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IN HISTORIC CEREMONY
Post office renamed after 1st postmaster, fallen heroes
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- Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council chair L.J. Castro hands a commemorative plaque to Bobby and Debbie Winkfield during the dedication of the Chalan Kanoa postal office to fallen heroes and Saipan’s first native postmaster Segundo T. Sablan yesterday. The Winkfields’ eldest daughter, Audrey, died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
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- Jean Sablan, Segundo T. Sablan’s eldest daughter, makes a speech during yesterday’s dedication ceremony at the Chalan Kanoa post office. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
The post office located in Chalan Kanoa was dedicated to and renamed after the late Segundo Tudela Sablan and the fallen heroes of the CNMI yesterday morning.
The post office, now renamed Segundo T. Sablan and CNMI Fallen Military Heroes Post Office, was dedicated to Sablan because he was Saipan’s first native postmaster and the person who established the first postal service on the island of Saipan.
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) said the reason the post office was rightfully dedicated to Segundo Sablan was for his extraordinary dedication to the island of Saipan and its community. The post office was also dedicated to fallen heroes from the war against Vietnam to the present and for the military scouts who died watching over the island of Saipan during World War II.
Delegate Sablan said the dedication of the post office yesterday was historic. The dedication of a federal building deals with name clearing and a lot of vetting. If a federal building is to be named after a person who has passed away, U.S. Congress would need to conduct an in-depth investigation on the life of the person that the building is to be named after.
Delegate Sablan was the person who initiated the naming of the Chalan Kanoa post office. He said the process was not easy and it took time. It took a lot of vetting before former President Barack Obama passed the approval of naming the public post office after Sablan.
According to Delegate Sablan, he worked closely with the family left by Segundo Sablan who were his two children, Jean Sablan and Ronald Sablan in digging deeper into the life of the first native postmaster.
There were about 50 people or more that attended the dedication of the post office. Some were family members of fallen heroes that were there in honor of their fallen loved ones. Most were family members of Sablan like his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Others who attended were government officials such as Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Lt. Gov. Victor B. Hocog, and members of the 20th Legislature
According to Torres, the post office was dedicated to the legacy of a man who endlessly provided good deeds to the island of Saipan.
Torres also acknowledged the fact that Segundo Sablan was the first Chamorro postmaster and kept that title for 10 years. “… He set a different standard, a standard that every postmaster should follow,” said Torres.
Jean, Segundo Sablan’s eldest daughter, was grateful for all who attended the ceremony and she said she knew that her father would have been just as grateful for all the appreciation of the hard work he accomplished on the island of Saipan.
