First Showing of a Unique Documentary Movie Featuring Letters Back Home from New Mexico Soldiers at the Battlefront
Contact: Ray Seva, Public Information Officer (505) 362-6089; ray.seva@state.nm.usDate & Time: Sunday, November 9th (3pm); Airing on KNME-TV
The New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services (NMDVS) is extremely honored to announce the premiere showing of a unique documentary movie about New Mexico soldiers sent away to war—and their heartfelt efforts to remain in contact with loved ones back home in New Mexico. “Letters of Honor” will air Sunday November 9th on Albuquerque public television station KNME at 3pm. The hour-long documentary will tell these highly-personal personal stories in the soldiers’ own words, in letters to--and read on camera by--loved ones and family members. The letters are from soldiers serving as far back as World War One (two featured letters in the documentary) to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Footage of actual letters, old photographs, personal mementos, and stunning shots of the New Mexico landscape combine to make “Letters of Honor” a powerfully moving dual tale of the soldiers’ love and longing of family—and sense of duty to their country. “Letters of Honor” is directed by Tony Martinez, a 1975 graduate of Santa Fe High School. Martinez has won a prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and several national Emmy awards for his work on the highly-acclaimed “SportsCentury” series on ESPN television. He also produced and directed “Colors of Courage: Sons of New Mexico, Prisoners of Japan,” which took top honors at the 2003 Taos Film Festival. “I made ‘Letters of Honor’ as a labor of love not only for my father, but for all New Mexican soldiers who’ve fought in battle,” said Martinez. “My father served in the Philippines during World War II in the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment. He wrote some incredibly touching letters back home to my mom,” said Martinez. “Then, the entire unit was forced into the Bataan Death March. He was then held captive for 3-1/2 years. But I never knew all of this until shortly before his death a few years ago,” said Martinez. “It shocked me, but eventually made me realize there are probably lots of other New Mexicans who also wrote incredibly touching letters back home—and that these need to be heard.” Martinez also credits NMDVS Cabinet Secretary John M. Garcia for giving him the initial impetus to make “Letters of Honor.” Garcia, a Vietnam War veteran, first contacted Martinez about the idea in the summer of 2007. “New Mexico has such a rich and strong history of military service by its citizens,” said Secretary Garcia. “I felt we needed to act quickly to start preserving this heritage because every year we’re losing veterans, their survivors—and with this, access to these incredibly powerful letters and personal accounts of the war.” Garcia would like to offer “Letters of Honor” to be a part of the educational curriculum in New Mexico’s high schools and universities. “Our school children and university students need to know how their forefathers sacrificed in order to preserve today’s freedoms,” said Secretary Garcia. For more information, contact Ray Seva (NMDVS Public Information Officer) at (505) 362-6089. You can also contact Ray for a DVD containing clips from the documentary. Or you can see a preview of the documentary by logging onto www.silverhornentertainment.com. Click on the “extended/client area” logo in the upper-right hand corner. Then click on the “Letters of Honor” link for the video preview clip. The showing of “Letters of Honor” is also meant to coincide with Veterans Day (Tuesday, November 11th). This year marks the 90th anniversary of the signing of the “Armistice Day” treaty, which ended World War I. 17,251 New Mexicans served in WWI, 116 were killed in action (KIA) or died of their wounds. Nationally, 4.7 million served. 116,000 were KIA or died of their wounds.
