The University of at Austin School of Journalism No. 17 & 18 Fall 2014 New Collection: Political and Civic Engagement In January 1975, in Rosenberg, Texas, a young attorney Antonio, taught them the basics. named Paul Cedillo beseeched The issue of political Congresswoman empowerment and civic to consider the obstacles local engagement have been a part Mexican Americans encountered of Voces since the project at the poll. Jordan did—and launched in 1999: the story of became one of the three sponsors Latino civil rights is all about of the extension and expansion political empowerment and civic of the Voting Rights Act, which engagement. So it was that even would have a tremendous effect before Voces began the Civic across the Southwest, leading Engagement collection in the fall eventually to the elections of of 2013, there were already dozens Photo by Miguel Gutierrez, Jr. thousands of Latinos at the local Lupe Uresti shows her scrapbook to Felícita and of interviews that fi t the new and state levels. Modesto Arriaga, Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez looks on. collection. It’s an essential chapter The political awakening and empowerment of Rosenberg, in the story of U.S. Latinos. Texas, was repeated elsewhere. It was, in a sense, a Voces, working with two other on-campus centers, will convergence of factors that led to a sense of urgency and showcase the Voting Rights Act, Political Empowerment/ entitlement: the Black civil rights movement shined a Civic Engagement at a conference to be held at the spotlight on inequalities that made the plight of Latinos University of Texas campus in the fall of 2015, examining impossible to ignore any longer; federal anti-poverty the many paths to political empowerment, the factors that programs provided a new vantage point to those who contributed to it, and the many men and women who have worked within them, helping them understand what needed shaped it. Also at the conference, Voces will mount a photo to be done, and helping them develop the wherewithal exhibit and two short documentaries that examine stories to tackle problems; and new organizations, such as of Latino political empowerment in Texas. We hope you’ll the Southwest Voter Registration Project, based in San join us for what promises to be an unforgettable event. A Note from the Project Director Inside Fifteen years and over 940 interviews later, the Voces Oral History Project (formerly the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project) this issue keeps breaking new ground. We celebrate this 15-year milestone with this super-sized newsletter—we hope you enjoy! WWII Stories...... 2-31 Our success has been built on partnerships between the men and Voces as Resource...... 31 women we’ve interviewed, the students who have written stories from the What I Learned

Photo by Christian Murray interviews, and volunteers who have done everything from fact-checking to From Voces...... 4, 8, 39 coordinating trips to interviewing. Voces� Latest Book...... 16 Dr. Maggie Rivas- Over the years, themes have emerged within the interviews—and we Rodriguez have included them in our four published books. Upcoming Conference.. 22 Today, we are poised to more fully develop those themes, dedicating new collections to some Korea Stories...... 32 of them. In this next phase of our work, we are exploring political empowerment and civic Vietnam Stories...... 33-39 engagement. Other topics will follow. But keep checking back and look for a conference on the Civic Engagement University of Texas at Austin campus in the fall of 2015 on U.S. Latinos, the Voting Rights Act Stories...... 40-43 and Political Empowerment. The best is yet to come!

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 1 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Guillermo Ábrego Frank Aguerrebere Josephine Aguilera Tribute Interview by Vicki Torres Interview by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

Although he enjoyed testing B-24 Although he never talked much Refl ecting on her life, Josephine Trujillo Liberator planes before they fl ew to World about his wartime experiences, Frank Aguilera remarked on how her experience War II bombing missions, something Aguerrebere parachuted into the growing up was different from that of her was missing for 23-year-old top sergeant Normandy invasion and fought in two daughters because she never had the Guillermo Ábrego. the Battle of the Bulge, two of the chance to fi nish school. “I was in the Medical Corps and, when bloodiest and most decisive clashes of Aguilera dropped out after eighth grade he heard that I was in battles in Europe, World War II. to work as a housekeeper and baby sitter he volunteered for overseas duty,” said As an 82nd Airborne Division because she needed things her parents Ábrego’s brother, Salomón. paratrooper he jumped over couldn’t provide, such as shoes. In April 1945, Army Air Forces 1st Sgt. Normandy on June 6, 1944, then into “I couldn’t ask for anything more Ábrego got his wish and deployed to the Holland in Operation Market Garden because I wasn’t educated,” she said. Pacifi c Theater. Unfortunately, his fi rst in September 1944. He recalled the Aguilera, a native of Deming, New mission in June of that year would also be bitter cold of the monthlong Battle Mexico, was only 16 when she married his last. of the Bulge, where he fought the Manuel Aguilera, a 19-year-old carpenter According to “The Loneliest Flight,” Germans alongside British troops. also from Deming. an article by Sgt. Bob Speer, published Aguerrebere had been drafted into the Before Manuel left for World War II in Brief, the B-24 carrying Ábrego had U.S. Army at Fort MacArthur, in San with the Army, they married and had two four direct hits from Japanese forces. Pedro, , on Sept. 17, 1943. boys, both of whom served in the Navy The pilot, Lt. Floyd Beanblossom, He was never wounded. However, he during the . ordered his crew to abandon the plane lost friends in battle. During WWII, Manuel spent and parachute into the sea. Beanblossom He recalled getting lost behind some time stationed in Germany and counted the parachutes and realized enemy lines once, when he was Czechoslovakia. After he returned home, one man was missing. For unknown trying to return to his command the couple had their fi rst daughter, reasons, Ábrego didn’t jump. He decided post to start a furlough. He became Yolanda. to attempt to land. Ábrego fl ew the disoriented in crossing a river while In the 1950s, the Aguileras moved plane 600 miles back to Island, carrying enemy arms that he hoped about 100 miles away to Hurley, New in the Northern . As he to sell during his furlough. He lost Mexico, where Manuel and Josephine approached Tinian, he made the mistake the guns in the water and wandered worked at the Kennecott Chino Mine; of choosing the shortest runway. for a couple of days. He found there, he soldered copper while she did Landing, the plane lurched on its fl at other U.S. soldiers — not from janitorial work. After long years of hard right tire and veered. He attempted to his 505th Regiment, but from the work at the mine, Manuel and Josephine pull the plane up for another attempt, 508th Regiment and was eventually retired in 1975 and 1982, respectively. In but the bomber stalled and skidded off reunited with his unit. 1995, Manuel Aguilera died of prostate the runway into coral. Ábrego was taken When WWII ended, he was serving cancer. to a hospital but died six hours later. in France. He was discharged at Fort At the time of her interview, According to Speer’s article, some of his MacArthur, in San Pedro on Jan. 19, Aguilera said she enjoys visits with her crew thought he didn’t jump because he 1946. After his discharge, he went grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was afraid of water; others speculated on to work for Los Angeles County, though she longs for the years when that he simply could not abandon his fi rst as a soil inspector for the Flood Manuel was alive and her own children beloved plane. Control Division and then as a home were younger. Tribute based on an article by Sgt. Bob and building inspector until his “Those were the good old days,” Speer, with additional information provided retirement in 1990. Aguilera said. by Salomón Ábrego. (Mr. G. Ábrego died in Interviewed on Jan. 7, 2011, in Interviewed on July 15, 2004, in the line of duty on April 19, 1945.) Los Angeles. Hurley, New Mexico. Page 2 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Moses Alemán Raymond Alvarado José Aragón Interview by Lynn Maguire-Walker Interview by Taylor Peterson Interview by Joseph Padilla

Moses “Moe” Alemán was born and It was Nov. 26, 1943. Army Pvt. José Aragón, who eventually served spent much of his childhood in a wood- Raymond Alvarado was playing poker in three military branches, recalled framed house on Austin’s East Third with buddies on the British troop ship his journey through World War II as a Street. He recalled that the family home HMT Rohna when he was dealt “a harrowing experience in the Pacifi c. lacked many basic necessities, such as dead man’s hand: aces and queens.” Aragón was drafted into the U.S. indoor plumbing. Little did he know that within a few Army in 1944 but quickly volunteered When he was around 12 years old, his hours the reality of death would be all for the Navy. Before he before he older brothers Arthur and Samuel left for around him. He was assigned to the began training, he learned that the World War II after enlisting in the Navy. 853rd Engineering Aviation Battalion Marines needed volunteers. Two years later, his brother Daniel was and was among the 2,193 people “The sergeant told us, ‘Ok, you, inducted into the Merchant Marines. aboard the Rohna in a 24-ship you, and you—you'll be in the After their service, the three Alemán sailing along the coast of Algeria to Marines,’” Aragón said. “And that brothers were discharged and returned the . As many as 30 German was that: I went to the Marines.” aircraft launched glide bombs on the Aragón grew up in Weston, home safely in 1947 to resume their convoy. The Rohna was the only ship Colorado, the eldest of 18 brothers education, using the GI Bill. sunk, with 1,138 killed, including 1,015 and sisters. Alemán himself fi nished high school Americans. “We would go hunting and fi shing and attended the University of Texas “There was black smoke, fi re, blood to feed the family,” Aragón said. at Austin. Soon after graduating, he everywhere,” Alvarado recalled, “and In August 1944, Aragón was sent enlisted in the Air Force in 1952, during the men... were all torn into many body to Pearl Harbor and spent over a the . Because of his ability parts.” month getting supplies ready and to communicate in both English and Alvarado grabbed a life preserver preparing weapons. On Sept. 20, Spanish, Alemán was made a special and jumped into the water, along with Aragón went on a small crew ship to investigator during the Korean War, fellow American Sgt. Louie Snyder. the for two days; serving as liaison between the U.S. They fl oated on one of the ship’s loading his crew ship arrived at and military and the Panamanian police in docks for 12 hours. when U.S. Marines got there, Aragón an effort to protect the Panama Canal. Eventually they encountered another experienced fi rsthand what combat After the Korean War, he became American survivor, a Capt. Johnson, was like. an FBI agent. The bureau had begun who held a fl ashlight. The glow from Aragón spent his last few months actively recruiting Spanish speakers the light was enough for the crew of in Peleliu (an island within what is when Fidel Castro took over , the USS Pioneer to detect now ), as part of the 3rd Base Alemán said. In 1972, Alemán became a and rescue them. Alvarado said when Headquarters Battalion, Fleet Marine specialist on airport and airline security he spoke of the incident shortly after Force Pacifi c. when he joined the Federal Aviation the war, no one believed him. While the On June 6, 1946, Aragón was Administration’s Offi ce of Civil Aviation U.S. government in 1944 acknowledged discharged from the Marine Corps as Security. He retired from the FAA in the attack, it suppressed details about a corporal. He moved back to Weston 1995 and started doing consulting and it. In 1967, through the Freedom of to work at the same coal mine as his training on related topics. Information Act and after intense father. At the time of his interview, Alemán campaigning by the Rohna Survivors “I never did go to college. I wanted lived with Gloria Torres Alemán, his Memorial Association, the government to make money, and the mine was the wife of 57 years, in McKinney, Texas. formally provided details of the attack only place to make money,” he said. Interviewed on March 27, 2004, in and loss of life. Interviewed on Feb. 26, 2011, in Interviewed on Aug. 9, 2010, in Aurora, Colorado. McKinney, Texas. Denver.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 3 WHAT I LEARNED INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII FROM VOCES: Q&A with Carlos Elizario Morales

Juan Baggio Genovevo Bargas Interview by Adolfo Domínguez Interview by Raquel C. Garza

Though he was never stationed on the battle During the Battle of Okinawa, Genovevo front, Juan Baggio’s early life prepared him Bargas looked to the sky from the deck of to serve his country on the homefront during USS Comfort. A Japanese was World War II. headed straight for the ship. “My dad died three months before I was The kamikaze missed the Comfort’s born, and my mom died when I was 12 years smokestack but still managed to create a

Photo by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez old, so [my childhood] wasn’t too good,” said huge hole in the ship. Baggio, a Beeville, Texas, native who grew The attack on the vessel killed 28 Carlos worked at the Voces Oral up in hard economic times with his single Americans and wounded 48. The shock History Project for a year, from the mother, his older brother Bob and two half- left Bargas with chronic pain in his back, summer of 2013 to the summer of 2014. He helped shape and edit our siblings. Struggling after the 1936 death of a memento of war. very fi rst batch of Foto-Voz videos his mother, Maria Guadalupe Ramos, Juan He was a supply clerk with the 205th and then moved on to help in all Baggio and his brother Bob moved to Corpus Complement; in that areas of the project. Christi, Texas, where they did all kinds of capacity, he traveled throughout the work, from picking cotton to shining shoes. Pacifi c, picking up wounded soldiers for Q: What did you do at Voces? When the draft letter came from the Army their treatment on hospital ships. after the United States entered WWII, Baggio Born July 16, 1922, in Victoria, Texas, I started off working on the Foto- leapt at the opportunity for a better life. On Bargas was the second of Louis and Voz videos and then began taking Jan. 20, 1943, Baggio joined the Army and Martina Bargas’ fi ve children. His father on other roles, like helping plan traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, for basic made him leave school in eighth grade to and conduct the multiple individual training. After completing the training, he start working full time. In the lead-up to interview sessions (MIIS). was assigned to the 1159th Guard Squadron the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he worked Q: What did you learn during your Army Air Corps training base in Great with the Civilian Conservation Corps. time at Voces? Bend, Kansas. Baggio’s service to his country Bargas tried to enlist in the Marines wasn’t highlighted by fi erce battles; instead, right after President Franklin Roosevelt I learned how to work effectively he worked behind the scenes as a guard declared war on the Axis but was rejected in a team, and more about the patrolman, while his fellow countrymen at due to a broken arm. Then, on Nov. 13, importance (and process) of the base were equipped with the skills and 1942, he was drafted. preserving oral histories. training necessary to defeat the Axis powers His fi rst Army stint ended on December overseas. Upon his return to Beeville after the 1945, but he re-enlisted in 1948. He left Q: What are you doing now? war, Baggio took advantage of the GI Bill of the Army for good right before the start of Rights to fi nish the educational equivalent of the Korean War. Upon his homecoming, I'm doing contract video work for a company downtown and still looking the eighth grade, while simultaneously being Bargas settled in San Antonio, where his for a journalism-related job. self-employed doing construction, carpentry mother lived. There, he met Lupe Guevara, and painting. the woman who would become his wife. Q: Any other comments? When asked if he has any advice for the The couple married in 1953 and had three country’s youth, Baggio urged them to take children, all of whom Bargas encouraged I miss the project! My year there school seriously. to go to college. went by incredibly fast and it was “[Formal education] is something I wish I “If you have children, see that they get enjoyable every day. had. I never got a chance to get it. That would a good education so they can be good for be my main advice to them,” Baggio said. the community,” Bargas said. Visit our Vimeo page to see Carlos’ Interviewed on March 21, 2009, in Interviewed on Aug. 4, 2007, in San work on the Foto-Voz videos – vimeo. Beeville, Texas. Antonio. com/vocesoralhistoryproject

Page 4 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Antonio Becerra Adolfo Borrego José Burruel Interview by Martin do Nascimento Interview by Brian Luna Lucero Interview by Delia Esparza

Determination marked the life While fi ghting in Europe during During the Depression, José María of Antonio “Tony” Becerra — as a World War II, Adolfo Borrego said Burruel’s family was poor, but he was Mexican American in rural Texas in he felt no fear because he believed in determined to succeed. He went from the 1920s and ’30s, then as a German God’s protection. working in the fi elds and shooting wild prisoner of war during World War II, Laying a world map on a kitchen game for food as a boy to the highest and as a six-time political candidate. table, Borrego pointed out locations levels of academia. Becerra grew up Rosenberg, 34 and recalled his wartime experiences A turning point in his life was his miles southwest of . in Europe, from 1943 to 1945. Before service in the Navy, starting in 1943. He “In most areas around here, there’s the war, he had never considered went through training in and poor people on one side [of the traveling to Europe. in but was discharged railroad tracks] and the ones that Borrego, who was originally from after six months because of an injury. have a little money on the other side,” New Mexico, was a construction He worked in a machine shop, Becerra said. worker in Nevada before he was rebuilding machines for the war effort When he turned 18, Becerra was drafted into the U.S. Army. but decided he wanted to change his life drafted and assigned to the 103rd “I did not know anything about for the better. Regiment of Combat Engineers and the war,” he said. “I was not even “I said to myself, ‘Hey, I don’t want later to the 28th Infantry Division. expecting to go and serve.” to be doing this for the rest of my life, Becerra fought in some of the fi ercest He shipped out from New York and I sure as heck don’t want to go back battles in the European theater. to Glasgow, Scotland for combat and work in the fi elds like I did before,’” He was captured during the Battle duty, which ended after he was shot Burruel recalled. of the Bulge in the Ardennes but in the stomach. He remembered the Burruel earned his bachelor’s degree managed to escape just days before German troops moving backward from Arizona State University. He the war’s end. and the American, Canadian and taught and became principal of an After the war, Becerra chose to English troops moving forward, elementary school in Arizona, and then stay in Rosenberg and “try to see slowly and cautiously. Germany became the fi rst Mexican-American if I could help the people by what surrendered in 1945. teacher in Santa Monica, California. I knew.” He dedicated his life Borrego made it home after healing He returned to Arizona State for his to promoting minority rights in from his gunshot wound. doctorate, where he simultaneously Rosenberg. “I went and came back with God’s served as assistant dean of students and “My thing was to get people protection,” Borrego said. “He is an assistant professor of education. He together and it would jump over to my protector, as well as the Virgin was the fi rst university ombudsman at a voting, so that’s how I used to get Guadalupe.” time of political unrest. them,” Becerra said. Borrego said he would not change He also worked as director of the Becerra ran for public offi ce in his experiences, including his injury, Teacher Corps at California State Rosenberg fi ve times before being for anything. College, helping students fi nd jobs. elected on his sixth attempt in 1992. “Everything goes through God’s In 1978, Burruel married Frances Ann His niece, Lupe Uresti, was elected hand, and everything he does, he Barnard. After retiring, both devoted the town’s fi rst Hispanic mayor the does right, because he has the power their time to promoting education and same year. to do everything,” Borrego said. human rights. Interviewed on March 23, 2014, in Interviewed on June 11, 2007, in Interviewed on Jan. 4, 2003, in Richmond, Texas. San Juan, New Mexico. Phoenix.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 5 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Carmel Camacho Manuel Camarillo Antonio Campos Interview by Liliana Rodríguez Interview by Raquel C. Garza Interview by William Luna

The advice Carmel Camacho’s Manuel Camarillo returned from When a U.S. Army offi cer interrupted father gave him when he was a young the war a different man. Through training to ask, “Does anybody play the boy — to always be nice to others— his experiences in World War II, he trumpet?” Antonio Campos stepped up. served him well throughout his life. developed a sense of empathy, not That’s how Campos ended up in one Drafted at age 19, Camacho became only for enemy soldiers, but also for of nearly 500 Army bands that served part of a 17-man medical unit in the the civilians caught in the fi ght. during World War II. His band traveled U.S. Army one year later. He served One time, he kicked down the to places such as Italy and Egypt, playing from 1942 to 1946 during World War door of a German house looking for for the troops and Army dances. II, and later in the Korean War. enemy combatants only to fi nd three Born on March 26, 1910, Campos Camacho was born in Goliad children living in destitution. He gave was raised in Mexico and moved with County, Texas, on March 1, 1922. them his food rations and left. his parents to Devine, Texas, in 1923. The family lived on Powell Ranch, “When you’re there — 18, 19 years There, he worked in the fi elds with which belonged to a prominent family old — you just shoot at anybody. You his father until 1929, when the family that always took special care of don’t care,” he said. “I never thought headed north to Chicago. Camacho’s family. about it there. I didn’t have time to “I don’t know why [we left Texas],” “Ms. Gladys gave me and my think. Because that guy had a mother, Campos said. “Probably looking for brother ponies so we could get to he had a father, he had a sister, he had better work.” school …” he recalled. “I was a a brother and kids and all that.” They lived in the Halsted area of good student, had good grades and This realization stands in stark Chicago, near the University of Illinois, wanted to learn. But I had to work, contrast to his life before the where Campos went to work on the so I quit school when I was 14 or 15.” war. Prior to his military service, Ohio Railroad. Camacho was drafted shortly after Camarillo spent his youth in El Paso, In 1941, he was drafted and, after Japanese forces attacked the U.S. Texas, getting into fi ghts. His high being transferred to Oregon for Pacifi c fl eet in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, school yearbook describes him as the additional infantry training, he joined , and prompting American “bad humor man” of his generation. the Army band. entry into World War II. Once settled back in the U.S., “It was pretty good duty,” he said. “I don’t know why, but I got Camarillo committed himself to his He recalled when the band spent a picked up for [medical] technician’s work at the Zork Hardware store, month on a ship traveling to Italy. school,” he said, adding that he had where he had been employed before “I enjoyed it, but it was too long,” he to learn about taking care of wounded the war, so his fi ve children could said. “That was 30 days sitting on the soldiers. Camacho was assigned to attend college. He stayed with Zork ocean.” a 17-member medical unit. The job for 45 years. Camarillo wanted his After he was discharged from the took him around the world, from the children to lead different lives than military, he returned to Chicago Pacifi c to Europe. he and his nine siblings, who chose and worked at the stockyards until He returned to Texas after the war, work over higher education. He said retirement. but a few years later he served for a four of his fi ve children had received At the time of his interview, Campos year in South Korea before retiring bachelor’s degrees at the time of the lived at the Ashbury Court Retirement from the military. interview and were enjoying careers Home in Des Plaines, Illinois, with a few After the war, he became a welder, in fi elds like mechanical engineering mementos from his trumpet-playing days married and had six children. and administration. in World War II. Interviewed on July 20, 2010, in Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El Interviewed on Nov. 5, 2002, in Goliad, Texas. Paso, Texas. Des Plaines, Illinois.

