IN HONOR OF OUR FATHERS! WE ARE VOLCANO BROTHERS & SISTERS Pictured below next to the photo of this unit challenge coin is Our Fathers who gave us the inspiration to make this coin. This task had never been attempted since the inception of this infantry unit which started training in California in 1942. My Dad, Staff Sergeant Pablo S. Valdez served in both Regiments landing in New Guinea. Mr. Ted Visayas Dad, Private First Class Pedro B. Visaya and Ms. Nelia Escalona Hills Dad, Staff Sergeant Leocadio Escalona landed in Leyte in 1944. They were fortunate to bring their war brides home to the United States after the war. This unit challenge coin of the 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments and the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (Special), U.S. Army, 1942-1946 was a joint three (3) way project between the three (3) descendants mentioned above. As the producer, I had the idea to make this coin years ago. However, it proved to be too costly to mint here in the states. Utilizing the power of the internet (Facebook) and not even personally meeting to start this task, I asked Mr. Ted Visaya to be the grapic designer. We consulted Ms. Nelia Escalona Hill who worked for the U.S. State Department in South Korea at that time and she had it minted in Seoul. On April 9, 2011 I first introduced this coin at a Bataan Death March Commemoration event in San Francisco, CA. I presented it to several Death March survivors as a memorabilia item of that day. LAGING UNA - ALWAYS FIRST SULUNG - FORWARD BAHALA NA! - COME WHAT MAY! 72ND ANNIVERSARY (1942-2014)
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 08:52:21 +0000
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