Julia Bortz Pyatt
Director

Julia Pyatt grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania to a family that honored and appreciated veterans. She is a Daughter of the American Revolution from both her mother and father’s heritage.  Her father, Major Richard Bortz served as an Army Air Corps pilot with Gen. MacArthur in the South Pacific, WWII. His brother, Wayne Bortz, served as an Army Air Corps pilot in the European Theater, WWII.  Her mother, Frances Patterson Davidson is the daughter of West Point graduate, Gen. Howard C. Davidson, one of America’s first 100 pilots with the US Army Signal Corps “Early Bird” training program. In 1917, he served as a Reconnaissance pilot with General Pershing’s Mexican Expedition on the Curtiss Jenny bi-plane. During WWI, he taught American and French pilots to fly air combat at Tours, France. Before and during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he commanded Wheeler and Hickam fields and shortly thereafter became the Commanding General of the US Army Air Corps, 10th Air Force in the China-Burma-India(CBI) Theater of WWII. His wife, Mary Patterson of Dayton, OH is the sister of experimental aviator, Stuart Patterson whom Wright-Patterson Air Base is named after.

Julia has lived in Taos, NM since 1987.  Since 1988, she has worked as an Event, Public Relations & Media Director and radio journalist. Since 2004, she has initiated and organized New Mexico veteran events including the three day educational and celebratory event in Taos titled Honoring our Bataan Veterans.  The event was sponsored by the Town and County of Taos, the American Ex-Prisoners of War, New Mexico Chapter, NM National Guard and many more. It recognized the contributions of the New Mexico National Guard’s, 200th and 515th Coast Artillery, and the Philippines Scouts during and after Japan’s attack on the Philippines in WWII.  It brought New Mexico Bataan veterans and their families from across the United States to Taos and received national media attention.

For several years, Ms. Pyatt worked with the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services under Cabinet Secretary, John M. Garcia, to help promote their New Mexico Veterans Legacy Project.  This included her position as Associate Producer with EMMY and Peabody-award winning documentary film Director, Tony Martinez on NMDVS’s, Letters of Honor, a one hour television documentary showcasing New Mexico veterans from WWI to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Julia is currently working on her own broadcast quality documentary film, China-Burma-India-The Forgotten Theater of WWII. She has interviewed over 90 CBI veterans with EMMY and Peabody-award winning Director of Photography, Doug Crawford of Santa Fe.  The CBI Survivors Chapter of Las Cruces, NM are founding members of the project. New Mexico veterans are featured in the film as are WWII veterans from across the United States, China, Burma, India, England, Australia and beyond. New West Media Foundation headquartered in Santa Fe, NM which supports New Mexico independent filmmaking and NM economic development is their fiscal sponsor.  For more information go to www.newwestmedia.org