Page 6 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Ramiro Castro Elías Chapa John Chávez Interview by Cheryl Brownstein-Santiago Interview by Denise Morales Interview by Samantha Salazar

After dropping out of high school, As a child watching war movies John Chávez grew up as an orphan, Ramiro Castro was working as an about battleships, Elías Chapa moving from house to house, and later electrician when he was drafted in developed a yearning in to enlist in survived the bloodiest Pacifi c battle of 1943 into the U.S. Army during the Navy. The Beeville, Texas, native World War II. After the war, he settled World War II. waited for his 18th birthday, and on in Tucson, Arizona, and raised a family. After basic training in Fort Ord, Feb. 5, 1943, enlisted in the Navy. “My life turned out good,” he said. California, Castro was assigned to the Chapa went to San Diego, California, When Chávez, who was born on 7th Infantry Division, 104th Engineer for 13 weeks of basic training and then June 7, 1927, was 6 years old, his Battalion, and was transferred to the Group III machinist mate school. mother died. He and his four siblings were sent to the Arizona Children’s Aleutian Islands, where he took part After graduating, he went aboard Home orphanage. His maternal in the Battle of Kiska. USS Rathburne, a World War grandmother later adopted them over His main duty there was to use a I-era that served as a concerns that they were mistreated in fl amethrower and grenades to force reconnaissance vessel in the Pacifi c the orphanage. Japanese snipers out of hiding places. Theater. The ship sailed from island “That time was hard. It was diffi cult “Well, I knew I had to do it. In the to island in the Northwest and South for my grandmother because, after we war it was either going to be them or P a c i fi c . got out of the orphanage, we never me. I'd rather it be them,” Castro said. The last mission of the Rathburne spoke anything but English,” Chávez Castro later was sent to the was to the as part of a main said. “My grandmother didn’t know Philippines, serving most of his time task force of about 800 ships, Chapa English, so it was pretty diffi cult for at , where he got to meet Gen. said. Its mission was to break Japanese her to communicate with us.” Douglas MacArthur. defenses in the Central Philippines and Chávez enlisted in the Navy on Castro said MacArthur did not talk ultimately provide access to Tokyo. June 9, 1944, and was assigned to the much, but he was a good listener and After approaching the islands behind troop transport ship USS Okanogan, was extremely well-liked. a typhoon, the American ships were which took part in the April-June While Castro was away at war, off the coast of the Philippines when 1945 Battle of Okinawa. The battle his father died and he was unable confronted by Japanese kamikaze left more casualties than any other in to make it for the funeral because a planes that fi lled the sky. the Pacifi c Theater. captain would not allow him to travel During battle, Chapa operated a 20 “Our ship was full of the wounded. home. mm gun as a sight-setter, along with We would give them our bunks. We tried to take as many as we could. Castro was discharged from the two other men, the weapon’s gunner Then we had to sleep on the deck Army on Oct. 12, 1945, at the rank and loader. He recalled that his team outside,” he said. “It wasn’t that bad.” of private fi rst class. shot down four Japanese planes in a After the war Chávez married When asked about the United single day. Reynalda Félix, used the GI Bill to States’ involvement in confl icts in After his discharge in February 1946, study to be an electrician apprentice, Iraq and Afghanistan, Castro said Chapa worked as a mechanic at the and later joined the International he did not like to see people go off to garage of his older brother Nick and Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. war but that he had much respect for years later acquired his own restaurant The couple raised two children and the troops. and gas station in Beeville, where he at the time of the interview had been “Somebody has to go,” he said. lived with his wife Teresa O. Chapa. married 64 years. Interviewed on Jan. 7, 2011, in Interviewed on March 21, 2009, in Interviewed on Aug. 17, 2010, in Los Angeles. Beeville, Texas. Tucson, Arizona.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 7 WHAT I LEARNED INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII FROM VOCES: Q&A with Vinicio Sinta

Arnold Córdova Lita De Los Santos Interview by Cheryl Brownstein-Santiago Interview by Raquel C. Garza He was only a junior in high Like millions of American women, school, working a part-time job Lita De Los Santos spent 1942–45 on Sept. 10, 1941, when Arnold writing letters, worrying, and Córdova received his draft notice. praying. She prayed that her eight He was an Army tech sergeant brothers would return from some of when he was sent from New York the bloodiest battlefi elds in the world. to Le Havre, France, with the 65th De Los Santos and her mother, Infantry Division on Jan. 10, 1945. Angelita Guajardo, who at the time As a surgical technician, Córdova lived in Eastland County, Texas, relied on the family radio and weekly

Photo by Rebecca McEntee spent most of his time in hospital buildings rather than battlefi eld newsreels to keep up with the latest Vinicio, a native of Monterrey, tents. updates from the war; occasional Mexico, spent the summer of 2014 mail from their loved ones kept their helping Voces get organized and He recalled that he looked after many seriously wounded soldiers. hope alive. prepare for our biggest newsletter to One day in the summer of 1944, “There was a second lieutenant date. He continues to volunteer with the women received a telegram saying the project on a regular basis. that stepped on a foot mine. It was that Charlie, one of the De Los Santos terrible,” Córdova said. “It had brothers, had been killed on Omaha Q: What did you do at Voces? busted his whole foot.” Beach in the invasion of Normandy. While in Europe, Córdova also I collaborated with Voces in Other telegrams came, each putting together the 15th anniversary traveled to Germany and Austria. one shedding light on a brother’s newsletter in a variety of capacities: Leaving Europe on Dec. 13, 1945, whereabouts: In Europe, Ernie was writing and editing stories, updating Córdova arrived back on U.S. soil on a prisoner of war in Germany, and the project's database, contacting New Year’s Day and was discharged Cano and Ray were wounded; in the subjects for corrections, etc. 10 days later at the rank of tech Pacifi c, Jesse and Pete faced injury sergeant, as a technician 4th grade. and sickness, respectively. For Nick Q: What did you learn during your During his service, Córdova received time at Voces? and Al, no news was good news. six medals. After the war, the seven surviving My involvement in this year's extra- After returning to Los Angeles, De Los Santos brothers came back to large newsletter allowed me to see fi rst- Córdova earned his high school Texas. hand the hard work that many different diploma while working part time at a “Seven boys (returned) home as people, staff and volunteers, put into gas station. seven men,” De Los Santos said. the Voces project. On the way, I learned He married his pre-war fi ancée, “Some were not wounded, but they about oral history as a journalistic and Esperanza, on May 19, 1946. came home with horrible, horrible social science technique and got to memories.” know the story of 120 great people who He said he is not sure how he have striven to make a difference for feels about military service and war, In 1945, an 18-year-old Lita De their country and community. although he is happy that the draft Los Santos married Alejandro Santos has been discontinued. of Laredo, Texas, another returning Q: What are you doing now? “You shouldn’t go to war, but you veteran. The couple had six children, have to go serve your country,” he one of whom served in the Navy I'm starting my second year in the said. during the Vietnam War. doctoral program at UT's School of Interviewed on Feb. 20, 2008, in Journalism. Interviewed on Jan. 7, 2011, in Los Angeles. Austin, Texas.

Page 8 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Luis Díaz de León Jerónimo Domínguez Ysaac Elizalde Interview by Raquel C. Garza Interview by Lynn Maguire-Walker Interview by David Silva “War is horrible, but it helps you grow,” As he picked crops in Texas during During World War II, Ysaac Elizalde Navy veteran Luis Díaz de León said his youth, Jerónimo Domínguez never helped provide U.S. troops with food they of witnessing the brutality of confl ict imagined that one day he’d be taking needed to give them the energy for the fi rsthand. Díaz de León spent 19 months shelter in a German foxhole while his rigors of combat. Little did he know he in the Pacifi c Theater during World comrades died around him. would spend the rest of his working years War II, serving aboard USS Conner, a Domínguez, who was born in delivering food to people in South Texas. destroyer. He recalls kamikaze attacks, March 1913 in Medina County, Elizalde at age 9 already was working the death of his captain and promotion to Texas, only had an eighth-grade full-time in the agriculture fi elds near the rank of quartermaster third class, an missionary school education and his native home in Bee County, Texas. If accomplishment of which he is very proud. history repeated itself, as with so many worked as a farm worker before the During Díaz de León’s service, the young men in the area at that time, he war. After he enlisted, his unit landed Conner bombarded Island; screened was destined to work there for the rest of on an Allied-secured Normandy for air strikes on Kavieng, New Ireland, his life. But the war broke out and he was Papua ; and made assaults on beach. Then, on the way to the front, drafted into the Army at age 19. the Marshall Islands. He also saw battle German forces spotted Domínguez’s He was sent to Fresno, California, on Palau, Yap, and Woleai in the unit and unleashed an artillery where he received the fi rst formal Caroline Islands. In February 1945, the barrage. education in his life. For three weeks, Conner was part of the battle group at Iwo Domínguez dove into a nearby he went to classes as part of his basic Jima, one of the bloodiest and best-known foxhole. When he emerged, covered training. of the WWII battlegrounds. in sand, he was unprepared for the After that, he was transferred to Upon his return to the U.S. in 1946, he carnage around him. His entire unit Oregon as a cook’s assistant. He peeled fi nished his high school studies and later had been wiped out. potatoes and dished out food in lines. earned degrees in sociology and psychology “They didn’t have a chance … For the last year of his military career, at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. In Elizalde was stationed at the Army 1954, he received a master’s degree in social they were all dead, blown away,” Air Corps’ 306th Training Group at work at Our Lady of the Lake University Domínguez said, recalling the scene Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita in San Antonio. Díaz de León, his wife with great sadness. Falls, Texas. There, he assisted the cooks. Josefi na Villarreal, and their children He was reassigned to the 2nd eventually moved to Brownsville, Texas, Armored Division and later served in Elizalde never saw combat and says he where he got a job as senior child welfare a tank. feels fortunate for that. Elizalde was worker. While he was rolling through an honorably discharged Nov. 5, 1943, at the rank of private. The fi rst thing he did Then the family moved to nearby open tract of land, a German fi ghter when he got home was ask his girlfriend Kingsville, where Díaz de León witnessed plane attacked his tank. A slug Elumina Pérez Delgado to marry him. the poverty and discrimination that shattered a bone in his right arm. inspired him to become an activist. Within 18 months of his homecoming, “I could not move; I was frozen in he got a job delivering milk in Corpus The Navy veteran became involved in pain,” said Domínguez. the American Indian Movement, serving as Christi. He would spend more than 40 He recovered in England during a Laredo’s fi rst Community Action Agency years working as the iconic milkman, director in 1965 and working with the year of surgeries and convalescence. now gone from America’s scene. Colorado Migrant Council. After he returned to the United At the time of his interview, the He also became active in the Chicano States, Domínguez married his Elizaldes had been married 65 years. Movement, running for the U.S. Senate in sweetheart and moved his family to They have three children: sons Iszac and 1978 on the La Raza Unida ticket. Elgin, Texas. Eloy and daughter Nelda. Interviewed on April 5, 2008, in Round Interviewed on Jan. 29, 2006, in Interviewed on March 27, 2009, in Rock, Texas. Elgin, Texas. Beeville, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 9 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Rudy Elizondo Raúl Escobar Mary Espíritu Interview by Markel Rojas Interview by Raquel C. Garza Interview by Stephen Casanova

From his time in the Boy Scouts to “I used to get so many fl ashbacks,” said In more than 40 years of federal and his service in the , 82-year-old Raúl M. Escobar, breaking community service, Mary Espíritu, Rudy Elizondo proved that one could the silence after he recounted the story of a received more than 45 awards and honors. support the war effort without going fellow Marine who died from a shot to the “I always wanted better for myself than head. In 1945, Escobar, a machine gunner just being a mother and a housewife,” overseas. and fl amethrower with the Third Marine Espíritu said. “I wanted a good job, A Tenderfoot Boy Scout in what Division, set off to the island of , to move ahead and improve myself, was then Troop 114 of Floresville, south of the Japanese archipelago. U.S. forces regardless of whether I was a Latina.” Texas, he and fellow Scouts walked expected the battle to be brief, hoping to take The United States’ involvement in World around town, collecting newspapers the island from the Japanese in a matter of War II created a need for workers at San and scrap metal in pull wagons. days. Antonio’s Kelly Field, where Espíritu But the well-fortifi ed enemy “fought like was hired as a civilian federal employee. Elizondo also aided in conducting hell,” Escobar recalled. She was 18 when she went to work as air-raid practices for the residents of For him, though, devastation was already a stenographer at the base and began Floresville and grew a victory garden a familiar sight. Before setting off for Iwo working her way up the ladder, taking in a lot next to his home. Jima, his division had landed on , advantage of every opportunity, from When he wasn’t in school, he was which U.S. Marines spent weeks trying to training to overtime. She said that she among a group of students who reclaim from the Japanese. rose to be an F-106 inventory manager helped local farmers harvest peanuts, “The hardest part was seeing some of for the C-5A transports, which were then your friends get killed,” Escobar said. the base’s biggest planes. She also began cucumbers and other crops. Born Oct. 23, 1925, in Ben Bolt, Texas, to shift her personal focus toward the “The war was still on, and since Escobar was the oldest of eight children. In empowerment of Latinas. She formed all the men were away in the service, 1942, while working as a dishwasher, he women’s clubs, such as Federally Employed they would bus us into surrounding enlisted in the Marines without his mother’s Women, was president of the San Antonio farms to bring in the crops,” permission. He was the fi rst in his immediate chapter of IMAGE, a national rights group Elizondo said. family to enlist in the armed services. originally started to help Latino federal Elizondo and his family moved During the war, he received the nickname employees, and chaired the San Antonio “Crazy Escobar” for his reckless behavior on board of SER Jobs for Progress. to San Antonio while he was still in the battlefi eld, which he attributed to a letter She worked to help promote Hispanics high school. he received from his wife. She had written to at Kelly, earning the nickname la madrina He joined the Junior ROTC and, at say she was divorcing him because she didn’t de Kelly (the Kelly godmother). She also age 16, the Texas State Guard 36th think he would survive the war. led efforts to increase representation of Infantry Division. After that, “I didn’t fear danger,” Escobar Latinas in Federally Employed Women at He was a member of the Guard said. the national level. on V-J Day, patrolling downtown to He looks back with fondness on happier “I wanted to show everyone that experiences from the era, like getting Mexican-American women are out there prevent rioting. together with other Marines to make their and working,” Espíritu said. Although Elizondo never fought own alcohol by mixing raisins, apples and “There are so many things that we can in a war, he served 11 years in apricots, and hiding the concoction in the do to improve the lives of those around us, the Naval Reserve before being ground to keep it out of sight of offi cers. and I really believe that there is room at discharged in 1959. They would remove the mixture, called the top for us all!” Espíritu said. He worked in accounting at Raisin Jack, at night and enjoy one another’s According to a San Antonio Express- Lackland Air Force Base in San company. News obituary, Espíritu passed away on “We had our bad days and our good Jan. 15, 2011. La madrina de Kelly was Antonio until his retirement in 1990. days,” Escobar said. 88. Interviewed on Aug. 4, 2007, in Interviewed on Nov. 21, 2007, in Austin, Interviewed on Oct. 14, 2008, in San San Antonio. Texas. Antonio.

Page 10 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Antonio Esquivel Estela Fernández John Fernández Interview by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez Interview by Delia Esparza Interview by Robert Rivas

For Antonio “Tony” Esquivel, any Estela Bárcena Fernández was a young A simple announcement about aviation romanticized remembrances of youth woman in El Paso, Texas, when World cadet training while at an Army camp in are tempered with memories of pre-war War II began, so the battlegrounds Washburn Island, Massachusetts, piqued segregation and his service in World seemed distant. While her husband, John, John Fernández’s interest. He applied, War II. and three of her brothers served overseas, never expecting to make it. Esquivel was born April 27, 1925, she learned how to care for her family, But he was accepted and assigned to the in Colton, California, where his father hold a job and value education and Army Air Corps. worked for a railroad. His mother died family. Fernández, a native of El Paso, when he was 6 months old, so he was She married John Fernández on Nov. Texas, was drafted into the Army after 26, 1944. He already had been drafted graduating from Bowie High School. reared mostly by Ester, his older sister. into the Army and was stationed at Fort He was then assigned to Fort Devens in At 17, Esquivel quit high school to Devens, Massachusetts, as an amphibious Massachusetts. work full time. Soon afterward, he engineer. Soon after, John transferred After he was accepted into the aviation married Rosy Romo in Colton. The to the Air Corps and was sent off to the program, he trained for six months at couple moved to a house in nearby P a c i fi c . Lafayette College, in Pennsylvania. At Riverside, California, and had a son. Back in El Paso, Fernández recalled advanced fl ight school, he was one of 50 Esquivel was working harvesting dealing with the wartime rationing of cadets chosen to fl y B-25 bombers on a crops when he learned of the attack products such as gasoline, sugar and trial basis. on Pearl Harbor. Eventually, he was meat, although buying these items in “At that time, fl ying those planes drafted by the Army and sent to Camp Juarez, on the other side of the U.S.- had never been heard of. We were the Roberts in Salinas, California. Mexico border, was relatively easy. nucleus, the example of future training,” After training, he was sent with the In August of 1946, John was Fernández said. 25th Infantry Division to Osaka, Japan, discharged and came home. Two and Fernández went on to fl y B-25 bombers and later to Chiryu, near Nagoya City. a half years later, Fernández gave birth with the 345th Bomb Group of the The last stop in his tour of duty was to the second of their six children. Fifth Air Force. He fl ew reconnaissance Tokyo before he returned home in 1946. Fernández was born Nov. 27, 1923, in missions and bombed and strafed While Esquivel was overseas, his sister El Paso, where her parents, José Bárcena Japanese airfi elds and in the Ester died of a heart attack. His older and María Gutierrez Bárcena, had moved Philippines, Okinawa and New Guinea. brother Michael died two weeks later. in 1903 from Puebla, Mexico. Her father At the end of the war, Fernández Though he witnessed death every day owned a shoe shop and a grocery store. was discharged. He returned home to Fortunately for Estela Fernández, her his wife, Estela Bárcena Fernández, in in combat, these personal losses were husband and three brothers returned August of 1946. devastating. safely from overseas, and the family was Fernández and Estela raised six Back home, Esquivel used his GI Bill able to stay united. children in El Paso, where he worked benefi ts to study carpentry. He later Despite her family’s good fortune, she’s for 21 years for the U.S. Postal Service, worked for Woodson Construction Co. humbled by the signifi cant part Latinos and then for U.S. Customs on the Texas- for 18 years, eventually being promoted played in the war. Mexico border. He also was a part-time to general superintendent. “What other contribution could we give loan offi cer at the Government Employees Meanwhile, his family continued to to this country but the lives of those poor Credit Union. grow with the birth of a girl, Marian. In young men?” said Fernández. “Technically, I never had a day off in 1970, the Esquivels adopted two girls, Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El 35 years,” he said. Theresa and Angela. Paso, Texas. Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El Interviewed on July 26, 2001. Paso, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 11 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Alfred Flores Bertha Flores Olga Flores Interview by Jenny Achilles Interview by Raquel C. Garza Interview by Edna Amador

