Latest news with #DeleonGuerrero
Toronto Star
15-07-2025
- Toronto Star
U.S. Coast Guard tall ship once part of Hitler's navy sails into Victoria for visit
VICTORIA - When Deleon Guerrero last visited Victoria in 2023, he arrived by car as part of a family road trip from Oregon. On Tuesday, he sailed into Victoria as a Cadet on board the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle as a Canadian navy vessel saluted America's only active square-rig tall ship with an arch of water streaming into the clear blue sky.
Vancouver Sun
15-07-2025
- General
- Vancouver Sun
U.S. Coast Guard tall ship once part of Hitler's navy sails into Victoria for visit
VICTORIA — When Deleon Guerrero last visited Victoria in 2023, he arrived by car as part of a family road trip from Oregon. On Tuesday, he sailed into Victoria as a Cadet on board the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle as a Canadian navy vessel saluted America's only active square-rig tall ship with an arch of water streaming into the clear blue sky. The ship, which is almost as long as an American football field and as tall as a 15-storey building, has been Guerrero's home since June 13, when he and 150 other Coast Guard Academy cadets boarded the vessel in Astoria, Ore. to join her 60 permanent crew members. Guerrero was among the cadets leading media through the ship for a tour before it docked on Tuesday following its overnight arrival from Seattle. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Seen from a distance, it conjures up images of a distant era, when ships travelled the oceans with no source of power other than the force of the wind. Painted in the distinctive white and red colours of the U.S. Coast Guard, its three masts reaching into the air. The sense of history also permeates when one squeezes through the officers mess, past photos of four former U.S. presidents — Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, then vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton — during their visits on board. Old photos of Kriegsmarine cadets and blue prints in German also point to the dark origins of the vessel. Built in Hamburg after the Nazis had come to power, it entered service in 1936 as a training vessel bearing the name of Horst Wessel, a former member of the Sturmabteilung, whom the Nazis mythologized following his death in 1930. The United States claimed the vessel as a war prize after the Second World War, sailing it from Germany across the Atlantic in 1946. Small elements of this past are still visible in a few spots, including the wooden steering wheel on the aft-deck as the brass ring lining the wheel still bears the vessel's original name. For Guerrero, Tuesday's tour was also a chance to share a part of his family history, as one of his aunts graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2004. That history, coupled with growing up on Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated U.S. territory in the South Pacific, all contributed to Guerrero's decision to join the Coast Guard, rather than the U.S. Navy. 'We are just guarding the coast, while the navy actually goes out,' he said. 'So, at least for my morals, I'd rather protect instead of fight. So, I don't want to go out and be very aggressive, and the coast guard does align with my morals and values in terms of defending and just saving those who are caught in a sticky situation.' Third-Class Cadet Olivia Spada from Huntington, N.Y., agreed. 'The Coast Guard is a very humanitarian mission,' she said. Like Guerrero, she also has a family connection. Her older brother is training at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to become an officer. Despite the Eagle's impressive size, quarters are tight for Spada and her fellow cadets, with more males than females. Spada shares a sleeping area with 12 other female cadets. The quarters were even closer when Rear-Admiral Charles Fosse sailed with the vessel as a cadet in the late 1980s, he said. Fosse now commands the Thirteenth Coast Guard District headquartered in Seattle, but still thinks fondly of his time on board the Eagle. 'It brings back a lot of great memories, and you make friendships and bonds that never break,' he said. 'We still talk about the time we had together.' Forging this sense of camaraderie is among the goals of the Eagle, said Commander Kristopher Ensley, who assumed command of the vessel three weeks ago, after having served as the ship's operations officer and navigator from 2012 to 2014. 'We are introducing them (cadets) to seamanship, saltwater navigation, engineering, and most importantly, we are teaching them how to assess risk and be team players, and those skills are invaluable for the rest of their time as cadets, but also as an officer.' Ensley did not sail on the Eagle when it last visited Victoria in 2008. Much has changed since then, and perhaps nothing more so than the relationship between Canada and the United States amid unprecedented trade tensions between the two countries and threats of annexation by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'Yeah, I can't speak to the politics,' Ensley said, when asked to comment on the tensions. 'I drive ships for a living. I am a Coast Guard military officer. What I can is that we have a close and integral working relationship with our Canadian partners.' Ensley added that the Canadian Coast Guard has welcomed his ship and crew with open arms. 'Beyond the cadet training, our secondary mission, is to foment America's partnerships, to help fertilize those partnerships, and the Canadian Coast Guard is a huge partner with the U.S. Coast Guard, and we are excited to be here to help build that partnership a little bit further down the road.' The ship is open to free public tours July 16 and July 17. Cadets will get shore leave during their time in Victoria and for Guerrero, it will be a chance to compare and contrast the city from his last visit. But for most crew members, including Ensley, it will be their first time in the B.C. capital. 'I hear the people are friendly,' Ensley said. 'I'm beyond excited to bring Eagle to Victoria.'
