Robert L. Cardenas
By Rachel Platis
In 1939, National Guard Pvt. Robert Cardenas was in the final stage of obtaining a full scholarship to the California Institute of Technology, having just completed two years of pre-engineering study at San Diego State College. In one hand, he held a letter regarding the scholarship; in the other, a letter from his commanding officer:
“Welcome, Private Cardenas, we are going to the Philippines,” Cardenas recalled the communiqué reading.