When Alfred Flores was 16, his For Guadalupe “Bertha” Flores, When her husband Ramón set off to brother Robert was lost in a guided World War II had little to do with serve in the Philippines during World War missile attack that sank his ship, the fi ghting or death; instead, it was II, Olga Delgado Flores was pregnant Rohna, three miles off the coast of Italy. an exciting and valuable learning back home in El Paso, Texas. The sinking in the Mediterranean on experience. Not knowing his condition or location Nov. 26, 1943, killed more than 1,000 “What little experience I got, I was diffi cult, but not being aware of U.S. troops in one of the worst losses of thought it was worth it,” she said, when or if he would come home and see U.S. maritime history. It was shrouded “both to my country and especially to his infant son was especially hard. in military secrecy. Flores wanted to myself.” “It was a very sad period, even if I had my child . You’re happy when you have help fi nd his brother. When he turned During WWII, many women like your children and enjoy them, but still 17, Flores enlisted and joined the 17th Flores enlisted in the Navy through their father’s not there, so it was kind of Airborne Division. He was part of a Women Accepted for Volunteer lonely and sad, looking forward to him massive air drop in March 1945, along Emergency Service. Flores served the Rhine River. coming back,” she said. “You know, I in WAVES as a teletype operator, was never pessimistic about not seeing Flores recalled landing in front of a transcribing messages from around the small house near three German tanks as him again.” U.S. at the Naval Air Station in Corpus bullets hit the ground around him. He To take her mind off the war, Flores Christi, Texas. saw a sniper and took aim. volunteered at a local clinic and helped Born Guadalupe Berta Rodríguez on “He was coming out of the house in teachers grade papers. She also was a March 16, 1921, the San Antonio native front of us … He must have aimed at me heavy listener of Spanish-language radio was the youngest of nine children. In at the same time, because his bullet hit and an avid reader. 1940 she became the second in her When fi rst married, Ramón and Olga me in the hand, right fi nger, and into my could not fi nd an apartment, so they mouth and into my chest. That was the family to fi nish high school. moved in with Ramón’s parents, Leonila end of my war,” Flores said. Flores’ father, Enrique Rodríguez, was Contreras Flores and Jesús Flores. Flores He was able to make his way to a small a strait-laced laborer who didn’t believe continued to live with her in-laws for shack, where he found two medics and women should work outside of the two months after Ramón deployed in a chaplain. While he was in a hospital home, so when Flores left San Antonio for training in 1944, only her mother, 1944. When her mother, María Urquizo, in Bristol, England, his brother George became ill, Flores moved a couple of visited him. Flores put on his uniform, Rosa Espinoza, went to the train station to say goodbye. After the war, Flores blocks to be with her. One day in 1946, and the two took a picture together. while cleaning the house, Flores sensed returned to her hometown, where she Flores was discharged on Jan. 11, something behind her. She turned and married Filbert Díaz Flores. He too was 1946. Among the commendations he there was Ramón, looking at her through received were the Purple Heart, a Bronze in the Navy during WWII; he served the window. Star and a Combat Infantryman’s badge. with the Seabees in the Pacifi c Theater. She was shocked because he had not After the war, Flores married and After marrying, Flores focused on told her when he was coming back. had three children. He worked at San raising her two kids, serving as a Girl “It was such a wonderful day,” she said. Antonio’s Kelly Air Force Base, which Scout and Cub Scout leader, among The couple had two sons and four closed in 2001. He spent 20 years as a other activities. At the time of the daughters: Ramón, Elena, Ruth, Elvia, wing/fuselage repairman, then the next interview, she was still volunteering at Sandra and David. Ramón and Elena 15 years investigating plane crashes. St. Ann Catholic Church. served in the Navy. Interviewed on Aug. 4, 2007, in Interviewed on Aug. 4, 2007, in San Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El San Antonio. Antonio. Paso, Texas.

Page 12 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Hortense Gallardo Arnold García Willie García Interview by Joanne Rao Sanchez Tribute Interview by Katie Wood

Raised in Depression-era San Antonio, Arnold Feliu García was born in San Like many World War II veterans, Hortense Gallardo recalled that her father, Germán, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 19, 1911, Willie García married his bride just Bartolo Mota, a custodian in a hotel, to Andrés García López and Celia Feliu before shipping out to prepare for supported his family and also helped Servera. In his youth, he met and fell in combat overseas. strangers in need. Guided by her family’s love with Tomasita Ribas, of Ponce. They In 1944, García, a Marfa, Texas, love and support, Gallardo excelled in her soon parted, however, as he, his mother native, met Elizabeth Ruiz while studies. After graduating from high school and three brothers — Benjamin, Gilbert stationed at Camp Swift, in Bastrop in 1939, she studied nursing at Robert B. and Isaac — followed their father’s work County, Texas. Two days before he was Green Memorial Hospital. to Cuba, Florida and fi nally New York. to be sent overseas for military duty, he In New York, García’s father passed As Gallardo advanced through her asked her to marry him. away in the late 1920s. Unbeknownst to program, the U.S. entered World War After the wedding, García returned to the Garcías, the Ribas family, including II. She then joined the Army, working at Camp Swift and soon was on his way to Brooke General Hospital (now Brooke Tomasita, had also moved to New York. After Pearl Harbor, all four García New York, where he would stay until he Army Medical Center.) She worked brothers enlisted in the Army. Arnold was shipped overseas. He was stationed alongside Army doctors, wrapping entered active duty on June 12, 1943, in North Africa and Italy before he bandages and administering medication. as an electrician. García served with returning to Austin. Her sense of responsibility was tested in the 141st Ordnance Base Automotive The war took its toll on García: only 1943, when German prisoners of war held Maintenance Battalion, fi rst in Jackson, six months after he was sent overseas, in Texas were taken to Brooke for medical Mississippi, and then in New Guinea. he returned from the war “100 percent attention. After the war’s end, Staff Sgt. García was disabled,” suffering from post-traumatic “They called me schwester, which is transported back to the United States stress syndrome, which at that time was sister [in German]. And they called me aboard USS General John Pope and called “shell shock.” ‘the proud one.’ I had to be stern because discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on When García was discharged, doctors I was scared to death of them,” Gallardo Feb. 1, 1946. advised his wife not to live by herself recalled. He and Tomasita moved to Miami, with him. They feared he could become In 1945, Gallardo was sent to the station following the rest of the family. García violent, so the two lived with her parents hospital at Laredo Flexible Gunnery became a father on Dec. 5, 1947, with for fi ve years. Fortunately, García never School. A year later, she returned to San the birth of his daughter Rosa Lee. had a violent attack. Antonio and worked at Lackland Air García used the skills he had acquired After fi ve years, the two built a home Force Base until her discharge as fi rst in the Army in his civilian work as an and García began working as a tailor at lieutenant in 1947. automotive adjuster at various insurance Joseph's Men's Wear in Austin. She married José Gallardo in San companies. The couple eventually moved to south Antonio on Oct. 20, 1946. The couple García was an avid user of technology. Austin, where they were involved with raised two children, José Rogelio and Through the years, he shot some of the San José Church, and fostered four Rocxsandra. fi rst 8mm home movies, and he built children who needed a home. Gallardo said her time in the service and operated a ham radio station with The couple adopted two girls and made her a better person. the call letters K4SEF, which provided dedicated their lives to raising them. “God has been good to me. I am happy emergency communication networks “We have been lucky that God has that I was able to do some good at that during natural disasters. given us a long life,” Elizabeth García time,” she wrote after the interview. (Mr. García passed away on Dec. 22, said. Interviewed on June 25, 2007, in 1976, at the age of 65. Tribute by Ted Bridis, Mr. García’s godson.) San Antonio. Interviewed in Austin, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 13 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Encarnación González Joe Guajardo Henry Guerra Interview by Jennifer Sinco Kelleher Tribute Interview by Brenda Sendejo

Encarnación Armando González felt After two years of separation during From the fi elds of Texas to the beaches his body getting weaker. Lying in a cold World War II, U.S. Army soldier Joe of Normandy, Henry Martínez Guerra stream with a bullet wound to his chest, Medina Guajardo was reunited by fought adverse conditions to succeed. A he thought his life was over. He was chance in with his cousin, native of the town of Kenedy (about 60 surrounded by the enemy in the Aleutian Juan Sánchez. They embraced and made miles southeast of San Antonio), Guerra Islands when a sniper shot him. He plans to eat at Sánchez’s camp, but when spent much of his youth picking cotton, dropped his rifl e and rolled down a hill Guajardo arrived at Sánchez’s campsite, spinach and radishes under the scorching into a gully. there was no trace of Sánchez or his men. sun and later participated in some of the With all the strength he had left, The discovery was disconcerting, but most gruesome battles of World War II. Guajardo was no stranger to adversity. One year after leaving school to work González forced himself to his feet and As a boy of divorced parents in Corpus to support his family, Guerra was drafted made his way back up the hill before he Christi, Texas, he lived mainly with into the Army. In November 1940, he was collapsed. Fellow soldiers quickly came his grandparents. He saw the Army inducted as an infantry soldier. to his aid, fi ring at the enemy while as a ticket out of a broken home and After training at Texas’ Camp Bullis dragging him to safety. enlisted at age 17. On Nov. 24, 1943, and Fort Sam Houston and Wisconsin’s González was inducted into the Army less than three months after he married Camp McCoy, Guerra was deployed to in 1941 and was stationed in California Edith Pérez, he departed to the Asian Europe, landing near Belfast, Ireland. He when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Pacifi c Theater, where he worked as landed on Omaha Beach on June 7, 1944, In June 1943, lying in the medic’s tent a construction machine operator. the day after D-Day. after he was shot, his fi rst thoughts were According to Guajardo’s daughter, Grace Guerra remembers getting the order to send a personal message to his wife, Charles, Guajardo said, “Our job was from President Dwight Eisenhower over Soledad Seanez, so she would not be to come from behind, after the Marines the radio and preparing to invade France. scared by a telegram she might receive were done fi ghting. We would do the As he approached the shore, he recalls from the government. cleaning up and pave roads for vehicles, a soldier, Jesse Hill, disobeying orders González was sent stateside to recover tanks, [and] landing airplanes.” to keep his head down and gazing out and eventually was sent to Europe, where Guajardo returned to U.S. soil on toward the shore. most of his days, he said, consisted of Sept. 21, 1945. He received an Asiatic- He saw explosions and carnage taking villages, sleeping in foxholes and Pacifi c Theater Campaign Medal with everywhere as he approached the beach. braving cold weather. one bronze star, a Philippine Liberation Guerra continued fi ghting with the 38th “It was survival,” he said. “You get Medal, an American Defense Service Infantry Regiment until the war's end. Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. He kept a journal detailing his service. used to misery inside and drink more Back home, Guajardo learned that Though it is fi lled with graphic images when the day is over.” Sánchez’s camp was vacated in Australia of death and destruction, a Bible passage González was discharged Oct. because the Japanese planned to attack urging faith and love is on the cover. 11, 1945. He continued to fi ght the the area, and Sánchez had received orders He was discharged in June 1945, having alcoholism that began during the war. to leave. Guajardo and Pérez had fi ve earned the Purple Heart, three Bronze He credited his wife with his eventual children. He worked in construction, Stars and a host of other medals. recovery. played baseball, and sang and played Guerra returned to Texas and earned “Nowadays people get a lot of help with local musicians. In 1964, Guajardo his GED. He then began a career in civil after traumatic situations, but we didn’t moved to Freer, Texas, and built a home. service. He worked as a storekeeper and have that back then,” he recalled. Tribute by Joe Guajardo’s daughter, later as an industrial engineer. Interviewed on March 23, 2002, in Grace Charles. (Mr. Guajardo died on Interviewed on Nov. 6, 2004, in San Los Angeles. Oct. 24, 1984.) Antonio.

Page 14 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Andrew Guzmán Estella Hernández Ernesto Hernando Interview by Jessica Marie Thomas Interview by Valerie Martínez Interview by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

When Andrew E. Guzmán tried to Whatever she did — as sister, wife Ernesto Hernando was born in 1923 enlist in the Marines at 18, he was turned or teacher’s aide — Estella Zaragoza in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, but was away and told to wait for the draft. Hernández always looked forward to a resident of El Paso, Texas, when he He said he is fortunate he didn’t enlist serving her country and helping her entered the military. Although he was that day in 1944, because he believes community. A native of Los Angeles, drafted into the Army in 1943, he he would have been sent to Iwo Jima, Hernández was in elementary school chose to enlist in the Navy with two Japan, the site of one of World War II’s when she began helping her family by neighborhood friends. Hernando was bloodiest battles. picking peas in the fi elds of southern trained as a lookout and a fi ghter-plane Guzmán was born Dec. 12, 1925, in California. Hardships soon arrived. mechanic. His fi rst post was serving as a San Antonio. He attended school with When Hernández was 14 and in lookout on a troop ship headed for New his siblings, and his parents’ laundry middle school, the Japanese attacked Caledonia, an island east of Australia. service allowed the family to live without Pearl Harbor and her three brothers After the ship reached its destination, signifi cant fi nancial struggle. left to fi ght in World War II. Hernando was assigned to an aircraft After graduating from high school in She recalled how her mother was repair unit on an . 1944, he was set to attend Texas A&M depressed during the war, concerned Hernando was no stranger to hard University to study petroleum engineering, about her three sons. Her father kept work. Before enlisting in the Navy, he had but being drafted and inducted into the all the letters the boys sent home. dropped out of high school at 17 to join Army cut those plans short. When the war ended, Hernández’s the Civilian Conservation Corps to help Guzmán was trained as a medic at Fort brothers returned home safely. support his family. Sill, Oklahoma. From there, he traveled During the war, Hernández Even after his military service, with the 96th Infantry Division to worked. For recreation, she Hernando and his family — his wife, Okinawa in April 1945. sometimes attended dances with her Elisa Fernández, and their seven children On the island, Japanese forces fought sisters and girlfriends, including the — couldn’t rely solely on his government ruthlessly, said Guzmán, who worked Sunday dances, or tardeadas. Many paychecks, so he found work at a clothing there as a surgical tech. He said that servicemen would also attend the factory and later at the Harry Mitchell enemy soldiers would target American Sunday dances. In 1946, Hernández Brewery. The closing of Harry Mitchell infantry medics. Fighting raged until June met her future husband, Carlos C. in 1967 caused the family to move to San 1945, when Allied forces claimed victory. Hernández, at one such gathering. Francisco. There, Hernando expected to Guzmán was eventually discharged She laughed as she remembered get a job at another brewing company but from the 68th Medical Company, 96th when she met Carlos in the placita. ended up working in the warehouse of the Infantry Division on May 1, 1946. Hernández has two sons and three Safeway grocery store chain. Back in San Antonio, Guzmán studied daughters, and at the time of the After about a year and a half, the whole to become an electrical technician. In interview, was the grandmother of family moved back to El Paso, where 1951, he married Helen Ramírez, with 14. Besides being a housewife and Hernando continued to work for Safeway. whom he had a son and a daughter. mother, she also worked as teacher’s By day, Hernando drove a forklift; by Guzmán refl ected on his past with aide, helping bilingual children. night, he attended classes at El Paso Tech, gratitude for his present-day life, his wife Through good times and bad times, studying bookkeeping and accounting. and his children. Hernández said she was pleased with “If you have a little more education, He was content even while thinking everything she did in her life. you do a lot better,” Hernando said. He back on the war, in which he learned that “I am so happy I was able to enjoy said he has passed that philosophy on to “life is very important,” he said. life that way,” she said. his children. Interviewed on May 3, 2008, in San Interviewed on June 9, 2010, in Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El Antonio. Los Angeles. Paso, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 15 Voces’ INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII Latest Book

Alfredo Hurtado Antonio Jasso Interview by Joseph Padilla Interview by John Jasso

If anyone deserves to be called Antonio Jasso made it clear from the an American war hero, it’s Alfred get-go that he was no war hero. Hurtado. “I didn’t see no war … I’m not gonna He survived the Normandy Invasion take credit or say that I saw action. I didn’t. as well as the Battle of the Bulge I was, thanks to God, a cook in the Navy. and received 11 medals, including I had it made in the Navy,” Jasso said as he the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart shared stories about his years in the service. with three Oak Leaf clusters and A native of El Paso, Texas, he was born on In World War II, the fi ve the Distinguished Unit Citation with April 7, 1928, one of 10 children of Paula Botello brothers of San Saba, three Oak Leaf clusters, just to name Jasso. Texas, served their country. a few. After his mother died of pneumonia in But in their discharge papers, Hurtado's unit, the 82nd Airborne 1942, Jasso dropped out of school to work Division 504th Parachute Infantry to support his family, although he said they three were listed as “white” Regiment, 3rd Battalion Company never had economic problems. and two as “Mexican.” H, participated north of Anzio, Italy, Jasso said he remembers “clear as day” in Operation Shingle, an amphibious the moment he learned the United States This book delves into the landing by Allied troops against had entered World War II. He wanted to aspects of racial and ethnic German forces. Hurtado struggled to enlist right then but was too young. remember the Normandy Invasion, When he turned 18 in 1945, Jasso joined identifi cation, including the but he did recall that his unit had the Navy, shortly after brother Trinidad arbitrary issue of race. landed behind enemy lines in fi nished his tour of duty. Among the identities and Normandy and that he lost many of After boot camp in San Diego, the Navy ethnicities studied are Cuban his friends. designated him as ship cook. Even though American, Spanish American, He also served in North Africa. that was not the position he originally After the Normandy landing, wanted, he appreciated the opportunity. Mexican American, and Afro- Hurtado and his unit moved to Jasso spoke highly of the ship in Latino. several other locations, including which he had his longest assignment, Latina/os and World War II: Nijmegen, Holland, for Operation the USS Princeton, described as a “light Mobility, Agency, and Ideology Market Garden and Ardennes, aircraft carrier.” He said the Princeton considers broad issues of Belgium. Hurtado was wounded and “had everything but a swimming pool.” ended up in Veterans Hospital in He assignments also included the USS gender and masculinity. New York, with injuries to his thumb, , a repair ship. And it drills down to mouth and teeth. He was discharged During his time in the military, 1945 specifi cs of the Bataan Death on May 17, 1945. until April 1949, Jasso went to China, March and what it has come Hurtado returned to his hometown Guam, Panama, Japan and Hawaii. to signify, as well as a profi le in Denver, Colorado, and went into Shortly after leaving the military, he business by starting Al's Trucking. moved to Newton, Kansas, where he of the trail-blazing academic, Hurtado said the war greatly married Fifi Sifuentes in 1950. His wife Carlos E. Castañeda affected him, but he also learned how died in 2011. In the years since, Jasso has Available via the website of to better appreciate life. lived in a smaller home in Newton, where the University of Texas Press "You know the Big Man up there? he grows peppers and tomatoes in his (http://utpress.utexas.edu) You ask and you shall receive," he said. garden. Interviewed on March 4, 2011, in Interviewed on June 16, 2010, in Denver, Colorado. Topeka, Kansas.

