It has been a long journey and we have come a long way since we began producing a documentary film on the history of the 65th Infantry Regiment some years ago.  Many of you have been with us from the very beginning.  Well, it’s finally going to happen!  In the past few months, we have been very busy preparing the project to complete a 1-hour English program.  In documentary filmmaking, you acquire a lot more research and information than you can actually use.  Then you must go through the difficult decision of sorting it all out and selecting the final content.  Our very long rough script needed to be restructured and polished, so we called Patricia Garcia-Rios, a script consultant, to help us with this immense task.  We are also pleased to introduce another important new member of our team, editor Miguel Picker, who will begin the editing process bringing us that much closer to completion.  To learn more about them, you can read their biographies below.  Once the film is finished, we will submit it for consideration for broadcasting.

      We could not have arrived at this point in the project without the help and financial support of many, many people.  Thank you all for believing in us and believing in the importance of getting the story of the 65th Infantry Regiment told so the general American public could learn about them.  The coast is not clear though.  And we continue to actively raise funds to also produce a Spanish version and a shorter educational version.  Now more than ever is when we need your help!  We are so close!  Help us get over this last hurdle by sending in your financial contribution now.  Remember income tax time is coming and your donation is tax-deductible.  We will continue to keep you informed of our progress and look forward to the day, very soon, when we can announce the completion of this film.  Again, thank you for your continued support.

      With the holidays approaching, this is also the perfect time to wish all of our 65th veterans, friends and supporters a wonderful holiday season!

Noemi Figueroa Soulet

The 65th Infantry Snowman.  Dr. John Palese, former Captain (Battalion Surgeon) of the 3rd Battalion sent this photo of his jeep driver, Quintana, (smoking a cigarette), Avilez, Tuto, Hernandez and Cartagena.  Does not recall who was who.

Patricia Garcia-Rios, a native of Spain, is a documentary filmmaker with thirteen years experience in national public television programs.  As a producer and co-producer at WGBH-Boston she has worked on the historical documentary series They Made America (PBS, November 2004), Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (PBS, January 2004) and Chicago: City of the Century (PBS, January 2003). Before that, she worked on The Rockefellers (PBS, 1999) and Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery (PBS, 1998).  She was recently nominated for a Writers Guild award. Her work has also been recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmy for Best Research) and the Organization of American Historians (Erik Barnouw award for outstanding historical program). Recently, Patricia served as writer and story consultant on the documentaries Buddy (2005, Cherry Arnold producer) and Damrell’s Fire (2005, Bruce Twickler producer).

Miguel Picker, a native of Chile, is a director, composer, and award winning editor.  Founder of ArtMedia, his projects have been showcased in dances, concerts, multimedia productions, films, documentaries and several PBS programs. His credits among others include Frontline, La Plaza, Greater Boston Arts as well as a 52 part educational series entitled Destinos broadcast nationally. He has composed the music for Español en Vivo, a bilingual children’s project published by Simon and Shuster and Lenguaje and Alfamigos published by Houghton Mifflin. Most recently he produced, directed and edited Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power and Beyond Good & Evil: Children, Media and Violent Times both distributed by Media Education Foundation.