of his career as a television sports anchor in many markets across the country including Michigan, Washington State, Florida, and New York, finishing his broadcast journalism career at the NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island.