Page 16 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Quirino Longoria Severo López Vicenta López Interview by Elizabeth Fisanick Interview by Frank O. Sotomayor Interview by Taylor Peterson

USS General E.T. Collins, accompanied One night in the early 1940s, In the 1930s, education opportunities for by a British destroyer, zigzagged its way after watching Frank Sinatra Mexican Americans were hard to come by. from Fremantle, Australia, to the Indian perform at the Palladium in Los But in 1938, Vicenta Sánchez López made port of Calcutta. The original mission Angeles, Severo López arrived history in her hometown of Sonora, Texas. of the ship, on which Quirino Longoria home to fi nd FBI agents waiting for She was the fi rst Latina to graduate from served during World War II, was to return him. her high school. war-weary soldiers to California. The end He was informed that he had In a life characterized by hard work and of the war, however, brought a change of failed to report for duty when his a love for learning, she would become a plans. World War II draft notice arrived. successful business owner and an active “We took ’em to Japan to invade Japan. López had been working at the contributor to Sonora. They were mad, of course, because they shipyards in nearby San Pedro, but López’s father, Enrique Sánchez, owned wanted to come home, but they had to go his draft notice had gone to his Los El Phoenix Café, the only place in town that and do their job in Japan,” Longoria said. Angeles home. served Mexican Americans and Anglos. All Longoria was born the middle child of He was told to report to the draft other eating places were “white only.” fi ve on Jan. 29, 1927, in Mission, Texas, center the next morning. At 19, she married José Santos López, and joined the Navy at age 17. His parents, Because of his experience in the a Mexico-born sheep shearer. Soon after Procopio and Sofi a, gave permission for shipyards, López was trained as a the birth of a daughter, Diana, in 1941, Quirino to join the Navy at the insistence combat engineer, assigned to the the U.S. entered World War II. José was of his older brother Juan, or “Johnny.” 155th Engineer Combat Battalion. drafted into the Army. He was wounded Longoria considers his Navy service a He saw his fi rst combat at during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 source of pride and a positive experience, Guadalcanal in the South Pacifi c. and awarded the Purple Heart. In 1946, one that opened his eyes to the wider “You know lots of men had died Lopez and her husband were handed world outside of the Rio Grande Valley. when the waves started to look management of El Phoenix Café, which Upon his July 13, 1946, discharge at the red,” he said. they renamed the Commercial Restaurant. rank of seaman fi rst class, he fi nished high Despite the horrors of war, Under their direction, the establishment school in Brownsville, Texas, and used the López said he fully enjoys his life; prospered and employed many residents of GI Bill to study business administration the community. relying on his motto: “Vive tu vida at a college in nearby Harlingen. After López had two other children: Lemuel lo mejor que puedas, de día a día a short stint working for the Hidalgo and Eliel. While managing the restaurant, siempre.” (Live your life the best County Clerk’s offi ce in Edinburg, Vicenta took great care to ensure that all you can, always day by day.) Texas, Longoria left the area to become a three of her children got a college education. On April 20, 1945, Pfc. López mechanic at the naval air base in Corpus In 1973, López turned over management was honorably discharged at Christi. Longoria went on to spend the of the Commercial Restaurant to son Menlo Park, California. next eight years as a mechanic for Pan Lemuel. That same year, López’s husband After returning to civilian life, American airlines in Brownsville and San José passed away after suffering an Francisco, and then moved to the López worked in a variety of aneurysm. area to work for Braniff Airlines. In 1992, fi elds — movies, construction, as Some years later, López went to San he retired from Dalfort Corp. after 42 a mechanic, and as a salesman. Angelo Business School to learn business years as an aircraft mechanic. He was also a businessman — management. In 1975 she married Leopoldo Longoria married Gloria Waterbury having owned at different times a Cervantes, a ranch foreman. The couple on July 20, 1951; the Longorias have two print shop, a restaurant and a gas owned several businesses in Sonora, including sons and two daughters. station. a convenience store and a trailer park. Interviewed on Oct. 15, 2007, in Interviewed on June 9, 2010, in Interviewed on Aug. 2, 2010, in Sonora, Lewisville, Texas. Los Angeles. Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 17 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Plácido Lozano Eladio Martínez Raul Martínez Interview by Mike Zambrano Tribute Interview by José Figueroa On Dec. 7, 1941, Plácido Jose Lozano When Eladio Martínez was growing Raul B. Martínez spent four years in was at a movie theater when the fi lm up in Dallas, education was a priority. the Army’s Combat Corps of Engineers in suddenly stopped and the theater His father, who worked as a laborer, the Pacifi c Theater during World War II. manager came out and placed a large inspired his children to learn. The Corps’ job: to keep the Army moving. radio on the stage. Like his three younger siblings, Martínez’s unit built and upgraded That was how Lozano learned that Martínez graduated from Dallas roads, bridges and airstrips, as well as Japan had attacked the United States Technical High School, where he was other needed infrastructure, like fi eld by bombing the Pacifi c fl eet in Pearl in the ROTC program and involved in hospitals. Martínez was 19 and living in Harbor. Lozano, a 16-year-old high sports. An aspiring chemist, he also took his hometown of El Paso, Texas, on Dec. school student, did not realize that correspondence courses. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl the bombings would lead him into a After World War II broke out, Harbor. He remembered that from the military career that he said “helped Martínez was drafted into the Army. moment he learned of the attack, he knew me grow into the man I have become Martínez’s brother Enrique remembered he would eventually participate in the war. today.” the day Eladio left for the Army. In November 1942, Martínez was A native of Monterrey, Mexico, “I remember getting up early drafted and reported to basic training Lozano grew up in San Antonio. In that morning to gather his personal at Fort Belvoir, in Virginia, before being 1943, he was drafted into military belongings. We were greatly saddened by sent overseas. Part of the Guadalcanal service, even though he was not an this,” he said. Campaign, the fi rst large attack by Allied American citizen. His younger brother Filiberto, who troops on Japanese forces, Martínez fought “I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed often followed in Martínez’s footsteps, in battles that embodied the ferocity of the to register because I wasn’t a citizen,” also enlisted in the Army Air Corps Pacifi c war, like Bougainville and . he said. After the war ended, he was discharged and was sent with the 13th Air Force to Lozano was sent to Navy boot from the Army in November 1945, at the the Pacifi c where he helped to build an camp in San Diego and then learned rank of private fi rst class. airstrip in New Guinea. communications skills, including Morse Martinez married Elena Figueroa in After 18 months overseas, Filiberto code. He was a radio gunner who served 1949 in El Paso and had one daughter, found Eladio, and they had a happy but on the carrier USS Kadashan Bay. After Sylvia Martínez. Thanks in part to the short-lived reunion in the midst of war. the war, Lozano was sent to Japan GI Bill, he was able to attend college where he recalled being upset that the Filiberto was the last member of the after his service, earning a degree in U.S. military treated Japanese citizens family to see Eladio Martínez alive. He electrical engineering from California State disrespectfully. was killed by a sniper in the Philippines University, Los Angeles. Lozano was discharged with a on March 23, 1945. For a long time, Martínez worked radioman 3rd class rating in May 1946 His family, especially his surviving at Douglas Aircraft (later McDonnell at Camp Wallace, Texas. He returned brothers, Filiberto and Enrique, grieved Douglas), eventually becoming principal to San Antonio and eventually returned the loss of Martínez. design engineer. After 36 years of to military work, getting a job as an Since his own educational aspirations continuous service, he retired in 1991. aircraft electrician in the U.S. Air Force. were cut short, his brothers honored “[H]aving an education and being able He and his wife had three children. him in 1990 with the opening of a new to hold onto continuous employment with His service during the war also gave school, the Eladio R. Martínez Learning Douglas, when others were being laid him the right to U.S. citizenship. In Center, in west Dallas, the part of the off, gave my family a measure of security 1947, he said, he became a citizen and city where Martínez grew up. that they would otherwise not have had,” registered as a Democrat. Based on information provided by Martínez wrote after his interview. Interviewed on June 2, 2010, in the Martínez family. (Mr. Martínez was Interviewed on June 25, 2007, in Costa San Antonio. killed in action on March 23, 1945.) Mesa, California.

Page 18 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Juan Mejía Nemesio Mena Joel Mojica Interview by Laura Barberena Interview by Luis A. Saenz Interview by Jesse Herrera From childhood poverty in South As the B-24 Liberator bomber turned Before he was 20 years old, Joel Texas through the Battle of the Bulge, to begin a bombing run, radio operator C. Mojica had fought in one of the Juan Mejía proved to be a survivor. Nemesio Mena’s job would take on bloodiest battles of World War II and It never occurred to him that he a lot more risk. The El Paso, Texas, had a Purple Heart medal to prove it. might die. native’s added duty was to stand on the Mojica was drafted at 18 years “The closest I got was when a piece catwalk over the open bomb bay and old. After he was called up on Oct. of shrapnel fell on me here on my shoot photos of the damage below. But 29, 1943, he was sent to Hampton, coat,” he said. “I just did this, brushed his dangerous work was not done with England, where he trained to become a it off.” the end of the bombing run. Mena had replacement soldier. Mojica’s job led him Born on Sept. 13, 1925, in San to make sure no bombs had been left to the beaches of Normandy, France, Antonio, Mejía became a farmworker, hanging in the bomb bay of “Irishman’s after D-Day, to reinforce the dwindling traveling to West Texas and the Midwest. Shanty,” the name the crew gave this troops. After fi ghting there, he traveled He was drafted in November 1943. B-24. If bombs were still there, Mena through France, battling the Germans. “I wanted to go into the Army to be had to kick them off and out before In northern France, Mojica got shot in able to get to know other people and the plane could land back at its base in get to know everything. I was very England. Mena and his crewmates were the knee while on a scouting assignment happy. We all wanted to serve our members of the legendary 492nd Bomb with four other GIs. Out of the group, he country, all of us,” he said. Group, a part of the 8th Air Force. was the only survivor. After his discharge He initially was in the 65th Infantry His specifi c bomber crew, the 713th, on Dec. 31, 1945, Sgt. Mojica returned Division but was transferred to the completed 30 missions between the to his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. He 106th Infantry Division. He said he summer of 1942 and the end of the war. went back to work as a carpenter with his was told it was going to be much like “We were the fi rst crew of the group to father, eventually getting a job building guard duty. fi nish the European Theater,” he said. cabinets in a cabinet shop. Enlightened by “But the Germans came with all their Among the decorations Mena the war, he had trouble accepting Uvalde’s artillery and with everything they had. earned during World War II were the discrimination against Latinos. For Airplanes and everything,” Mejía said. Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air example, many eateries refused to serve At one point, he got separated from his Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Hispanics, and the ones that did had a unit and wandered lost for less than Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and separate area for them to sit, he recalls. a day. Mejía’s mother received two an . “It was very disillusioning that I went telegrams: One said he was missing in Mena returned to El Paso after the war and fought for liberty,” Mojica said, action and the other, almost a month and earned a teaching degree at El Paso “but at the same time, I didn’t have the later, said he was OK but hospitalized Community College. He again would liberty to go into a restaurant where somewhere in Europe. He received serve in the Air Force during the Korean Anglos were eating.” treatment for a painful foot condition. and Vietnam wars. During Vietnam, Mojica says he is happy with the After the war he married, had seven Mena was in an airborne command post changes the country has gone through children and worked for 34 years at the operating electronic counter missions. over the years. His children and now-closed Kelly Air Force Base. After retiring from the Air Force in grandchildren now have opportunities “World War II opened doors for me 1968, Mena taught electronics and he never had, and they can go anyplace to be able to work for the government communication in El Paso until 1987. they please. because I didn’t have enough schooling, At the time of his interview, Mena lived even though I didn’t have experience,” in El Paso with his family, including his “They’re accepted now, anywhere,” he said. longtime wife, Domitila Jaramillo Mena. Mojica said. Interviewed on May 11, 2011, in Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El Interviewed on July 5, 2007, in San Antonio. Paso, Texas. Austin, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 19 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Willie Moreno Jesus Muñoz Albert Nieto Interview by Erika Martinez de Rizo Interview by Henry Mendoza Interview by Ben Olguin

Life in the military wasn’t easy, Willie Jesus “Jess” Esparza Muñoz emerged Rummaging through old keepsakes Luna Moreno said, particularly when from a diffi cult childhood to live from his days in the Army, Albert he had to crawl through barbed wire a version of the American Dream, Nieto pulled out a sightseeing guide loaded down with a heavy pack. including a stint in the U.S. Navy. of the “Playground of the Orient” in Or when he was a patrol policeman in “I saw a lot of the world. I had a the Philippines. While on active duty France, even though “there was not much good time in the service,” Muñoz at the 14th Anti-Aircraft Command to see, and the place [was] a mess.” said, adding that he “didn’t encounter headquarters in the Philippines, Nieto Moreno entered the U.S. armed anything bad about it,” except for fell into a “little depression,” which forces in April 1943, when he was 19. occasional rough seas. His ship, the led him, along with a few others, to be He underwent basic training at Camp USS Brush, was a small destroyer that taken to a recreation center to distract “bounced around like a cork.” them from the routine. Robinson in Arkansas and received Muñoz was born in Globe, Arizona, “They had great food, and we could additional drills in Massachusetts and in 1928. His mother died in childbirth go golfi ng and just get away from Maryland. In Europe, he was involved when he was a year old. He and his everything, so we were in pretty good in the infantry and military police, as siblings were raised by their maternal shape after we came back,” Nieto said. well as the 1st Infantry Division. As grandmother and their Aunt Jenny. Nieto grew up in Tampa, Florida, a part of the “Big Red One,” Moreno Because of the Great Depression, and graduated from Hillsborough High was at Omaha Beach in Normandy, times were diffi cult and there were School. His parents, who were originally France, on D-Day. no jobs. “We were on welfare, like from Spain, came to the U.S. from Cuba After the war, Moreno earned everybody else,” he said. in 1922. He was drafted into World War several honors, including a diplôme When he was about 15, he worked II in October 1943. He jumped into his of recognition from France, hand- in the asbestos, quicksilver and copper initial training at Texas’ Camp Barkley, delivered and signed by the country’s mills of the 3M Co., and the Globe getting prepared for active duty in the consul and secretary of defense. foundry. He joined the Navy on Oct. supply section of the 14th Anti-Aircraft Moreno was born in San Antonio, 24, 1945, after fi nishing 10th grade. headquarters overseas. Texas, on April 21, 1924, to Santos He was able to earn his high school After the war ended, Nieto left the Moreno and Felipa Luna Moreno. He equivalency diploma after serving in Philippines in January 1946. He was had two older brothers and four sisters. the Navy. offi cially discharged the next month at Throughout his life, Moreno In the Navy, Muñoz visited places the rank of sergeant. worked many jobs, including grocery like Hong Kong, China and the Back home, he enrolled in the deliveryman, cleaner at a sugar-beet Philippines. University of Florida, where he received factory, and mill helper for a lumber After leaving the Navy in 1949 as a his degree in business administration petty offi cer third class, Muñoz moved and accounting in 1949. A year later, he company. Although he had to quit to Southern California and worked at married Josephine Spoto, with whom he school during seventh grade, he Sears, fi rst in a warehouse and later as had two daughters. resumed his education by earning a a salesman in Buena Park. After the war, Nieto worked as GED certifi cate in 1982. Muñoz was married in 1950 to Elisa a certifi ed public accountant and He married Frances Fernández in Olivas. They had three daughters. He established his own company. At the 1945 in San Antonio; the couple had said he did well as a salesman and was time of his interview, he was a member fi ve children. Frances passed away in able to provide for his family and send of a WWII veterans group that met 1976, and Moreno married a second his daughters to college. every Wednesday and Friday to discuss time in 1987, to Alejandra Sánchez. Interviewed on June 9, 2010, in contemporary politics. Interviewed on Aug. 4, 2007, in Los Angeles. Interviewed on Nov. 11, 2007, in San Antonio. Tampa, Florida.

Page 20 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Edmundo Nieto Virginia Gallardo Núñez Leo Ortega Interview by Liliana V. Rodríguez Interview by Jennifer Lindgren Interview by Delia Esparza

Through his service during World There are some things Virginia Gallardo Leo Ortega Jr. was working with the War II, Edmundo Nieto learned about Núñez remembers about growing up in Civilian Conservation Corps in Denver, the hardships and horrors of war but South Texas during World War II: digging holes for fence posts, when one was able to participate in events that • Curling her hair with string ties from day a buzz fi lled the camp: The Japanese ultimately become a part of history. coffee bags instead of bobby pins because had bombed Pearl Harbor. Nieto recalled that he drove a truck metal was rationed. “I didn’t know what Pearl Harbor was,” as part of the Army’s 933rd Field • Listening to news about the war and he said. “I didn’t know what Hawaii was, Artillery Battalion. songs by Glenn Miller on the radio. but I had a vague idea from geography His wartime experience was light • Attending midnight Mass on lessons. I enlisted right there at the CC[C] years away from life in his hometown Christmas Eve to pray for her three camp.” of Presidio, Texas, where Nieto was brothers at war. Back in his hometown of Raton, New born on March 29, 1919. Núñez, born May 21, 1930, in Mexico, his mother Rose Valdez found His mother was Maria Vásquez, Brownsville, Texas, was a child at the out via a military letter she received Dec. from El Paso, Texas, and his father outbreak of World War II in 1941. By 31, 1941, that he had joined the Marine was Miguel Nieto, a Mexican citizen. then, her family had moved to nearby San Corps. Spanish was Nieto’s fi rst language, and Benito. She remembers the joy the family Ortega was initially assigned to kitchen he learned English in grade school. felt whenever one of her brothers wrote duty. When he earned his second stripe, he He earned a business degree from St. home. was assigned other noncombat tasks, such Edward’s University and worked at AB “Whenever we got a letter, we got so as supervising the cleaning of facilities. Frank Co. in San Antonio for about a happy!” Núñez said. “We'd all cheer and Later, he taught new recruits how to year before being drafted. Mama would pass the letter around to handle .45-caliber pistols. After basic training at Camp Gruber everybody.” Ortega’s last assignment was to guard a in Oklahoma, he was sent to Louisiana Núñez, her mother and her sisters naval radio station in Northern Ireland. and then boarded a troop carrier to worked to support the household while “I wasn’t privileged to serve in combat,” Africa. the men were at war. She worked in he said. “I think I would have liked that.” In Italy, Nieto saw Pope Pius XII at a dime store, as a baby sitter and as a After Ortega was discharged from the St. Peter’s Basilica. With the help of a waitress. Besides corresponding with her Marines on Feb. 9, 1946, he returned to Canadian comrade who spoke French, brothers, Núñez exchanged letters with Raton and became a painter, and later a Nieto courted a pretty French girl. And Rudolfo “Rudy” Núñez, a friend from Postal Service worker. In 1950, Ortega in Germany he saw Jewish prisoners San Benito who was fi ghting in Germany. married Dulcie Nemecia in Raton. The who had just been released from a Rudy began courting her and eventually Ortegas had two sons and a daughter. concentration camp. proposed marriage through his missives. After the family resettled in El Paso, When the war in Europe ended, When he came home in 1945, Núñez Texas, in the mid-1950s, Leo switched Nieto spent three months with married him. careers again, becoming an insurance occupation forces. He was discharged Growing up during WWII taught her adjuster. While the insurance job paid in San Antonio with the rank of to have faith in the people who always well, it took him away from his family, sergeant, and he returned to Presidio. looked out for her, Núñez said. so in 1964 Ortega and his wife opened a Soon after returning home, Nieto “War is awful. Sometimes we have pest-control business. At the time of his married Socorro Herrera. to remember so we can appreciate our interview, Dulcie had passed away and Nieto said he was proud of his country and soldiers, and our freedom. Ortega had retired. He said he enjoys military service. “We were fi ghting for Sometimes we think we know it all. We spending his time reading, and was hoping something.” don't.” to get back to going to the library. Interviewed on Aug. 3, 2010, in Interviewed on Sept. 13, 2003, in Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El Presidio, Texas. Brownsville, Texas. Paso, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 21 CONFERENCE: INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII Latinos, The Voting Rights Act, and Political Empowerment

Felipe de Ortego y Gasca Manuel Pérez Interview by Mario Barrera Interview by Raquel C. Garza

Felipe de Ortego y Gasca was a Like many other Americans, Manuel Courtesy of John Treviño high school dropout in 1943, but after P. Pérez put his own life on hold to Voces is teaming up with two joining the Marine Corps and serving in serve his country during World War II, other organizations on campus the Pacifi c Theater, he awakened a new even though he never stepped on the passion: writing. to hold a conference on the battlefi eld. Ortego was born in Blue Island, Pérez was born in Uvalde, Texas, Voting Rights Act and Political Illinois, as his parents were traveling on April 26, 1923. Before the war, Empowerment and Latinos. between San Antonio, Texas, and the he lived with his parents, Andrea and sugar beet fi elds of Minnesota. Rico Pérez, and his sister Micaela. The Irma Rangel Public Policy Ortego started basic training at Parris Growing up, he learned English with Institute and the Annette Strauss Island in South Carolina, becoming his friends, while his parents kept him Institute for Civic Life are both a machinist in Marine Air Group in touch with his Mexican roots. But helping to organize the conference, 24. MAG 24 was stationed in Efate, all of that came to a halt when he was to be held in 2015, 40 years after New Hebrides, and assigned to the drafted. the extension and expansion of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The group “I didn’t graduate because I went to the Voting Rights Act. This major participated in the Bougainville and the service.” Pérez said. “And when I conference will explore both historic Philippine campaigns. came back from the service, I went to and contemporary issues related to After the war, Ortego used his GI Bill help my dad. So that was it.” Latino political empowerment. It benefi ts to enroll at the University of Pérez was sent to Camp Roberts in will also be a meeting of academics Pittsburgh, majoring in English. He returned to the Air Force and San Luis Obispo County, California, and other experts, as well as spent four years serving in Europe, and for basic training. On Sept. 18, 1943, individuals who have worked on then fi nished out his career at Biggs Air he was assigned to Camp Callan in various aspects of Latino political Force Base in El Paso, Texas. the La Jolla area — where he remained empowerment. Besides formal After leaving the Air Force in 1962, until his release from the service. research presentations, there will Ortego earned a master’s degree in Since Pérez was never sent to fi ght, also be informal round-tables on English at Texas Western College in life at the base allowed some time specifi c areas to be discussed. Voces El Paso and a Ph.D. in English at the for leisure activities, like attending is particularly encouraging research University of New Mexico. baseball games with other soldiers. that incorporates oral history “I never got my GED or high school Pérez was also able to make additional interviews, for possible publication at diploma, but I ended up getting a Ph.D. income by shining shoes and cleaning a later date. in English,” Ortego said. “Pretty good guns for other soldiers. for a kid who never graduated high school.” After his service, Pérez returned to Uvalde, where he met and dated Sara The public is especially welcome. While working on his degree in New Mexico, Ortego became fascinated with Olvera. The couple married on Feb. Attendance is free, with meals the work of Mexican-American writers. 10, 1952, and had 10 children. available He switched topics halfway through Pérez said there is one value he has for purchase. writing his dissertation and started tried to instill in his children: doing what would become a pioneering career their utmost to get along with others, LOOK FOR MORE INFO AT: in the research and teaching of Chicano as he did through his life. latinosandpoliticalengagement.org literature. Interviewed on April 7, 2007, in Interviewed on March 21, 2008, in Uvalde, Texas. Austin, Texas.

