The University of North Georgia's Dahlonega campus will host Thursday the premiere of a World War II documentary about a top-secret group of soldiers who have a connection to northeast Georgia.
The film, titled "They Volunteered for This: Merrill's Marauders," will have a public premiere at 7 p.m. on March 3. Those interested in attending the premiere must fill out the registration form by noon on March 1. The form can be found at this link.
Retired NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw narrates the film, which follows the journey of a commando unit of soldiers who fought in Burma under Gen. Frank D. Merrill in 1944. It was directed by Tim Gray, founder of the World War II Foundation. Merrill has a connection to northeast Georgia, as the U.S. Army's Camp Frank D. Merrill is located about 12 miles from UNG's Dahlonega campus. UNG's cadets often use the camp for training.
Keith Antonia, associate vice president for military programs at UNG, described Merrill's Marauders as a light-infantry, deep penetration force with a special mission. He said it is important to teach new generations about the Marauders.
"We're extremely proud to be able to do this," Antonia said. "There's somewhere around 240,000 or so World War II veterans left. There aren't many Merrill's Marauders left, I think there's only six or so ... a lot of them are passing away and we're sort of losing the personal history and a personal connection."
