By Brian Goodman
During World War II, commissioned military officers would receive deployment orders by telegram, often believing they’d been called up for duty by their senator.
Little did they know that the assignments were actually issued at random by people like Betty Muñoz Medina, who got an entry-level job at the War Department (now the Department of the Army) when she was 20.
"I was filing 3- by 5-inch cards all day long," Muñoz Medina said.
By Emma Graves-Fitzsimmons
Nothing prepared Val Martinez for the icy winter night he landed in Marseilles, France, with the 103rd Infantry Division to prepare for combat in World War II. Martinez would spend more than nine months as a tank commander advancing across Central Europe, but says the first night was the coldest he can remember.
His unit and their German adversaries were both under constant fire as each tried to gain ground on the other, he recalls.
"Once we got going, we spent a lot of time chasing them," Martinez said. "Our outfit was a good outfit."
By Kimberly Wied
Elsie Martinez saw a lot of World War II, but she never left the country and can't talk about it.
"The things we saw, and the people that came back, it was horrible," said Martinez, recalling her work in a high-security photo lab that processed aerial photos taken by Army reconnaissance.
By Tara Wilcox-G.
Alberto Marquez remembers an autumn day in Houston in 1942 when he and a friend went out for hot dogs and, by the time they returned home, they’d decided to volunteer to fight in World War II.
While walking to lunch that day, the young men had spotted the now-famous promotion advertisement of Uncle Sam pointing his finger, saying "I WANT YOU." The two friends began to joke and argue about which one of them Uncle Sam really wanted.
By Katie Woody
Lorenza Terrones Lujano has battled prejudice, assumed a traditionally male role as an athlete and worked diligently to send all four of her children to college, an opportunity she never had.
By Joel Weickgenant
As a 20-year-old at the end of 1942, Juan Lujan remembers thinking World War II was passing him by. He wanted to participate in the war effort, but he’d promised his mother he wouldn't volunteer.
In the end, it was a promise Lujan wasn’t able to keep.
"I was afraid the war would be over, and I would not get the chance to go," he said.
Lujan got his wish in November of 1942, when he was drafted into the Army, rendering his promise to his mother moot.
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons
When David Loredo was shot in the stomach in the hills of the Philippines during World War II, his first thought was he’d never see his mother again.
"I remember standing there in a daze," Loredo said. "I felt like I had gotten hit with a huge rock. I was scared I was going to die."
By Ronnie Zamora
Joe Lopez can recall a time when serving in the military was the furthest thing from his mind. The idea of firing a rifle at an enemy was only a part of the childhood games he used to play with his brothers.
Lopez never imagined he’d find himself in Italy, engaged in a life-and-death firefight against German troops in a skirmish that would eventually earn him a Bronze Star for his heroism on the battlefield.
"Me and my brothers used to play cowboys and Indians, but we never thought about the military," Lopez said.
By Karina Valenzuela
Elvira Orta Pardo Lopez's memories of World War II revolve around her brother, Apolonio “Polo” Pardo, Jr., whom she describes as a quiet and serious man.
Polo got as far as the fifth grade before quitting to work on the family farm. Their parents, Apolonio Pardo, Sr. and Felipa Orta Pardo, had emigrated from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and settled in Goliad, Texas, where they raised three sons and three daughters. All of the children participated in the harvesting of cotton, corn and beans.
By Melanie Boehm
Salvador León had a choice during World War II: either take the automatic deferment provided for a family's last son not in the military, or serve his country.
Salvador went anyway.
"My mom said, 'This country has been good to us, so you do what you think is right,'" León said.
And he did.