Page 22 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Manuel Pérez Jr. Emilio Portales Bernarda Quintana Tribute Interview by Patricia Portales Interview by Yazmin Lazcano

A month before being killed in action “All those bullets and none of them had As a young girl, Bernarda Quintana in the Philippines, Pfc. Manuel Pérez Jr. my name on it.” and her brothers and sister carried qualifi ed for the Medal of Honor, the Emilio Portales could laugh when heavy buckets of water to their father United States’ highest military honor. he made the statement because he had as he mixed straw and adobe to create Pérez, also known as “Toots” by family withstood enemy fi re during World War their home in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. and friends, was born March 3, 1923, in II combat on two continents. Oklahoma City. When he was very young, When Quintana was 12, her father his family moved to Chicago, where he Portales saw front-line action with the was shot to death after publicly opposing was raised by his father, Manuel Pérez Sr., Army during campaigns in North Africa, the 1940 presidential winner. and his paternal grandmother, Tiburcia Sicily, France and Germany. He took part Quintana quit school to help support in the 1944 Normandy invasion, fought Moncada Pérez. her family, fi rst by doing odd jobs, then in much of the European campaign, and Before getting drafted in January 1943, as a seamstress making uniforms for Pérez was employed by Best Foods Inc., witnessed the liberation of a concentration soldiers. where his uncle Jesse also worked. camp in Germany. Portales, a native of Pérez volunteered for parachute duty Medina County, Texas, was drafted in In 1942, Quintana was reunited with and was sent to the Pacifi c Theater, early 1942 at the age of 21. He left behind former sweetheart Roberto Perea, and where he served as a paratrooper in the his mother, Macedonia, and six siblings. they soon married. Their son, Manuel, 11th Airborne Infantry Division and as At Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he was born in 1943. lead scout for Company A of the 511th Perea’s infi delity prompted her to seek Parachute Infantry, until a sniper bullet was trained as a combat engineer and a divorce in 1944, she says. Not long took his life March 14, 1945, on the road assigned to the 17th Armored Engineer to Santo Tomas in southern Luzon. Battalion, a part of the decorated “Hell after, she learned Perea had died in a In 1946, on Washington’s Birthday, the on Wheels” 2nd Armored Division. hunting accident. She was devastated Medal of Honor was presented to Pérez’s After D-Day, Portales said, his division and swore never to marry again. father on the International Bridge between kept fi ghting the Germans until they were In 1945, Quintana took a job as Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, at the border of Germany and Belgium. kitchen assistant, and then as a teacher Tamaulipas, Mexico. And that same year, During this campaign, he recalls spending at Casa Hogar, a government-funded shortly after the war ended, returning at least 28 days in his foxhole. His most kindergarten in Ciudad Juarez. Despite Mexican-American veterans formed vivid memory from the war, however, was loving her job, she quit a few years later Chicago’s American Legion Manuel Pérez the liberation of POW camps in Germany. Jr. Post 1017 in Pérez’s memory. because of a co-worker’s hostility. Pérez’s Medal of Honor citation “It did bother me. The smell of the dead Then she met Fortino S. Quintana, provides an account of his heroic actions: people was terrible. And all the prisoners, a former Air Force staff sergeant, who when they would open the gates, would “He was lead scout for Company A, was working at El Paso International just run out, the ones that could run out,” which had destroyed 11 of 12 pillboxes Airport as a mechanic. In 1954, they in a strongly fortifi ed sector defending Portales said. the approach to enemy-held Fort William Portales was awarded the Purple Heart married in Las Cruces, New Mexico. McKinley on Luzon, Philippine Islands…” Medal in 1944 after being hit in the leg The couple had three daughters, Manuel Pérez Jr. Plaza in Chicago’s with shrapnel. When the wound healed, Carolina, Edna and Rosa María. Little Village was dedicated April 25, he opted to return to his outfi t rather than Quintana says her goal has always 1981, by Mayor Jane Byrne, and a new returning home. When the war ended in been to provide a loving home with the elementary school named after Pérez was 1945, Portales returned to Texas. Two same dignity as her father did. dedicated in Chicago’s Pilsen Community “It was a lot of work,” said Quintana on May 30, 1990. years later, he married Gloria Lopez, and (Mr. Perez was killed in action on March they lived in San Antonio. In 1966 they of her childhood home. “A lot of effort, 14, 1945.) Tribute by Angela Pérez Miller, moved to Sunnyvale, Calif. a lot of love, primarily.” a cousin of Mr. Pérez. Interviewed on May 13, 2008, in Interviewed on Feb. 6, 2005, in San Antonio. Austin, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 23 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Ernie Quiroga Conrado Ramírez Clemente Ramón Interview by William Luna Interview by Joanne R. Sanchez Interview by Jesse De Russe

As an Army entertainer, Ernie Conrado P. Ramírez said that having The skills and education that Quiroga had a very special audience served in World War II opened many Clemente Ramón received over three during World War II – people liberated doors for him and other Latinos. years as a Marine Corps fi reman from concentration camps. He played “We had the opportunity to go to shortly after World War II enhanced his accordion trying to aid their college,” Ramírez said. “We saw other his family, fi nances and education. recovery. parts of the world than just Alpine, One of six children, Ramón was “I was playing my accordion, and Texas. To me, our opportunities born in Refugio, Texas, on Jan. 27, one number that I played was a typical expanded considerably. It was up to you 1929, to Ysidro Ramón, a cowboy, and Mexican song — Bésame Mucho,” to take advantage of it.” Inacia Lara Ramón, a homemaker. Quiroga said. “They were still in a daze.” “I was always working after school,” All six children had to quit their Quiroga was born in Dallas, Texas, Ramírez said. “I contributed to the education before high school, forced to on March 2, 1927. His family, which family, with whatever I could from my go to work to help support the family. included six children, went from Dallas earnings, to buy shoes and clothing for to Chicago, winding up in San Antonio, my brothers and sisters.” On Oct. 10, 1946, 17-year-old Texas. He was drafted by the Army on Ramírez was drafted into the Army Ramón enlisted in the Marine Corps. April 19, 1945. and inducted at Texas’ Fort Bliss in 1944, He was assigned to the 14th Recon He went to Little Rock, Arkansas, eventually being assigned to Argentina, Rifl e Company and sent to San Diego, for basic infantry training. His records Newfoundland, where he was stationed in California for basic training. Ramon indicated he was a musician, so he an intelligence offi ce for the remainder of was then assigned to Camp Catlin on was placed in the Third Army’s 2nd the war. He was discharged in May 1946. Oahu, Hawaii. Special Services Company — a unit of In 1957, he helped to elect Raymond L. Because he enlisted more than a year entertainers. Telles Jr., as the fi rst Mexican-American after WWII ended, Ramón never faced Quiroga was assigned to Germany mayor of El Paso. Ramírez went on to combat as a Marine. But training and along with occupation services. He serve in a variety of nonprofi t leadership experience in logistical support gave traveled the country entertaining troops roles, including on the board of Girl Scouts him vital skills that he would apply and concentration camp survivors with of America USA. after his return to Texas, where he an Army band. Upon returning to the He earned his degree in accounting would do another kind of fi ghting: U.S. in 1946, Quiroga was discharged from The Texas College of Mines (now fi r e fi g h t i n g . at the rank of Technician 5th Class. the University of Texas at El Paso) and A year after being discharged from He continued his musical career after then worked for Reynolds Electrical the military, Ramón settled in Beeville, the war, attending the Chicago Musical & Engineering Co. He later became a where he married Lillie Guzmán on Conservatory for two years and playing longtime sales agent for The Prudential Dec. 10, 1950. with different groups on weekends. Insurance Company of America. Ramírez Quiroga worked in his father’s said he has witnessed many changes in Thanks to his military experience, printing shop, Monterrey Press, how Hispanics are treated. Ramón was hired as a Beeville while doing musical gigs on the side. “I did not have the possibility of talking fi refi ghter, a job that allowed him to He eventually took over the family to department heads or business owners support all four of his children. They business. that are Anglo. It was very diffi cult to get did not need to drop out of school to In 1947, he married Beatrice Larios, beyond the receptionist,” Ramírez said. work as he did, he said, and all four and the couple had four sons. Beatrice “My sons, they don’t have that problem completed high school. passed away on March 29, 2000. anymore, which is great.” Interviewed on Jan. 10, 2009, in Interviewed on Aug. 1, 2002, in Interviewed on July 30, 2007, in Beeville, Texas. Chicago. Austin, Texas.

Page 24 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Solomen Rangel José Rivera Manuel Robles Interview by Rudy Padilla Interview by Doralis Pérez Soto Interview by José Figueroa

He may have had only an eighth- When the fi rst atomic bomb was Before the war erupted, Manuel grade education, but Solomen dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, Robles was a fi refi ghter for the Civilian Rangel knew how to stand up for 1945, destroying that Japanese city Conservation Corps in Cucamonga Camp, his beliefs and how to get ahead. and ending World War II, José Rivera in San Bernardino, California. He not only enlisted and became was stationed in the Galapagos Islands Robles, who grew up in Cudahy, in the a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air as a driver with U.S. Special Services. Los Angeles area, enlisted in the Army Forces during World War II; he later The youngest of three sons, Rivera on Nov. 30, 1942, and was sent to Camp fought employment discrimination was born in Lares, in the mountainous Gruber near Muskogee, Oklahoma, for on the home front. central western region of Puerto Rico, training. on March 1, 1920. Rivera had left “I was not drafted; I joined,” Robles When Rangel returned to school at eight years of age, after his said. “I wanted to be with my brother, who Argentine, Kansas, after the war, father was murdered; he had to fi nd was here in California. Ended up there in he was among a group of men work to support his family. Oklahoma.” who fought against employment For seven years, he worked in the Robles’ participation in World War II discrimination at a railway scorching heat and humidity that was marked by his heroic rescue of a fellow company. He was one of four men blanketed the rice fi elds of Las Minas, soldier wounded by shrapnel during a who fi led a formal government in Lares. surprise attack by the Germans — an event complaint and endured years of “I was paid six cents weekly,” he later remembered as “Bloody Ridge.” waiting for a resolution. “We did it. said. “I would cut the rice stalk and Robles, a scout with sniper training, After that, after we took over [the the person behind would pick up the recalled throwing down his M1 rifl e, union], we made the fi rst Mexican stalks and tie them up.” combat pack and grenades, and hoisting foreman,” Rangel said. When he was 24 years old, he Quentin Hasse onto his back. Robles said Rangel credited his three years in was drafted and eventually sent to he lurched 50 yards amid machine gun and the military for his persistence. Panama. mortar fi re to reach a shelter. He became a toxic handler “From Panama, I went to the After getting discharged from the Army specialist for the Army during Galapagos, because the Japanese had in December 1945, Robles re-enlisted in World War II with the 771st attacked near the islands. So we went 1949 and served in the Korean War, his Chemical, Rangel said. and stayed for six months, to make wife, Margaret Vásquez Robles, said in a “We had nerve gas, we had sure they would not station there.” telephone interview. mustard . . . we had it all,” he With a bed of sand, a tent shared Robles married Margaret in September with six other soldiers and a single 1962 in Los Angeles. The couple had two recalled, adding that he was canteen of water for 24 hours, the children: Anthony and Cindy Elizabeth. hospitalized twice for exposure to islands proved to be “very different,” According to his wife, after his military mustard gas. especially, as he recalled, with service Robles had a hard time fi nding Rangel said he continued to have iguanas “the size of dogs” sunbathing work because his eyes and ears had been medical issues after the war because everywhere. damaged by being exposed to multiple of his exposure to toxins during the After the war, Rivera soon married explosions during combat. war. and resumed his education in Puerto Robles eventually landed a full-time job He married Elvira Rangel on Rico, using the GI Bill to study working on helicopters with Advanced April 16, 1955. They had four mechanics. The couple had four girls Structures and worked there for 27 years, children. and a boy. Margaret said. Interviewed on June 17, 2010, in Interviewed on March 28, 2003, in Interviewed on June 8, 2007, in Kansas City, Kansas. Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Pomona, California.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 25 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Cruz Rodríguez Antonio Rojo Felipe Roybal Interview by William Luna Interview by Liliana Rodríguez Interview by Raquel C. Garza

One day Cruz Rodríguez was Antonio Rojo faced fi nancial Felipe T. Roybal decided in June picking corn and tomatoes on a farm struggles brought by the Great 1940 to help his family fi nancially and outside Chicago; the next day, the Depression as well as discrimination unwittingly began a military career that undocumented Mexican immigrant growing up in Alpine, Texas. spanned more than 30 years. was preparing to go to war. “It was pretty hard,” Rojo said. A son of one of the founding families “They [the U.S. Army] didn’t care if “Sometimes we couldn’t even go to of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Roybal you were legal or not,” Rodríguez said the picture show because we couldn’t enlisted in the Army because his family during his interview. “They just needed cross the railroad. Every time we was struggling through the Great soldiers. They took Mexicans off the fi eld tried to cross over, there was a fi ght.” Depression. Because he was still too and they [were sent] … to war.” young to join at 17, he lied about his age. He dropped out of school in the Rodriguez was born on May 3, He was sent to Fort MacArthur, in eighth grade and lied about his age to 1914, in San Francisco del Rincón, San Pedro, California, and then to join the Civilian Conservation Corps. Guanajuato, Mexico and came to the Alaska in 1941. After the Japanese U.S. when he was seven. By the time He worked at Big Bend National attack on Pearl Harbor, Roybal he was old enough for high school, he Park in 1939, earning $30 a month, volunteered for the 82nd Airborne quit formal education and joined the $25 of which he sent back home. Division and eventually was sent to migrant stream through the Midwest. In 1942, Rojo and two of his Europe, where he parachuted into Rodriguez entered the Army on Oct. brothers received draft notices. One German-occupied villages. 15, 1942, and arrived in Burma on Dec. of them chose to enlist instead. “Men landed in villages and so 26, 1943. Rojo and his third brother joined forth. And we couldn’t fi nd them, so “We were there, camping. We the Army Air Forces, where he was we started looking for them until we never camped close to a city or close trained as a medical technician for its started fi nding 20 men here, 20 men to a village. Nothing but jungle,” 10th Rescue Squadron in Alaska. there and 30 men there,” Roybal said. Rodríguez said. Rojo said he never saw any serious He also recalled passing by German On Aug. 8, 1945, less than a month injuries. prisoner camps. “It was awful. I saw before the surrender of Japan, he was But he said that getting used to them [corpses] hanging by the trees. wounded in the right shoulder. Alaskan seasons took some time. There were skeletons,” he said. “We At the hospital, he encountered He also had to get used to serving were young. We didn’t want to see those discrimination as white soldiers were alongside Anglos for the fi rst time. things,” he said. put on beds and he was on the fl oor on “I felt all right,” he said, favoring Roybal was discharged in 1945. He a bamboo mat. re-enlisted in 1948 and was sent to South the memories of military service over “I thought: ‘If I survive and come Korea in 1950, where he was held for life in pre-war Alpine. “Everything back, there will not be so much several months as a prisoner of war by discrimination anymore. I served my changed to me. It was different the the Chinese but managed to escape. In country now,’ ” Rodríguez recalled. way I was treated here, and the way 1969, Roybal found himself serving in the He received an honorable discharge I was treated there.” Rojo was proud Vietnam War, in a Special Forces unit. on Dec. 7, 1945, at the rank of of his service. “We had a lot of trouble with our private fi rst class. He became a U.S. “I thought I did my duty,” he own soldiers in Vietnam. I stayed a citizen. Twice married, he fathered six said. “That I was able to defend my week in . It was fi lthy, drunks. children. country for my people and their Colonels all doped up,” Roybal said. Rodriguez died on March 29, 2013, people to live … I am proud.” Roybal ended his military career in in Chicago. Interviewed on Aug. 3, 2010, in 1975 at the rank of fi rst sergeant. Interviewed on Sept. 21, 2005, in Alpine, Texas. Interviewed on May 9, 2008, in Chicago. El Paso, Texas.

Page 26 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Gilbert Sánchez Juan Sánchez Rose Sandoval Interview by Beverly Sánchez-Padilla Tribute Interview by Julio Trujillo

Gilbert Sanchez not only survived Juan Sánchez rarely talked about World Thousands of miles away from the the Pacifi c typhoon of 1944 that War II experiences. Now, dementia battlefi elds, Rose Sandoval experienced capsized three U.S. Navy destroyers clouds some of the decorated World War the war from the confi nes of her family’s and killed 790 people; he also took II veteran’s memories. ranch in Colorado when her oldest part in nine battles during his time However, when his cousin’s daughter, brother, Leo Vallejos, was deployed as a Navy radioman aboard the USS Grace Charles, asked what he overseas as a member of the Army. Macdonough during World War II. remembers, Sánchez simply responded: “It was scary,” Sandoval said. “My But instead of violent war stories, he “He said he’d come back, and he did.” mother used to scare us all. She was focused on the friendships he formed Sánchez was referring to Gen. Douglas always very worried about Leo.” MacArthur’s vow, “I shall return,” which In 1940, Vallejos entered the Army, during his time at sea. the commander of American forces had leaving the family’s next-oldest Sánchez grew up in Albuquerque and made upon escaping from the Philippines son, Gilbert, to stay and work on joined the Navy at 17. to Australia under the onslaught of the the Vallejos family ranch in Torres, “I didn’t have my parents over me, and Japanese in March 1942. Although Colorado, in Las Animas County. I learned to be on my own,” he said. Sánchez wasn’t in the Asian-Pacifi c Vallejos was fi rst stationed in The younger Sánchez followed in the Theater when MacArthur made his California in 1942. footsteps of his father, who served in famous promise, he was traveling to the From there, he went to training, France during . Philippines when MacArthur returned followed by a stay at Fort Polk in Enlisting also was a way for Sánchez in October 1944 to lead the Allies in Louisiana. He made his way to to leave home and see the world. As he liberating the archipelago. A native of England, Belgium and Germany, stood on the deck of the Macdonough Corpus Christi, Texas, Sánchez enlisted eventually fi ghting in the Battle of the while steaming out of San Francisco in the Army shortly after the Pearl Bulge in December 1944 and January Bay en route to the Pacifi c Theater in Harbor attack prompted U.S. entry into 1945. After his time on the battlefi eld, July 1943, he realized that his life was World War II. He shipped out with the Vallejos took care of supplies for the changing. 2nd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, soldiers. The job took him out of direct “We were going under the Golden 32nd Infantry Division of the Michigan combat but not before he got wounded Gate Bridge and I just thought, ‘What National Guard, in April 1942 and by a shot in the face. did I get myself into? Where am I arrived in Australia on May 14. Vallejos returned home in 1945. going?’, ” Sánchez recalled. According to his unit’s history, Sánchez Upon his homecoming, he moved to Sánchez worked deciphering and participated in the Buna-Sanananda Denver, obtained a business degree and operation in New Guinea and had the got married in 1946. transcribing messages transmitted in grueling task of crossing the Owen Stanley Sandoval and her younger sister, Ida, Morse code. Mountains on foot. Sánchez also took also moved to Denver after high school. He trained in radio-communications part in the attack on Saidor and the Battle There, Sandoval worked at Gates for the Navy at the University of of Leyte. Sánchez returned to the United Rubber Co., where she met her future Colorado in Boulder. States in 1945 and was discharged in husband, Ernest. The two married in He was discharged on Jan. 29, 1946, June of that year. He received the Asiatic- 1948 and had two children. Sandoval at the rank of radioman third class, Pacifi c Campaign Medal with four bronze later worked with her brother Leo, who having earned nine battle stars. stars, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon bought a clothing store in Denver after Time, however, never weakened with one bronze star, a Distinguished Unit Ernest died of an aneurysm in 1972. Sánchez’s loyalty toward his shipmates Citation, and the Purple Heart. “I was very close to [Leo],” Sandoval and the military. Tribute provided by Grace Charles, said. “He helped me an awful lot.” Interviewed on Aug. 2, 2002, in daughter of Mr. Sánchez’s cousin & Interviewed on March 11, 2008, in Albuquerque. Voces subject Joe Guajardo. Denver.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 27 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Antonia Santana Flora Gutiérrez Shank Ruben Suárez Interview by Manuel Aviles-Santiago Interview by Vanessa R. Torres Interview by Enrique Vega