Winnipeg Free Press
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
U.S. Coast Guard tall ship once part of Hitler's navy sails into Victoria for visit
VICTORIA – When Deleon Guerrero last visited Victoria in 2023, he arrived by car as part of a family road trip from Oregon. On Tuesday, he sailed into Victoria as a Cadet on board the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle as a Canadian navy vessel saluted America's only active square-rig tall ship with an arch of water streaming into the clear blue sky. The ship, which is almost as long as an American football field and as tall as a 15-storey building, has been Guerrero's home since June 13, when he and 150 other Coast Guard Academy cadets boarded the vessel in Astoria, Ore. to join her 60 permanent crew members. Guerrero was among the cadets leading media through the ship for a tour before it docked on Tuesday following its overnight arrival from Seattle. Seen from a distance, it conjures up images of a distant era, when ships travelled the oceans with no source of power other than the force of the wind. Painted in the distinctive white and red colours of the U.S. Coast Guard, its three masts reaching into the air. The sense of history also permeates when one squeezes through the officers mess, past photos of four former U.S. presidents — Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, then vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton — during their visits on board. Old photos of Kriegsmarine cadets and blue prints in German also point to the dark origins of the vessel. Built in Hamburg after the Nazis had come to power, it entered service in 1936 as a training vessel bearing the name of Horst Wessel, a former member of the Sturmabteilung, whom the Nazis mythologized following his death in 1930. The United States claimed the vessel as a war prize after the Second World War, sailing it from Germany across the Atlantic in 1946. Small elements of this past are still visible in a few spots, including the wooden steering wheel on the aft-deck as the brass ring lining the wheel still bears the vessel's original name. For Guerrero, Tuesday's tour was also a chance to share a part of his family history, as one of his aunts graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2004. That history, coupled with growing up on Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated U.S. territory in the South Pacific, all contributed to Guerrero's decision to join the Coast Guard, rather than the U.S. Navy. 'We are just guarding the coast, while the navy actually goes out,' he said. 'So, at least for my morals, I'd rather protect instead of fight. So, I don't want to go out and be very aggressive, and the coast guard does align with my morals and values in terms of defending and just saving those who are caught in a sticky situation.' Third-Class Cadet Olivia Spada from Huntington, N.Y., agreed. 'The Coast Guard is a very humanitarian mission,' she said. Like Guerrero, she also has a family connection. Her older brother is training at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to become an officer. Despite the Eagle's impressive size, quarters are tight for Spada and her fellow cadets, with more males than females. Spada shares a sleeping area with 12 other female cadets. The quarters were even closer when Rear-Admiral Charles Fosse sailed with the vessel as a cadet in the late 1980s, he said. Fosse now commands the Thirteenth Coast Guard District headquartered in Seattle, but still thinks fondly of his time on board the Eagle. 'It brings back a lot of great memories, and you make friendships and bonds that never break,' he said. 'We still talk about the time we had together.' Forging this sense of camaraderie is among the goals of the Eagle, said Commander Kristopher Ensley, who assumed command of the vessel three weeks ago, after having served as the ship's operations officer and navigator from 2012 to 2014. 'We are introducing them (cadets) to seamanship, saltwater navigation, engineering, and most importantly, we are teaching them how to assess risk and be team players, and those skills are invaluable for the rest of their time as cadets, but also as an officer.' Ensley did not sail on the Eagle when it last visited Victoria in 2008. Much has changed since then, and perhaps nothing more so than the relationship between Canada and the United States amid unprecedented trade tensions between the two countries and threats of annexation by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'Yeah, I can't speak to the politics,' Ensley said, when asked to comment on the tensions. 'I drive ships for a living. I am a Coast Guard military officer. What I can is that we have a close and integral working relationship with our Canadian partners.' Ensley added that the Canadian Coast Guard has welcomed his ship and crew with open arms. 'Beyond the cadet training, our secondary mission, is to foment America's partnerships, to help fertilize those partnerships, and the Canadian Coast Guard is a huge partner with the U.S. Coast Guard, and we are excited to be here to help build that partnership a little bit further down the road.' The ship is open to free public tours July 16 and July 17. Cadets will get shore leave during their time in Victoria and for Guerrero, it will be a chance to compare and contrast the city from his last visit. But for most crew members, including Ensley, it will be their first time in the B.C. capital. 'I hear the people are friendly,' Ensley said. 'I'm beyond excited to bring Eagle to Victoria.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
