Previous Story
CK post office building named after fallen heroes
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The men and women of the Mariana Islands who lost their lives during the war on terrorism will be honored by having the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa named after them.
Legislation authored by Delegation Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) and honoring the servicemembers passed the U.S. Senate in the early hours of Saturday and will soon be transmitted to President Obama for signature into law.
Sablan’s legislation, H.R. 5889, also recognizes Segundo T. Sablan, Saipan’s first U.S. postmaster.
“Nothing we can ever say or do will return our loved ones, who died long before their time while serving their country,” Sablan said. “I can only hope that this act of recognition—naming the Chalan Kanoa Post Office in their honor—will give some measure of comfort and pride to those families who lost their sons and daughters during recent years.”
Upon enactment of the legislation, the CK facility will be officially named the Segundo T. Sablan and CNMI Fallen Military Heroes Post Office Building.
Segundo Sablan was himself a military hero, having assisted U.S. forces during World War II as they fought to take control of the island of Saipan from the Japanese. Sablan was also the first Chamorro to be appointed a U.S. postmaster in 1951.
“The people of the Northern Marianas have a proud history of military service that began long before we were officially part of the United States and continues to this day,” Sablan explained during the debate on his bill in the House of Representatives on Sept. 20.