Women also served in the military To Flora Alicia Gutiérrez Shank, the Throughout his service in the U.S. alongside men, and one of them was war seemed like what we see in the Navy during World War II and the Antonia Santana. movies today — a medley of sacrifi ce, rest of his life, Ruben Suárez had a Santana, who grew up in Gurabo, tragedy, celebration, shock, heroes and strong understanding of diversity and Puerto Rico, enlisted in the Women fright. perseverance. Army Corps on Nov. 14, 1944. Shank was a teenager in El Paso, “I wanted to be in the Navy so bad “At the time I guess I just wanted Texas, when World War II broke that I could taste it,” Suárez said. “I a change, an adventure,” she said. out. She recalls many evenings spent envisioned myself being a part of those She was assigned into the 9201st dancing at the local USO, which she beautiful ships.” Technical Service Unit of the says soldiers still visit for recreation Suárez, the son of Mexican Women’s Army Corps — the WAC. today. Movies were also a favorite immigrants, grew up in Tucson during the Great Depression. “It’s like if we were family. We pastime for young people living at “We didn’t have very much money; were all from Puerto Rico. We home during the war. what we had was love and enthusiasm talked English because we were not “We never missed a monster movie for life,” Suárez said. “We didn’t know allowed to talk Spanish, but we in our lives,” Shank said. any different. We made our own fun.” spoke it among us anyway when Everyday life, however, wasn’t Suárez enlisted in the Navy in 1943, nobody was around,” she said. as much fun as the theaters and just days after graduating from high Santana eventually assigned to a dance halls. One sacrifi ce she clearly school. He was assigned to the U.S. postal unit, where remembered, was having to use books Fleet fl agship USS Pennsylvania (BB- she worked as a clerk for over a of coupons to make purchases. 38), as a signalman third class, and was year. She fi nished her stint with “It wasn’t a great big sacrifi ce,” the only Latino in his company. the Army in February 1946 and Shank said, “but there was a lot “I enjoyed living on the ship and liked returned to Puerto Rico. of trading going on between the my job as a signalman,” Suárez said. “I “I suffered more discrimination families.” It was the norm for families was scared the fi rst time we saw action. in Puerto Rico, when I arrived to trade coupons for what they needed. But I got used to it.” (back home), than when I was in the Shank married her fi rst husband, The crew of the USS Pennsylvania United States. ... People in the U.S. Mario Peña, in 1943 in Waco, Texas. battleship became so adept at shooting admired us yet here in Puerto Rico, Soon after, Peña was drafted and down enemy planes and gunboats that people thought that we (women) had attended cadet school before becoming it received a Navy Unit Commendation gone to the U.S. to entertain men or a pilot in the military, stationed at for service in the South Pacifi c. that we were lesbians,” she said. Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin. Suárez was discharged on Feb. 21, Because of her experience in Although Shank has fond wartime 1946 as a signalman third class. World War II, Santana said she memories, she notes that the period He used the GI Bill to go to college gained more security and she was also a time of immense tragedy. and eventually earn a degree in business administration from the University learned to defend herself. The “A world war, it’s something nobody of Arizona. He worked for the City only problem she had with her ever forgets. The kids that lived of Tucson and, according to the Pima participation in the war was the through it, even me, at 16, 17, didn’t County library, served as interim city discrimination she suffered back realize how many people were being manager from April 1992 to July 1993. home. killed everywhere,” she said. He retired in 1993. Interviewed on Feb. 11, 2011, in Interviewed on March 28, 2004, in Interviewed on Aug. 17, 2010, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. San Antonio. Tucson, Arizona.

Page 28 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Óscar Torres Roberto Tovar Bennie Trujillo Interview by Virgilio G. Roel Interview by Robert Rivas Interview by Joseph Padilla

In June of 2002, Óscar Torres fi nally Fresh from fi nishing high school in El “You could hear the tanks coming. received the Purple Heart for wounds Paso, Texas, Roberto Tovar volunteered You could hear the squeak, the tracks he suffered during the September 1944 for military service, something he had squeaking and the motors running. assault on the South Pacifi c island of wanted to do since he was 13, after the You could hear them coming. The Peleliu. Pearl Harbor bombing. Americans and the infantry were After being drafted and joining the “I was very well-motivated. ... I was aware that they were no match for Marines in 1943, Torres left his native real proud of the country and real proud that kind of assault.” Laredo, Texas, in February 1944 to of everybody,” Tovar said. That was Bennie Trujillo’s receive basic training in San Diego, Tovar started boot camp in San Diego recollection of one moment in the California. He was later sent to Camp in 1945, after the end of World War Battle of the Bulge, one of World War Pendleton in nearby Oceanside. II. He was involved in the restoration II’s bloodiest and most crucial battles. Torres was assigned to the 8th of war-damaged areas and assorted A native of Watrous, New Mexico, Amphibious Tractor Battalion of the 1st projects and remained on active duty Trujillo lied about his age and enlisted Marine Division. The unit took part in until 1954. During the Korean War, in the U.S. Army in 1943; he was 17. the operation to retake the islands of he was assigned to the submarine USS Trujillo, who wanted to become a Peleliu and Angaur from the Japanese. B l a c k fi n as a torpedoman. Among other medic, was initially assigned as a litter During a search for injured soldiers duties, the B l a c k fi n crew performed bearer to the 99th Infantry Division, in Peleliu, Torres was hit in the thigh by many missions to save Marines trapped 393rd Regiment, 1st Battalion Japanese machine-gun fi re. Two soldiers by North Korean forces. On one Medical Detachment, and in 1944 from his group of six were killed, and such mission, Tovar’s leg was grazed was sent to France. another was wounded. by enemy gunfi re. Tovar said he and “The night before the Battle of After recovering, Torres was assigned the men he was rescuing were taken the Bulge started, we heard artillery light duty within his division. He did by helicopter to the Japanese port of coming in a lot,” Trujillo said. “Like a not see combat again because the U.S. Yokosuka for medical attention. lot of artillery — boom, boom, boom, dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima Being wounded, in addition to boom.” and Nagasaki, abruptly ending the war. watching food supplies dwindle in the He tended many battle wounds in Torres did occupational duty in Japan submerged submarine, were his direst his unit, which at one point spent two and China for a while, and in 1946, he military experiences. days behind German lines and was returned to San Diego for his discharge Following his discharge from naval mistakenly attacked when the soldiers from the military. He went home to duty, Tovar returned to his prewar job sought to rejoin the Allies. Laredo on May 10, 1946. as a Postal Service clerk in El Paso. Trujillo’s second battle was at Back in civilian life, Torres fi nished There, he met and dated Ofelia Estrada, Remagen, where a tank shell exploded high school and started college before and the couple eventually married and shrapnel struck him. The lower being called back to active duty for the on Sept. 22, 1952. The Tovars had part of one of his legs had to be Korean War. Due to his previous injury, six children, one of whom, Herbert, amputated. he worked as an offi ce clerk at Camp followed in his father’s footsteps by Trujillo received several medals and Pendleton for a year, then once again joining the Navy for about three years. awards, including the Purple Heart. returned to Laredo in 1951. Looking back on his life after growing But the one that meant the most to In 1952, he married Elsa Gómez, up in a low-income ward barrio, Tovar him was his Combat Medical Badge, with whom he had six children: three is proud of his achievements and above awarded for service while in the thick boys and three girls. all of serving his country. of battle. Interviewed on Sept. 28, 2002, in Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El Interviewed on Feb. 19, 2011, in Laredo, Texas. Paso, Texas. Denver.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 29 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII

Joe Vargas Fidel Vásquez Marshall Vásquez Interview by Jesse Herrera Interview by Liliana Rodriguez Interview by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

Joe Vargas’ early life was characterized At least once in his life, Fidel Marshall Vásquez did not let his by constant movement between two Texas Vásquez considered himself lucky; disability keep him from serving his cities: Austin, where he was born on his U.S. Army construction unit country in World War II. March 18, 1926, and Fort Worth, where shipped out ahead of its supply ship, Vasquez was born Feb. 5, 1921, and he grew up. which was attacked and sunk by the raised in the Los Angeles area. When he Despite the hard work of his father, Japanese. was 10 years old, his sister accidentally Gavino Vargas, the family struggled to Vásquez who grew up in Marfa, poked him in the right eye, permanently make ends meet. The elder Vargas worked Texas, was born on Oct. 31, 1923, in blinding him on that side. Because of as a greenskeeper at a golf course while Joe’s Casa Piedra, Texas. He was drafted his visual impairment, it took the Army mother, Agustina Briseño Vargas, stayed at two years to accept him into its ranks on Jan. 1, 1943, at the age of 19. home with the six children. as a limited serviceman in 1941. In that His father, Natividad, had served By the time he was 10, Vargas was already capacity, Vásquez performed a variety of in World War I in the Army’s 90th working at the same golf course as his noncombat duties until his services were father. He continued to work to help support Infantry Division and received a no longer needed and he was discharged. his family until the war broke out and he Purple Heart. But he didn’t accept his dismissal. was drafted into the U.S. Army. There were 60 Latinos in Vásquez’s “I wanted to go to combat, to war… Vargas underwent basic training in Fort company of 200 soldiers, and they so I told them [the lieutenants] that I Bliss, Texas, and was assigned to the 28th stuck together and formed a big could learn to fi ght because I could use Infantry Battalion, 8th Infantry Division. family. That was “how it’s supposed my left eye instead of my right eye and I His unit was then sent to Europe on a to be,” Vasquez said. could fi re; I could kill,” he said. British ship in January 1945. After basic training at Camp After Vásquez insisted on going to After crossing Belgium, which had Livingston, Louisiana, he went to fi ght, the Army tested his shooting already been liberated by the Allies, Vargas Oakland, California, and then sailed skills. He earned high marks and went fought on the front lines in the Rhineland, to Australia before heading to New to Virginia to train. On Oct. 14, 1944, on German soil. His service was cut short Guinea. For 16 months he worked as Vasquez and the rest of the 310th when he was wounded March 3, 1945, in a crane operator. Infantry Regiment left for continental the Hercynian Forest. A blast blew Vargas’ He was then sent to Manila, Europe. The unit fought in Germany body under a boxcar. Upon returning to the Philippines, until the war ended. and also took part in the Battle of the United States, he was discharged Nov. 27, Vásquez returned to Marfa on Jan. 7, Bulge, where Vásquez was shot. He also 1945, at the rank of private. Back in Fort 1946. recalled that other members of his unit Worth, Vargas was confronted with growing were severely affl icted with frostbite. After the war, Vásquez worked in tensions between Hispanics and Anglos. After recovering at an English maintenance construction for the Looking to get an education, he enrolled hospital, he was sent back to France at Texas Christian University through his Texas Highway Department for 38 as a limited serviceman, once again Veterans Administration offi cer but quit the years. performing noncombat duties, program after feeling mistreated by other Vásquez married María Dolores including a stint guarding prisoners of students. Gonzales Vásquez on April 5, 1959. war. In 1947, Vargas married Hope Saldaña, They had two children, Fidel G. Vásquez returned to the United a native of Eastland, Texas. Together, they Vásquez Jr. and Diana Valdés. States in March 1946 and was formally had six daughters, all born and raised in Vásquez said his children were able discharged at Fort MacArthur in Fort Worth. to lead better lives than he had. California. Interviewed on Sept. 15, 2007, in Interviewed on Aug. 3, 2010, in Interviewed on June 15, 2007, in San Austin, Texas. Presidio, Texas. Jose, California.

Page 30 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: WWII Voces as a Resource Over the years, Voces has contributed to several documentaries, exhibits, news articles, and scholarly articles—becoming a national treasure of stories, photos and documentation. Below are just a few recent requests: Mike Villa Frank Yturralde 8-23-2013 email: Interview by Samantha Salazar Interview by Joseph Villescas My name is Alex Ott and I am producing a WW2 fi lm called FURY. It's about a 5-man Sherman Tank crew Despite the hardships they faced Frank Yturralde grew up in a pushing through Germany towards the during World War II, Mike Villa and his bilingual household in El Paso, Texas, end of the war in April 1945. It … stars brothers, Raymond and Joe, felt grateful where the importance of learning both Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Michael they returned home safely to Yorktown, English and Spanish was stressed. Peña, who plays a Latino-American Texas. “The more languages you know, the tanker in the fi lm. … Their mother died when Villa was about better off you are,” he said. During our extensive research, we have 8 years old. His older brother, Raymond, During World War II, Yturralde, a discovered that the Latino/a-American dropped out of school and enlisted in the yeoman third class in the Navy serving contribution to this war was far greater Army to help his family fi nancially. While in the Pacifi c on USS Collingsworth, than reported in the history books ... I serving in the Philippines, Raymond was used his bilingual education on at am hoping you may have access to a few surviving Latino/a-American veterans captured by the Japanese. least one occasion to help allies in the that would be willing to speak with our “My father took it pretty bad, knowing Mexican military. director and cast about their wartime that my brother Raymond had been He was called up on the deck of experiences. captured,” Villa said. his ship to translate orders to a plane In 1943, Villa, then 21, was drafted from Mexico’s 201st Fighter Squadron 8-21-13 National History into the Army. He was assigned as a that needed to land. (Escuadrón 201’s Associates, Rockville, MD: cryptographic technician to the First members fl ew 59 missions from the Radio Squadron Mobile Army Post Offi ce island of Luzon in the Philippines.) My company is working with the Trust 710 in the Philippines. After his discharge from the Navy for the National Mall to develop an Thanks to the International Red Cross, on May 1946, Yturralde could fi nd educational smartphone app for visitors Villa and his brother Raymond were able only low-paying menial labor and had to the National World War II Memorial to celebrate in the Philippines when the a family to support. So he decided he in Washington, D.C. In addition to latter was released from a Japanese prison would go back to school and get a memorial and World War II history, the camp short time before Raymond was college degree. app will include personal stories [to] bring sent back to the United States. Yturralde studied accounting at the war to life and highlight the sacrifi ces “They loaded the trucks and the Texas State School of Mines and made by all Americans. I saw the profi les of Mr. Richard [Raymond] bid me good-bye and said, Metallurgy, now University of Texas at Candelaria and Mr. Dennis Baca on your ‘With God’s help, we’ll meet in our El Paso. He worked for some time as website, and we would like to feature both hometown,’ ” Villa said. “And, sure an accountant for the government, but of them in the personal stories segment of enough, God helped us.” after realizing he wouldn’t be promoted the app. I would like to obtain permission After he returned home, he used the quickly, he decided in 1954 to switch to display photographs of both veterans in GI Bill to get his high school diploma careers and become a teacher. the app. and then studied at Draughon Business After his fi rst teaching stint in College in San Antonio. California, he moved back to El Paso, 2-9-2012 Producers of the “Hispanics didn’t get much of a chance. where he developed his career in Latino Americans, a PBS We had to struggle [to fi nd] a good job,” education. At the time of his interview, documentary: Villa said. Yturralde was still teaching, offering I am working on a six-hour PBS series Eventually, Villa landed a job as a English as a second language, GED on the history of Latinos in the United typist at Kelly Air Force Base, on the and citizenship classes to adults. As he States, and hour three will cover WWII- southwestern edge of San Antonio. He put it, “I cannot lie around. I have to 1950s. We are ... interested in what visual worked there for 34 years. keep busy.” materials you might have, and the breadth Interviewed on July 20, 2010, in Interviewed on Sept. 1, 2007, in El and diversity of stories and experiences Hallettsville, Texas. Paso, Texas. your project would bring to our show.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 31 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: KOREA

Raul Gutiérrez Luis Landín Jesús Ramírez Interview by Diana Maldonado Interview by Raquel C. Garza and Mike Zambrano, Jr. Interview by Valerie Martinez In December 1952, Raul Gutiérrez “When you get ambushed, you’re Jesús “Chuy” Ramírez believes reported to his local draft board and supposed to get killed.” serving in the U.S. Army during the was inducted into the U.S. Army. That’s what the Army tells every Korean War taught him responsibility. After basic training at Fort Hood, soldier during training, Luis Landín As the oldest of four siblings growing Texas, he was sent to the West Coast said. up in Baja California, Mexico, and then shipped to Japan and the “But for me,” he added, “my life Ramírez had many obligations. As a Korean War. consisted of events that weren’t normal, child, after his parents split up, he had Born in New Braunfels, Texas, on so I knew what I had to do when the to move from Mexicali to Guadalajara, Sept. 14, 1930, he was the oldest of chips were down.” back to Mexicali and then to Tijuana. Landín grew up in Laredo, Texas, As a result, he had to repeat the fi rst fi ve children. His father, Alphonso, with fi ve brothers and a sister. grade at least twice, and he did not was a bookkeeper and his mother, He dropped out of high school after become fl uent in English during his María, was a homemaker. ninth grade and held several jobs to school days. He reached Hokkaido, Japan, in help his family. When Ramírez was 17, he moved to mid-1953, where he joined the 1st “I used to shine shoes and sell the United States and tried to enlist in Cavalry Division, 8th Regiment. newspapers, but I never felt comfortable the Army but was rejected because of his The war was almost over, but doing those jobs,” Landín said. “It age and because he did not understand the North Korean threat remained; wasn’t for me, so I joined the Army.” enough English. As soon as he turned training against another invasion Two of his brothers were already 18, he dropped out of school. Soon after became a large part of Gutiérrez’s in Korea when he volunteered for the that, he was drafted into the Army. experience. Army in 1948. By 1950, he was in “I wanted the adventure,” Ramírez Gutiérrez recalls reinforced South Korea with the 45th Infantry said, adding that he also wanted to training with small arms, under live Division. serve. He was assigned to Company C, fi re conditions, as well as training After his tour in Korea, Landín went 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, with hand grenades and bazookas. to Fort Dix, New Jersey But in 1960, he 24th Infantry Division, 8th Army. He also learned how to plant and volunteered to be a military advisor to After training, he was sent to remove various types of land mines, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Japan on a vessel known as “General but his newest training included After his initial tour in South Wiggles,” the transport ship USS Gen. amphibious landings along the coast Vietnam, Landín returned to the U.S. William Weigel. He never forgot the of Japan. “Training was tough, but it in 1962 but soon went back to South look on his mother’s face when he said Vietnam as a light weapons infantry goodbye. was good,” he recalls. advisor to the 1st Battalion, 33rd “It killed me … seeing her cry and Fortunately, he never had to fi ght Regiment of the 21st Infantry Division, how sad she was,” Ramírez said, in Korea. In November 1954, he was Army of the Republic of Vietnam. admitting that he cried too. honorably discharged and returned On Dec. 28, 1964, Landín’s regiment After three months in Japan, Ramírez to civilian life in San Antonio. In was ambushed by the Viet Cong, and his company received emergency 1957, he married Amparo Gaytán leaving 27 dead. orders to leave for South Korea. and raised four children. He worked As a result of his actions during the “One good thing I learned in the for a meatpacking fi rm and later attack, Landín was promoted and Army was to be responsible for things retired from Boise Cascade in 1995. awarded the Silver Star. and also to do what I’m supposed to Interviewed in September 2013, in Interviewed on Oct. 3, 2009, in do,” he said. Austin, Texas, and on Feb. 11, 2014, Laredo, Texas. Interviewed on June 7, 2010, in in Eagle Pass, Texas. National City, California.

