Campaign seeks to send WWII veteran to Guam, Iwo Jima for anniversaries of battles he took part in
(FOX40.COM) — A fundraising campaign has been launched to help send a World War II veteran from Northern California to visit the site of a battle he took part in during the war.
Cpl. Frank Wright, 98, spent four years in the Marine Corps and fought in major battles in Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Guam and Iwo Jima.
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He served as a member of the 4th Marine Raiders Special Forces during the war, according to the Stockton Marines Corps Club, organizers of the campaign.
“I’ve been asked why I would like to go back to Guam and relive some of the things that I participated in there,” Wright said in a video related to the campaign. “Some are happy and some are bad, but still I want to go back and see the people that I helped liberate.”
This upcoming July will mark 80 years since the Battle of Guam, a battle that lasted from July 21 to Aug. 10, 1944.
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Wright, an Arkansas native, said some people he “helped liberate at that time” were six months old and were living in concentration camps.
July 21 is celebrated as Guam Liberation Day and Guam remains a strategic U.S. territory, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Stockton Marine Corps Club said Wright has been invited as a guest for the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Guam and the club is trying to raise money for him to attend.
Wright is an active member of the club and will be 99 at the time of the celebration in Guam.
“When we get there in Guam, I will be the Grand Marshall to help celebrate the natives and the children that are going to be there waiting to see what their country went through at that particular time,” Wright said.
The club is also trying to take Wright to Iwo Jima in March 2025 for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, which he also took part in.
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The WWII veteran was previously honored in January at the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara where the home team, the San Francisco 49ers, hosted the Detroit Lions.
Wright was invited by the 49ers, which is his favorite team and was recognized on the field during the game.
“I had to sit down. I just couldn’t believe it,” Wright previously told FOX40.com. “Just to be there and see the game. I have never witnessed it… a 49er game before…except on the television. I thank the 49ers for inviting me.”
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