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Code Talkers to visit this month
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Posted on Oct 03 2005
The VFW Saipan Post will be hosting a reception for members of a project called “Back to the Battlefields,” which is in line with the Navajo Code Talker Project.
The project is funded by the New Mexico State Legislature and is being produced by the Santa Fe Media & Education Center in cooperation with the Navajo Code Talker Association.
It is a two-year project that will produce a variety of educational programs documenting the military and cultural stories of the Code Talkers before, during, and after World War II.
For the current phase of production, a group of six Code Talkers and family companions, with the production crew, will be traveling for approximately three weeks to Guam, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Tinian, and Peleliu.
A group of three Code Talkers, their companions, and production crew are scheduled to arrive on Saipan this Oct. 24.
VFW Saipan Post 3457 will host a gathering for them and the Code Talkers and their entourage has requested the attendance of school children and older Chamorros and Carolinians who have recollections of the battle and subsequent liberation of Saipan. The Code Talkers will make a presentation about their experiences during the war.
The VFW Post will invite a limited number of elementary, middle, and high school students. Invitations will be based upon a short—maximum of 250 words—student essay about Code Talkers and why they would like to meet them. The essays should be submitted to the local VFW Post’s home at the former Hotel California along Beach Road, Garapan no later than Oct. 17. Entries must include name, age, and contact information of the author.
Man’amko who have recollections of the events of the Liberation and would like to attend should also submit their names and contact information to the local VFW Post. Space is very limited, so those interested must submit their requests as soon as possible.
The local VFW Post’s headquarters and canteen will be closed to the public during the event.
“These men are all heroes. They saved countless lives, both military and civilian. Let us give them a hero’s welcome,” said VFW Saipan Post 3457 commander Barry Hirshbein. (PR)