Page 32 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM

John Alemán Daniel Archuleta Bobby Biers Interview by Haley Dawson Interview by Henry Velez Interview by Marc Hamel

John Alemán became one of the At a time of racial tension in the U.S. Marine Corps veteran Robert few Latinos to graduate from Sam U.S., Daniel Archuleta struggled to fi nd “Bobby” Biers said he felt more distress Houston State University in 1963 and direction. as a drill instructor dodging comments went on to succeed in his subsequent Archuleta, who grew up in Denver, from mothers than when he was on the military service and post-Vietnam War enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 30, front lines of Vietnam. community service. Alemán was born 1967. His uncle, who was killed in the “I had these mothers calling me up, in Waco, Texas, on June 23, 1940, to Korean War, had been a medic. asking me, ‘What did you do to my Pedro and Dolores Alemán, and grew up “I grew up with his memory. I have baby? He has manners and he’s polite. in nearby Bellmead. Discrimination was a little green jacket with his Army He lost 100 pounds. He’s lean, mean a daily part of Alemán’s life. Hispanics patches,” he said. “I wore it when I was and tough,’ ” Biers said. were often excluded from activities and little, and my son wore it when he was Born in Pittsburgh in 1937, Biers opportunities. He did not feel angry small.” moved to Phoenix with his mother and about his situation, however, because he Archuleta became a medic in the 2nd brother when his parents divorced. knew no other way of life. Medical Battalion, 18th Infantry, 1st “For a time we lived in a cabin and He enlisted in the Air Force to avoid Infantry Division, then transferred to being drafted into the Army. He went to Company D in the 1st Medical Battalion. slept on the fl oor,” Biers said. “The bad Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, His unit arrived at Di An, South times taught us to appreciate the good.” where he became the only Latino in his Vietnam, just after Viet Cong and North In 1954, Biers joined the Marines. He group to complete the basic training. He Vietnamese Army launched the surprise married Mary Ellen Greenwood in June then went on to graduate from the Offi cer Tet Offensive against South Vietnamese 1956. Training School. Alemán was stationed and U.S. forces. One of his best friends He served as a clerk in Arizona and in Wichita Falls, Texas, for three years lost both legs. then went to Okinawa before heading before he was deployed as a courier He transferred to the infantry and, to Vietnam as a logistician with the to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Archuleta said, got even for his friend 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine He received planes full of classifi ed and his uncle. Division. documents and equipment at the base, He was discharged on July 30, 1970, It was 1965 and Biers said U.S. forces directed a team of men in unloading it, with the rank of specialist. He was in Vietnam had to request permission and then guarded the items until they awarded the Bronze Star, the National to fi re back when fi red upon. were picked up again. Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam He returned to San Diego as a drill Alemán was diagnosed with multiple Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign instructor. In 1969 he went back to sclerosis a few years after his return. Medal, Combat Medical Badge, Vietnam with the 1st Tank Battalion, After the service, he worked for 30 Army Commendation Medal and a . Biers’ fi nal Marine years as a state employment counselor Sharpshooter Badge. assignment was as base logistics chief and was active in Latino organizations, After returning home, he became from 1976 to 1979 at Kaneohe in including The American G.I. Forum and active in Vietnam Veterans Against the Hawaii. He returned to San Diego as the League of United Latin American War, the American Red Cross and the depot logistics chief, retiring in 1981. Citizens, among others. Paramedic Association of Colorado. Biers struggled with post-traumatic “My return to the U.S.A. and civilian “If you love life then you need to love stress disorder and for years rode his life was quite a contrast,” Alemán said. people. And when they take that away motorcycle to the Vietnam Veterans “The reception for our troops returning from you, you have to get it back, or you from Iraq and Afghanistan, I applaud.” end up with nothing.” Archuleta said. Memorial Wall. Interviewed on April 9, 2011, in Interviewed on Aug. 9, 2010, in Interviewed on Aug. 15, 2010, in Houston. Denver. Tucson, Arizona.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 33 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM

Jim Estrada Arnold García Jr. Raymond García Interview by Lindsey Craun Interview by Jonathan Woo Interview by Andres Salinas

Jim Estrada was a 17-year-old high Arnold García Jr. had never felt more Raymond García, a proud school dropout at Air Force technical powerful in his life. Mexican American from a small training in Biloxi, Mississippi, The West Texas native was in Texas town and a Vietnam War surrounded by college students. But Illesheim, Germany, when a fellow veteran, enlisted in the U.S. Army to Estrada consistently placed in the top soldier named Horton, who never hid help support his family and to help 10 percent of his class. his disdain toward García, asked him his country. García was born in 1951 The Air Force was a turning point. “It sort of sparked a fi re that, ‘Gee, to read a letter he received from his in El Campo, Texas, which was still education might be something I want girlfriend. Horton was illiterate. segregated when he was growing to pursue,’” he recalled. “I realized that I could’ve told him up. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in As a child in San Pedro, California, anything, and evil thoughts crossed August 1969 and was sent to basic Estrada had a passion for learning. my mind,” García said. “Since then, training at Fort Bliss in El Paso, He read anything he could get his I have thought that never again in my Texas. He then received specialized hands on — even food labels. After life will I ever be as powerful as I was training to operate quad .50 caliber joining the Air Force in 1961, he at that moment. I was the center of his guns. That was his job in Vietnam, trained and taught Air Force enlisted universe.” with the 24th Corps, Battery G, personnel to be radar technicians at He was drafted on Oct. 19, 65th Artillery. Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi. 1969, while attending Angelo State “The war was real to me the fi rst He later was stationed in Finland, Minnesota, and briefl y traveled to University and working at the San day I got there,” García said. “I Southeast Asia in 1964. After his Angelo Standard-Times. In Germany hadn’t even been processed or given service, Estrada enrolled at Mesa during the Cold War, he performed a a weapon before I witnessed my fi rst Community College and then at San variety of jobs, including artillery crew attack.” Diego State University. member, motor pool clerk, and infantry Sometimes soldiers went out on “That spark that was ignited in the squad member. patrol and didn’t come back; it Air Force, the military, fi nally came “[Service] made me a better person, meant they had been ambushed. A to fruition,” he said. made me a more compassionate few days later new soldiers moved In 1971, Estrada went to work person,” García said. “It gave me into their barracks. at KGTV-TV and then went to a broader understanding of a lot of “Those kinds of things always McGraw-Hill in New York to work things.” broke my heart,” García said. “They on documentary fi lms, including the He ended his active duty days at A were young kids.” award-winning “La Raza”. Estrada Company, 2nd Battalion of the 51st García served a year in the returned to San Diego in 1975 and formed his own advertising agency, Infantry, 1st Armored Division. At the Vietnam War. When he returned Imagery. He then worked for the time of his interview, García lived with home, he felt like an outsider. He McDonald Corporation and in his wife, Vida Marcet, in Austin, Texas. was seen as a baby killer and vilifi ed. Houston with Anheuser-Busch. He worked as editorial page editor of “No one understood me,” he said. “God has put me in different places the Austin American-Statesman. “They hadn’t been to war. They at different times of my life, and I His advice for younger Latinos: hadn’t seen what I’ve seen. I came think I’m here right now to see how “Don't swallow insults, take advantage back a changed man.” to help my community develop a of opportunities, get an education, and García couldn’t fi nd a job in his voice,” he said. vote. The more education you get, the hometown, but eventually he was Estrada eventually opened his own fewer insults you have to swallow,” he able to fi nd work as an oilfi eld public relations fi rm in San Antonio, said, adding: “Don't be Horton.” worker. Estrada Communications Group. Interviewed on April 20, 2011, in Interviewed on April 23, 2011, in Interviewed on Nov. 6, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Austin, Texas. Castroville, Texas.

Page 34 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM

Servando García Eduardo Garza Juan Guajardo Interview by Mosettee Lorenz Interview by Emily Macrander Interview by Anna Kavich

Servando “Gus” García’s 20-year In the summer of 1969 Eduardo Life for Juan Guajardo seemed just as military career allowed him to travel Garza was a combat engineer with traumatic before and after Vietnam, as extensively and live in France, Germany, the U.S. Army in Vietnam, trained to it was while he was there. Japan and Vietnam. detonate explosives, help the infantry Guajardo, who was born in San Before joining the U.S. Army in 1959, and kill the enemy. Antonio on Dec. 18, 1947, often García had left the United States only to Garza, who grew up in the small witnessed violence on the streets and in visit relatives in Mexico. He grew up in Texas town of El Indio, said the land his own house. the town of Charlotte, Texas, where his and the people of Vietnam reminded “We all thought it was normal,” family ran a pool hall and barbershop. him of his family and home. Guajardo said. “Until we grew up and After college, he had a hard time fi nding “I realized once I was there that we said, ‘Hey man, this wasn’t right.’ ” a job. So he decided to enlist. this was a people struggling to He was drafted in August 1968 and His fi rst assignment was in Paris, survive under domination from trained at Fort Bliss, Texas, before where he met his future wife, Berthe another people, who were their own going to Advanced Infantry Training Holst Madsen, a fl ight attendant from people,” Garza said. at Fort Ord, California. He arrived in Denmark. After Europe, García was He also saw soldiers change. Vietnam in January 1969. stationed in New Jersey and then “Those who had suffered losses to He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Georgia. After a year in the United the Viet Cong took on a hard, vicious but was sent to the 86th Combat States, García was sent to Stuttgart, in feeling towards the Vietnamese Engineer Battalion at Camp Viking, what was then West Germany. people, whether they were [from the] in . He then went to In 1966, he was assigned to Okinawa, south or north,” Garza said. the 4th Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Japan. And then García volunteered for Garza chose to not extend his tour Infantry Division. a tour in the Vietnam War. He joined the beyond one year in Vietnam. He was On May 14, 1969, Guajardo was 57th Signal Company (Communications, married for the fi rst of three times seriously injured by a land mine. He Security and Logistical Support) in South before leaving military service. His was fl own to Camp Drake, in Tokyo, Vietnam. In Saigon, now called Ho Chi fi rst wife lived with him in West and then to Fort Sam Houston, in San Minh City, Spanish-speaking soldiers Germany, before they returned to Antonio. from all over the United States gathered the U.S. and civilian life. After they He spent his last eight months of at a local hotel. It was a rare moment divorced, he lived for a time with military service at Heilbraun, Germany. for García to be surrounded by so many his parents. Garza’s parents were He was discharged with the rank Spanish-speaking soldiers overseas. surprised to see how much he had of Specialist 4. He received the Purple “Everyone who was Spanish-speaking changed overseas. He was angry Heart, the , the was there,” García said. “…And I was and edgy and had trouble settling , Vietnam surprised to see so many of them.” down. He was diagnosed with post- Medal of Gallantry Unit Citation with After Vietnam, he was posted to traumatic stress disorder 15 years Palm, and the Combat Infantry Badge. Germany and then to Fairfax, Virginia. after his return. He became active He sought to serve his San Antonio After he left the military, he worked in the Chicano rights movement community as a Volunteers in Service at Computer Sciences Corp. near and the San Antonio arts scene. to America volunteer before the war, Washington, D.C., until he retired Garza worked for the Veterans and went on to become prime minister in 2007. The Garcías, who had two Administration for 23 years and then of the San Antonio Brown Berets and a daughters, then moved back to San retired. He also started San Antonio’s civil rights advocate after his discharge. Antonio. Jazz Poets Society in 2006. Interviewed on Nov. 6, 2010, in Interviewed on Nov. 6, 2010, in Interviewed on April 20, 2011, in Castroville, Texas. Castroville, Texas. San Antonio.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 35 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM

Herlinda Gutiérrez Dan Hinojosa Ricardo León Martínez Interview by Laura Barberena Interview by Amy Bingham Interview by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

What began as a harmless bet led As an infantryman on patrol in Although he returned from Vietnam to the opportunity of a lifetime for 1969 during the Vietnam War, Daniel uninjured, Ricardo León Martínez carried Herlinda Gutiérrez. Hinojosa suffered through swarms of invisible scars; his struggles with post- “I enlisted on a dare,” she said mosquitoes and many blood-sucking traumatic stress disorder put a strain on about the start of her 20-year career leeches on a nightly basis. his family relationships. in the U.S. Air Force. “It was very hard,” Hinojosa said. Still, the native of Newton, Kansas, was Gutiérrez remembered that a “We’d be out in the jungle days at a able to turn his life around and launch a group of nurses at work dared one time. [It was] rainy most of the time successful career. another to apply to different armed and miserable, but it was a job that Martínez was born on June 28, 1943, to forces branches. As it happened, had to be done. You were trying to Ignacio Martínez and María Neri. Of his most, except Gutiérrez, were married stay alive and taking care of each 13 siblings, seven served in the military. and had children. And that’s how other.” After quitting high school in 11th grade, Gutiérrez joined the Air Force in Hinojosa, who was from San Martínez married a former schoolmate 1961, and her initial assignment was Antonio, was drafted in 1968 and and had four children. A propensity for particularly close to home. went through basic training at Fort heavy drinking and getting into fi ghts got “I joined the military to see the Bliss, in Texas. He was assigned to him in trouble with the law. Fearing such world, and I got stationed here in San Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, a lifestyle would lead to jail, he enlisted in Antonio,” Gutiérrez said with a laugh. 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st the Army in 1965. But in January 1964 she was Airborne Division in South Vietnam After basic training, Martínez assigned to North Africa. While in from July 1969 until the summer of volunteered to go to Vietnam and was Libya, she tended to the soldiers and 1970. deployed with the 9th Division. He served those working for the United States Hinojosa was discharged on Nov. with several units during his stint at the abroad. 17, 1970, at the rank of sergeant. He military. When he returned to the U.S. in She became part of the medical received a Combat Infantry Badge, 1967, Martínez’s PTSD put a rift between corps, which picked up wounded an Air Medal, a National Defense him and his family. soldiers during the Vietnam War Service Medal, and a Vietnam Service In 1970, Martínez divorced and moved and transported them to larger U.S. Medal with two bronze service stars. to Kansas City. Soon after, he was laid off facilities. “For the longest time, I never told from his job and faced fi nancial problems. For Gutiérrez, discrimination was anybody I was there [in Vietnam], At some point, he became homeless and only a minor issue growing up in because people would look down lived in a park. San Antonio. It wasn’t until she was on you,” Hinojosa said. “You didn’t Eventually, Martínez found a steady job in the military that she realized she even want to say you were in the at a mental clinic. While he was working, was the only Latina nurse during her Army.” he used the GI Bill and attended Penn assignments in the early 1960s. But Despite suffering from post- Valley Community College, where he she was more shocked, after she was traumatic stress disorder and other earned an associate’s degree in criminal discharged, to realize how servicemen health problems, Hinojosa said he did justice administration. His education led and women were treated by many not hold a grudge about having been to positions with different federal agencies civilians. Nonetheless, she was proud sent to war. for the next 34 years. After going through to have served in the military and “I was ordered to do something, two more divorces, Martínez married would recommend the experience to and I followed orders, completed my Mary F. Callahan, who had been his wife other women. time, and got out,” he said. for 22 years at the time of the interview. Interviewed on May 6, 2010, in Interviewed on Nov. 6, 2010, in Interviewed on June 17, 2010, in San Antonio. Castroville, Texas. Kansas City, Kansas.

Page 36 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM

Camilo Medrano Óscar Muñoz Richard Pérez Interview by Ali Vise Interview by Élida Chávez Interview by Alexandra Loucel

Camilo Medrano’s job as a U.S. When Óscar C. Muñoz returned U.S. Marine Corps veteran Richard Navy corpsman took him from his to the United States after serving in Pérez, the son of a World War II hometown of San Antonio, to the Vietnam, he thought he had seen his last veteran, was in Vietnam for three horrors of the Vietnam war. dying Marine and would never again months, but that was enough to alter his Medrano, born in 1943, said his hear another man scream in agony. life forever. family’s tradition of military service He didn't know those sights and sounds Pérez, who was part of Delta inspired him to join the Navy would haunt him the rest of his life. Company, 1st Reconnaissance Reserve while in high school. “You don't just say goodbye to war,” Battalion, 1st Marine Division, was He enlisted in the Navy in July he said. “You take it with you.” seriously wounded in February 1967. 1962, and while attending Hospital Muñoz enlisted in the U.S. Marine After spending a year and a half Corps School in Great Lakes, Corps on April 15, 1968, without telling recovering, Pérez decided to help Illinois, he married his wife, Esther, his parents. One of 12 children born to fellow veterans. on Nov. 23, 1962. Manual and Abigail Muñoz, Arizona “I dedicated my life to help veterans Before being sent to South farm laborers, he knew the military was get their benefi ts,” he said, adding Vietnam, he trained at Camp his only way to an education. that he also became involved in Pendleton, California, and He served in the 5th Marine Regiment politics and education. transferred to the 3rd Marine of the 1st Marine Division as a lance Pérez, a native of Houston, enlisted Division of Field Medical School. corporal. Muñoz returned to Arizona in the Marine Corps in 1966, and In Vietnam, he was assigned to after being discharged in February 1970. went to South Vietnam in December the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Upon his return, he said he started of that year. Marine Division. showing symptoms of post-traumatic Pérez was wounded when Viet Cong The most diffi cult part, Medrano stress disorder, such as a strong fear of soldiers attacked his unit. A bullet said, was “treating the dead and darkness. At night he kept a knife under struck him in the upper right hip and wounded. Holding a dying Marine his pillow and a gun in his drawer. exited through his stomach. in my arms in an attempt to Soon after his discharge, he met Marie “My buddy, Kenneth Deavers . . . comfort him. Hearing the cries of Moreno, and in 1971 they married in caught four rounds across the chest; wounded Marines that I was Mesa, Arizona. They had four children: another round hit his wrist. . . One of unable to attend to because I was Gabe, Patty, Steven and Marie. That those bullets that hit him, one [hit him] told by a Marine offi cer, ‘I’ve marriage ended in 1992. as he was giving me cover,” Pérez said. already lost four corpsmen. Don’t Three years later, Muñoz met Norma His friend died next to him. go out there.’ ” Trujillo, and they started dating after Pérez’s hip hurt a lot even after he He was discharged in August she divorced. The couple later married in left the hospital. He underwent two hip 1966 at the rank of hospitalman 2000. They have no children. replacements before doctors amputated E-5. For his service, he received Muñoz said he never turned to drugs his right leg above the knee. the National Defense Service or alcohol to cope with his disorder. Pérez founded or co-founded various Medal; Navy Good Conduct Instead, he turned to Norma, who helps veteran organizations around the city of Medal; Vietnam Service Medal him maintain a positive attitude. Houston, including the City of Houston with three bronze stars; Naval Unit “You can never change life. It gives Veterans Memorial Park. He also was Commendation, and the Republic you what it gives you, and you have to co-founder of Gathering of Eagles, of Vietnam Meritorious Unit make the best of it,” he said. “I live with which promotes patriotism among Citation. what it has dealt me and I move on.” young people. Interviewed on Nov. 6, 2010, in Interviewed on June 9, 2010, in Interviewed on April 9, 2011, in Castroville, Texas. National City, California. Houston.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 37 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM

Gregory Ríos Fernando Rodríguez Vidal Rubio Interview by Miguel Gutiérrez Jr. Interview by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez Interview by Elizabeth Blancas

The fi rst time Gregory Ríos voted in a Unlike many U.S. military veterans who Vidal Rubio graduated from Goliad presidential election was 1960, and he cast served in Southeast Asia during the 1960s, High School in June 1963. After two his ballot for John F. Kennedy. It made an Fernando Rodríguez did not see battle. The weeks of unsuccessfully looking for a job, impression on him. So did having to pay soldier, who was assigned to the Defense he met an Army recruiter and signed up. the $1.50 poll tax. Intelligence Agency, said that the closest he When Rubio enlisted, he said, he At the time he picked cotton for a living. came to the war that raged between North had never heard of Vietnam. He soon “If you picked a hundred pounds [of and South Vietnam during his 26-year Air found himself on a ship in the Pacifi c, cotton]… you got $1.50 for it,” he said. Force career was when he was in Nakhon heading west. “The fi rst time I voted, I had to pick a Phanom, Thailand. Rubio underwent basic training at hundred pounds to buy a poll tax.” “I did really want to go,” said Rodríguez Pearl Harbor and in 1964 was sent to Ríos said the poll tax was“just another of the Vietnam War, “to see what it was Okinawa. There, men were stationed for way by the Anglos to keep minorities from all about.” rapid deployment to any trouble spot in voting.” (Poll taxes in federal elections Rodríguez, a native of El Paso, Texas, the region. He was there for almost two were banned by the U.S. Constitution’s recalled that his family had been poorer years, as the Vietnam civil war mounted. 24th Amendment in 1964, and the U.S. than those of his friends. Finally, in 1966, Rubio’s time came Supreme Court ruled in 1966 that poll Rodríguez and his brothers did whatever to tour Vietnam. After being promoted taxes violated the 14th Amendment’s equal they could to help, from picking cotton in to corporal and reassigned to the 25th protection clause.) When he was growing the fi elds to collecting scrap iron and doing Infantry Division, his unit boarded the up, school students were not allowed yard work and other odd jobs. “Every USS Missouri on Jan. 5. Fifteen days to speak Spanish, and his hometown penny we earned, it was a hard-earned later he landed at Cam Ranh Bay. of Rosenberg, like many other Texas penny,” Rodríguez said. Rubio’s last operation was in May communities, was segregated. He enlisted in the Air Force on Feb. 4, 1966, after four months in the country. “But we didn't know what 1957. As a member of the 49th Tactical He returned to the United States and was discrimination was,” Ríos said. “My Fighter Wing (TAC), Rodríguez traveled to discharged from the military. mother would just say, ‘We can’t go in South Carolina, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Initially, Rubio went back to Goliad, there,’ and we wouldn’t, though we never Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Thailand, but he had trouble fi nding employment. really knew why.” Rios enlisted in the California and New Mexico. So he moved to Houston and found Marine Corps in 1965, and he recalled Up until his time in Nakhon Phanom, work fi rst as a store clerk and later as a heated racial discussions between black near Laos, Rodríguez worked for the shipyard welder. and white soldiers. These conversations Defense Intelligence Agency. Rodríguez After welding for years, Rubio decided helped shape Ríos’ consciousness about the was awarded the Meritorious Service to use his GI Bill education benefi ts segregation and discrimination he faced in Medal, the highest recognition awarded and ultimately was accepted by the Rosenberg. Ríos left for Vietnam in 1966. for military personnel involved in a non- Houston Police Academy in January After his return to the U.S. a year later, combat area. 1975. That was the start of a 30-year law he was discharged, got married and had Rodríguez retired from the Air Force as enforcement career. He retired in 2005 two sons. He never forgot the lessons his a master sergeant on Feb. 28, 1985. because of heart disease attributed to mother taught him. Rodríguez said he would tell young exposure to Agent Orange. “I tell my grandson, ‘You need to go people: “Education fi rst. Graduate from On June 22, 1968, Rubio married register to vote,’ ” Ríos said. “You have high school, then join the Air Force. Edulia Sanchez. At the time of the to get involved; you have to know what's There's a lot of opportunities in the Air interview, Rubio and his wife lived in going on around you.’ ” Force.” Needville, Texas, with their two horses. Interviewed on March 22, 2014, in Interviewed on Nov. 29, 2009, in Interviewed on July 20, 2010, in Richmond, Texas. Austin, Texas. Goliad, Texas.