RNZ News
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Lights out at CNMI's only theatre amid economic struggles
Hollywood Theaters Photo: Mark Rabago Movie goers in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands are lamenting the closure of the territoy's only cinema. Regal Cinemas in Saipan is set to roll its final credits at the end of this month. Local residents, who spoke to RNZ Pacific, expressed their disappointment at the prospect of no longer being able to watch movies on the big screen at the at Hollywood Theaters, the official of the multi-screen cinema complex. "As a filmmaker and a cinephile, this is a sad day," Galvin Deleon Guerrero, who himself is guilty of not frequenting the cinemas, said. "There is something truly unifying about the collective experience of enjoying a good story on the big screen with an audience. "I fear we lose that, and a bit of our humanity and empathy, when we resort to the isolated and atomised entertainment on our digital devices." Deleon Guerrero said his most memorable time at the movies would be about his favorite franchise: Star Wars . "I have watched every Star Wars film since Episode II: Attack of the Clones first screened at Hollywood Theaters and have screened many films of my own there. "It will be missed dearly and I hope that all is not lost and that perhaps a new owner will emerge, a 'New Hope', if you will." Another Star Wars fan, Edward Dela Cruz Jr, said, "My fondest memory was the duel between myself and grand master, Dr Deleon Guerrero who will be the first in line prime time for Star Wars movies starting with Force Awakens in 2015. "I defeated him the first year. After that never again. He proved he was the undisputed Star Wars faithful in the CNMI. "If we resume this duel looks like we must take it to Guam. It will be sad because movie theaters are one of the fondest memories when people grow up," he said. Meanwhile, another local resident Kerri Bauer said she and her family have seen lots of movies at the Regal Cinemas. "Two of our kids had their 'first ever' movie experience at that theatre," she said. "Our favorite memories were in the summer when it is too hot to do anything else and the theater had summer $1 kids' movies. "We got to wear sweatshirts, buy a big tub of buttery popcorn, and escape the heat for a few hours. We will definitely miss it." Simon Necesito said the closing of Regal Cinemas means less entertainment options for local residents. "I think it's a shame that the theatre is closing down. It really provided people here an alternative for recreation. And it is bad enough as it is because we lack options for that here on Saipan." Adam Walsh said Regal Cinemas is closing now after surviving all the calamities the CNMI went through. "It is terrible to see such a great business that has weathered super typhoons, a pandemic to then close its doors due to an economic downturn is so unfortunate. "My fondest memories are taking my kids and their friends to see new Disney or Pixar flicks, like Moana and Inside Out . I also enjoyed have a night out to see the John Wick series with my brother-in-lawand friend." Another local Tish Ferrer said it the closure was a big loss to her moviegoing family. "I feel so sad because me and my family have a lot of fun memories especially when my kids were growing up. "That is one of the places we go bonding as a family and enjoy popcorn and slushies. "My kids are sad because every time their friends have birthdays, they usually celebrate it at the movies. It will never be the same without Regal theaters." Regal Cinemas general manager Maybeline Cabrera confirmed on 21 April that Regal Cinemas Saipan will shuttering its doors. "We can only confirm that the last day of operations is Wednesday, 30 April," she via a social media message to RNZ Pacific. The CNMI economy has also suffered since the pandemic. According to the islands' Department of Labour, the Commonwealth lost 71 businesses between 2020 and 2024 - seven closures in 2020, five closures in 2021, 11 closures in 2022, 24 closures in 2023, and 24 closures so far in 2024, including legacy companies like Saipan Tribune and Hyatt Regency Saipan (eventually bought by MB Corp. and soon to become a Sheraton). Asiana Airlines also flew the coop last year. Labour secretary Leila Fleming said in a recent CNMI Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management general membership meeting that not all businesses wrapping up report their demise to the agency. Joining Regal Cinemas Saipan on the sidelines at month's end is DFS Saipan after almost 50 years doing business in the territory.