Page 38 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: VIETNAM WHAT I LEARNED FROM VOCES: Kristian Stewart

Ben Saenz Ernesto Torres Interview by Gilbert Song Interview by Ricardo LaForé

Bernardino “Ben” Saenz Jr. After graduating from Abraham arrived in Vietnam to the sound of Lincoln High School in Denver in sirens and pitch-black darkness in 1969, Ernesto Torres had trouble May 1969, just fi ve months after he fi nding steady work. was drafted. “A lot of people wouldn’t hire you “I knew I was in the real stuff because they were afraid you’d get Kristian Stewart, a database when I saw the bodies,” Saenz said. drafted. It was a hard time fi nding a manager from 2003 to 2005, “That's the worst smell, seeing decent job,” he said. remembers the Voces team as a family united by the leadership of Dr. a dead body that had been there Torres enlisted in the U.S. Army Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez. The years months decaying. I remember on June 5, 1970. After basic training that Kristian spent with the Project pulling the arm of one and I got at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, provided her with the opportunity maggots all over me.” he went to Fort Rucker, Alaska, for to advance her professional skills He was assigned to the storied 1st special helicopter training. while empowering her to learn about Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, Torres arrived in Vietnam in the Latino experience in the United 101st Airborne Division. December 1970 and spent 12 months States. “Day to day, you didn't know if in an assault helicopter, completing you were going to live or die,” he missions throughout South Vietnam “I am so grateful for the time I said. “You hardly ever saw any of and on the borders of Laos and spent with the Project. It allowed me the enemy. You knew they were Cambodia. He was assigned to the to develop the confi dence I needed for going out into the real world,” said there because they were shooting at 61st Aviation Company (Assault Kristian. “I also got to learn many you. After the fi refi ght, we would Support Helicopter), 1st Aviation amazing stories about very heroic go out there and see blood trails.” Brigade. He returned to the U.S. in people who served their country.” When Saenz eventually left South December 1971, arriving at Fort Kristian’s role included the Vietnam and returned to Houston, Lewis, Washington. maintenance of the contact he was greeted by anti-war “At the airport, while I was information for interview subjects, an protesters, who called him “baby washing my hands, an older essential component of the Project. In killer” and threw eggs at him. gentlemen came up to me and addition, she took on miscellaneous To cope, he drank just as he started poking me in the chest and responsibilities that contributed to had after losing buddies in South asked, ‘Did you get these for killing the work of the Voces group. Kristian Vietnam. babies?’ ” Torres said, recalling cites collaboration with other staff members, volunteers, and interns “I was just miserable because I that the man had been pointing to as an integral part of her learning was thinking about guys that I left his ribbons. “It shocked me. I just experience. behind,” he said. walked away, said nothing.” “I learned how to work as a team. His struggle with his personal As Torres realized how deeply his This was the most cohesive team I demons continued for well over a own friends opposed the war, he hid have worked with. I came to rely decade. the fact that he had served in the on them both inside and outside of At the time of his interview the war. work,” said Kristian. twice-divorced Saenz had been “I wasn’t sure of the validity [of The Voces Oral History Project sober for seven years. the war]. Just know that my number team has conducted over 930 “I’m living my life day by day,” was called. It was time to serve my interviews with Latino military he said. country,” Torres said. veterans and maintains a Interviewed on April 9, 2011, in Interviewed on Aug. 9, 2010, in comprehensive archive of stories written by student journalists. Houston. Denver.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 39 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Gonzalo Barrientos Paul Cedillo Rosalio Durán Interview by Ashley Mastervich Interview by Miguel Gutiérrez, Jr. Interview by Katy Lutz

Gonzalo Barrientos has devoted One evening in the early 1970s, It may have been a small, dimly lit his career as public offi cial to a large crowd of Latino activists East Austin bar, but Rabbit’s Lounge challenging the inequalities he met at A.W. Jackson Elementary served as the hub of Chicano politics witnessed and endured in his youth. School in Rosenberg, Texas, to hear in the early 1970s with owner Rosalio When he was growing up in Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. Durán at its center. Durán, a native of Bastrop, Texas, discrimination Paul Cedillo, the attorney and activist Austin, gained the nickname “Rabbit” against minorities was commonplace. who fi rst contacted Jordan, recalled the as an adolescent because of his For example, Mexican Americans moment as a milestone in the history running speed in youth sports. were not allowed to eat inside most of minority communities in the then- When he was 19, Durán joined the restaurants. segregated Texas town. Jordan’s oratory U.S. Navy and served in the Korean He said John F. Kennedy and was electrifying. War, working in supplies on the USS Lyndon B. Johnson were his role The fi rst time Cedillo recalled being Oriskany (CVA-34). After his service, models. denied service was at a Rosenberg Durán began working full-time at his “When you heard John Kennedy hamburger restaurant in 1954, when he family’s service station. speeches and talking about equality was around 12 or 13. As the 1950s faded into the 1960s, and justice, it was almost religious “It left a lasting impression on me,” Durán noticed a surge in Mexican about doing for your brothers and Cedillo said. Americans intent on achieving social sisters across the board. … He made Cedillo graduated from the University and political equality. you feel like you were part of this of St. Thomas in Houston, interrupted “I never thought about [segregation], country,” he said. by a stint in the Army that took him to why it was segregated,” he said. “It In 1972, Barrientos ran against an an American base in Vicenza, Italy. was just a black thing and a Brown incumbent for the Texas House and “It opened up my eyes,” Cedillo said thing… We didn’t know any better.” lost. But two years later he won the of his post-high school years. Durán began going to Cisco’s Bakery, seat. Back in Texas, Cedillo decided to “a big political place,” in Austin in Among the bills he is most proud become a lawyer, and became active in 1967. And when the owner decided to of is HB 588, which gives the top civil rights activism and politics. At one give up his business, Durán rented the 10 percent of Texas high school meeting it was decided to contact Jordan place, and Rabbit’s Lounge was born. graduates automatic admission to to pressure local Rosenberg offi cials. It became the political center for young any public state university. Jordan responded quickly, visiting twice. Mexican-American activists in Austin, Barrientos also became known for Cedillo recalled her saying, “All those even after moving to a larger building in conducting two lengthy fi libusters people that think we’re not going to do East Austin in 1969. while in the Senate. In one case he anything about changing the system, “Everyone was welcome, and spoke for 21 hours. they’d better think twice.” everyone was treated right,” said “Unfortunately, I don’t think After that infl ux of energy, “things just Durán. enough young people realize some could not go back to how they were,” Rabbit’s Lounge was a place where of the trials and tribulations that Cedillo said. Mexican Americans in politicians would “ask for help, bring certain people in our country went Rosenberg gradually increased their their friends, bring their supporters” through,” he said. political participation, even running for and promote their campaigns. In “And we seem to be walking and winning elected offi ce; culminating the summer of 2011, after 40 years backwards in a way, if you look at in Lupe Uresti’s victory in the 1992 of running Rabbit’s Lounge, Durán the Texas Senate.” mayoral election. decided to lease his space. Interviewed on Oct. 9, 2013, in Interviewed on April 26, 2014, in Interviewed on March 17, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Rosenberg, Texas. Austin, Texas.

Page 40 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Iris Galván Lawrence Hernández Richard Moya Interview by Rebecca Chavoya Interview by Paige More Interview by Alsha Khan

Iris Galván was a 17-year-old high Lawrence “Lencho” Hernández is Over a lunch of burgers, fries and school student when she approached an still haunted by his elementary school Dr Peppers in the late 1960s, Richard elderly Hispanic man who was pushing principal’s big green disciplinary paddle. Moya and two of his best friends a tamale cart down the streets of One afternoon in the eighth grade, when tossed around the idea of getting “to Rosenberg, Texas, in 1974. the principal drew his arm back to hit the other side of the table” to help their “Have you ever thought about Hernandez, the youngster snatched the community. voting?” She said. “You have a right to paddle away. That discussion eventually led Moya vote. You are a citizen of this country.” That got him kicked out of school. to run for a seat on the Travis County The man shrugged off her suggestion, In 10th grade he quit school altogether, Commissioners Court, making him the saying that he knew his voice didn’t although he later earned an equivalent fi rst Mexican American to be elected to matter. “I don’t speak very good diploma. a Travis County offi ce and paving the English,” he said. Since his early years, Hernández was way for others. “Can you read or write a little bit?” outspoken and stood up for his beliefs. Moya, who served as Travis County Galván said. “If not, someone can help He went on to have a career in collective commissioner from 1970 to 1986, you. We can help you.” bargaining, leading boycotts and strikes recalled growing up in a segregated Galván was part of Juventud — including the Economy Furniture community. In 1953, he was drafted Unida, United Youth, a group that strike of 1968-1970 — which led to major into the armed services and served encouraged Mexican Americans to vote improvements in the political representation as a sergeant fi rst class in the Korean in Rosenberg. Growing up in Sinton, of Hispanics in Austin, Texas. War, where he was in charge of ration Texas, Galván said she never recognized He worked as a sander at the Economy breakdowns. any prejudices against Mexican Furniture Company in East Austin. “Best job in Korea,” Moya said. Americans or African Americans. That “Most of the supervisors were white, “Everybody loves you ’cause you have changed when she moved to Rosenberg and they would say the word ‘Mexican’ in the rations, their food!” in the fourth grade. Galván said a derogatory manner,” Hernández said. Moya returned to Austin after Korea, Mexican students were always meant to Ninety percent of the company’s 400 and in 1965 he took a job with the be “seen and not heard.” workers were Mexican American. During Travis County Legal Aid Defenders In 1974, Galván and other young the successful strike that he led with the Society and worked with the Offi ce students formed Juventud Unida. Upholsterers’ International Union against of Economic Opportunity. Through Not only did the group educate Economy Furniture, Hernandez became his work, he became aware of how citizens about their right to vote, but friends with United Farm Workers much the poor, Mexican Americans in also about individual candidates. President César Chávez and later went particular, needed help. “You need to research and study to work for the upholsterers union in In 1970, Moya ran for a seat on the about your candidate. It was an Chicago, where he married Josefi na Travis County Commissioners Court. education process about who you are Villaseñor. “We weren’t used to having Hispanics voting for,” Galván said. “I’m not loud like I used to be on run for anything. There were a lot of Galván recognized that her efforts the picket line and at the rallies,” confrontations. It was really sad. In over the years were not in vain. Hernández said. fact, one of the guys who supported me “There is a more diverse group of “You have to get the people to believe,” got killed,” Moya said. candidates now, so it’s good to know he added. “ ‘Sí se puede, creyendo,’ Moya’s victory gave other Hispanics that our work wasn’t for nothing,” meaning, ‘Yes you can, if you believe’ is in Austin the hope that winning elected she said. my motto.” offi ce was possible. Interviewed on March 23, 2014, in Interviewed on April 16, 2014, in Interviewed on Nov. 2, 2013, in Richmond, Texas. Bastrop, Texas. Austin, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 41 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Harriet Murphy Wilfred Navarro Jr. Bob Perkins Interview by Paul Zepeda Interview by Autumn Caviness and Ernest Eguía Interview by José Andrés Araiza As a civil rights trailblazer, Judge Navy veteran Wilfred Navarro Jr. Bob Perkins, who spent 36 years as Harriet Louise Murphy helped usher in challenged institutional discrimination an elected district court judge in Travis the application of the then newly adopted and had a long and fruitful career in County, Texas, attributed his victory in Voting Rights Act in East Texas. She won the Houston Police Department. his fi rst run for offi ce to support from removal of the “Whites” and “Colored” He tried several times to get hired the Mexican-American community. signs from water fountains at her local before he fi nally landed a job with the Perkins presided over numerous high courthouse and went on to become the department. He was only the third profi le cases against prominent elected fi rst black woman to be named to a Latino offi cer hired by HPD. offi cials. Born in Laredo, Texas, he permanent judgeship in Texas. Growing The fi rst obstacle was height. He grew up in Eagle Pass, a town with a up in Willistown, Georgia, which was was half an inch too short to meet large Mexican-American community. then a small black community on the the department’s requirements. After Perkins started speaking Spanish as a outskirts of Atlanta, she attended Booker several tries, he followed the advice child. Returning to Eagle Pass during T. Washington High School; another of an offi cer he had befriended and his freshman year at the University student at the school was a preacher’s applied in the morning hours, when he of Texas, he took notice of his son, Martin Luther King Jr., who was taller. hometown’s substandard housing stock everyone knew as M.L. Once Navarro fi nally became an and realized how prevalent poverty Murphy graduated from Spelman active offi cer, he then had to deal with was in his hometown. College in Atlanta and earned her the prejudice of some of his colleagues. “Once I came back with different master’s in political science from “There was one occasion when I had eyes, I realized … that conservative Atlanta University, as well as a teaching one offi cer that just fl at wouldn’t ride philosophy … in practical aspects certifi cate from patrol with me,” he recalled. didn’t work,” Perkins said. in New York. After marrying O.J. In spite of those attitudes, Navarro Perkins’ political beliefs were being Moore, a physician, in 1959, she settled persevered and became active in the transformed at the same time that in Longview, Texas. There, she found Police Offi cers Association, eventually he was becoming more involved African Americans had little political making it onto the board of directors. with Austin’s Mexican-American power, so she became active in voter He reached assistant chief of police for community. registration and other civil rights work. the HPD before he retired after almost In 1974, Perkins ran for justice of the Murphy was widowed in 1964 after fi ve decades of service. Following his peace in Travis County. her husband passed away from leukemia. example, his wife, Armandina de Hoyos, Despite having to go into a runoff, She later married Patrick Henry Murphy, and two of his three children also had he won the race and took offi ce in a U.S. Post Offi ce supervisor, in 1968. careers in law enforcement. 1975. In 1982, he was elected to 331st Two years after losing her fi rst husband, While Navarro was too young to Criminal District Court and served Murphy enrolled in the University of have served in World War II, he joined there until 2010. Texas School of Law, from which she the Navy in 1946 at the age of 17 with In 1991, Perkins made national graduated in 1969. Four years later, his father’s reluctant approval. headlines for jailing Texas House she became the fi rst African American As a deckhand, Navarro boarded Speaker Gib Lewis, a Democrat, woman appointed to a judgeship in USS Huntington, a heavy cruiser for for not showing up in court to face Texas when she was named relief judge. 18 months. Navarro also spent some misdemeanor ethics charges. In 1976, she was appointed a permanent time on another heavy cruiser, USS “It was a question: Was I going to municipal court judge. Albany, before his honorable discharge run my court? Or was he going to run Interviewed on Oct. 24, 2013, in from the Navy in February 1948. it?” Perkins said. Austin, Texas. Interviewed on Feb. 10, 2004, in Interviewed on March 31 and May Houston. 2, 2014, in Austin, Texas.

Page 42 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 INTERVIEWS FROM THE PROJECT: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

James Ramírez Velia Sánchez-Ruiz Lupe Uresti Interview by Britini Shaw Interview by Rachel Hill Interview by Shelby Custer

James Ramírez remembers that Voter participation has always been After speaking at a rally for Mexican-American communities a priority for Velia Sánchez-Ruiz, who the Southwest Voter Registration once held dances to raise money for grew up in the town of Lockhart, Education Project in her hometown the poll tax in Austin, Texas. Texas, 30 miles southeast of Austin. of Rosenberg, Texas, Guadalupe He would ask himself, “Why do She was born in 1942 to Cruz García Arredondo Uresti was approached people have to pay to vote when it’s Sánchez and Adela Mayo Sánchez, who by local attorney Paul Cedillo, their constitutional right?” By the had seven children. who encouraged her to run for city time he was eligible to vote, at 21, “We were fi ghting just to be seen as council. the poll tax had been eliminated. human beings here in Central Texas, That was in December 1975, and But hurdles for Mexican-American just because it was so segregated and Uresti was 31 years old at the time. voters remained, and that is why he bigoted,” Sánchez-Ruiz said. “I remember thinking, ‘There’s took part in efforts to organize the Sánchez-Ruiz said she went home no way I would consider that,’” Austin Hispanic community. after school every day “disheveled” she recalled. “But it always takes Ramírez joined the Marine because she was “ready to fi ght,” and someone to put it in your mind.” Reserves after graduating from constantly felt humiliated. She recalled She eventually did run for council high school. That summer, he went that, as a child, she attended “Poll and served for several years. Later, to boot camp and had a chance to Tax Dances” with her family, where in 1992, she was elected mayor. communities raised the $1.75 poll tax travel throughout the country. “After I was elected, older ladies people had to pay in order to be allowed When he returned home from would come to me and cry because… to vote. (Such taxes were later banned as boot camp and training in December it was a reality that they thought unconstitutional.) Sánchez-Ruiz learned 1965, he said it was diffi cult to fi nd they were never going to see,” about fi nancial assistance that was Uresti said. a job. But eventually he got a job at available after high school and jumped at Volt Technical Corp., a workplace the chance to further her education. She Her election was especially consulting fi rm, in the 1970s. studied health and physical education at signifi cant because of the history When Ramírez started working Texas Woman’s University in Denton, of discrimination and segregation for the East Austin Neighborhood north of Dallas. After graduating from in her hometown. She lost her fi rst Center, he learned to organize the university in 1964, she began to election in 1976, she said, because from the ground up. He said you participate in demonstrations. Anglos came out in record numbers have to organize around common “It was a very exciting time; we to vote against Mexican Americans. concerns. He then became involved protested, and I loved it,” Sánchez-Ruiz It was not an easy road, but when in several electoral campaigns, which said. “The squeaky wheel is the one she did take offi ce, Uresti said she showcased his organizational skills. that’s going to get listened to. So we used her position to empower the He later worked on campaigns squeaked a lot.” Mexican-American community. for a variety of local and state Sánchez-Ruiz and her then-husband, But she said further action is politicians. Santo J. Ruiz, were active during the required. After his years working on 1968-1970 Economy Furniture strike in “More Hispanics are coming out campaigns and in the community, Austin. to vote, but there’s still a lot lacking Ramírez said his biggest regret “My generation opened doors,” she in motivating and goals for the was not developing young people said. “The voting and the activism still community,” Uresti said. “The key to follow in the steps of the leaders continue, and voting is where we can to keeping the community moving in whose campaigns he managed. make a difference.” the right direction is education.” Interviewed on April 13, 2014, in Interviewed on Oct. 29, 2013, in Interviewed on March 23, 2014, Austin, Texas. Austin, Texas. in Richmond, Texas.

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition —Voces Oral History Project —15-Year Anniversary Page 43 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN Voces Oral History Project Non-Profi t Org. UT School of Journalism US Postage 300 W. Dean Keeton St. Stop A1000 PAID Permit No. 391 Austin, TX 78712-1073 Austin, TX Return Service Requested

Thank you for 15 years of support!

Voces is a partnership between staff, volunteers, the men and women we interview—and everyone who makes this important work possible. Together, we have all made a difference! Photo by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez

MAIL-IN DONATION FORM Name______I'd like to make a donation in the amount of Organization______$ ______(check enclosed) Street address______Please denote where you'd like your donation City______State______to go• Foto-Voz • Docu-Voz • Alta-Voz ZIP Code______Phone ______• More Interviews • Most Urgent Needs E-mail ______

(Please make checks payable to UT-Austin, with a notation that the donation is intended for the Voces Oral History Project.)

Voces Oral History Project: Ph. (512) 471-1924 • www.VocesOralHistoryProject.org • [email protected]

No. 17 & 18, Fall 2014 Special Edition – Voces Oral History Project – 15-Year Anniversary Page 44