By Jason Weddle
Tony Holguin would rather talk about golf than about the time he spent as a soldier in the Army during World War II. He even says he might very well have been the Tiger Woods of his day.
To Holguin’s credit, there aren’t many people who at 22 can claim to have beaten the legendary golfing champion Sam Snead by six shots in a professional tournament. The fact that Holguin is of Mexican American ancestry made the feat that much more impressive for its time.
By Jennifer Lindgren
Jesus Herrera risked his life as a Navy corpsman in Okinawa in May of 1945, assisting wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire and, twice, rescuing hurt Marines and helping them to safety – while still under fire.
For Herrera’s heroism, he earned a Bronze Star Medal, with a V for valor. He was still a baby-faced 18-year-old at the time. Today, he dismisses the importance of what he did back then.
"It was the job I was sent to do," Herrera said.
By Melanie Kudzia
"Go to school, and not only that, pay attention!"
This is one bit of advice Ignacio and Antonia Guerrero passed on to their children and grandchildren. They insist on their family attending school, working hard and succeeding.
Mexican Americans didn’t always have the opportunity to be equally educated. In fact, this was the pre-World War II reality for most Latinos in the United States.
By Melanie Kudzia
"Go to school, and not only that, pay attention!"
This is one bit of advice Ignacio and Antonia Guerrero passed on to their children and grandchildren. They insist on their family attending school, working hard and succeeding.
Mexican Americans didn’t always have the opportunity to be equally educated. In fact, this was the pre-World War II reality for most Latinos in the United States.
By Anthony Sobotik
Carmen Gonzalez has shouldered his responsibilities with grace
Gonzalez was milking cows at a neighbor's farm to help support his family by the time he was 12. And during World War II, he did his duty on the battlefield. Last but not least, when the mother of his eight children left the country after they divorced, he did his best to raise them.
By Erika L. Martinez
When Agapito Casarez Gonzalez was drafted into the Army on June 2, 1942, he never imagined the horrors and devastation his eyes would have to see.
"The draft got me," Gonzalez said.
And even though his memory fails him at times, he vividly remembers the day he saw the bodies of Mussolini and his mistress hanging in the town square of Milan, Italy, in April of 1945.
By Wesley Monier
To fulfill a promise made many years ago to a young soldier friend killed in battle, Ferdinand “Fred” Gomez named his oldest son Raymond. The two men vowed that if one of them died, the other one would name his first son after the other.
"I respected him a lot," Gomez said of his friend, Sergeant Raymond Valencia. "He never smoked, he never drank . ... He was just a very beautiful role model."
By IRMA GARCIA
Teodoro Garcia grew up poor in Presidio, Texas, a small border town, during the Great Depression. To relieve the family's burden, he left home in Clovis, N.M., to live with his grandmother in Presidio. Garcia only reached the fifth grade before having to leave school to earn a living, though his brothers and sisters back home were allowed to finish.
"Life was tough and I had to help," Garcia said.
At that time Garcia remembers Presidio as being "pura raza," everyone was Mexican and everyone was Catholic. And everyone was poor.
By Meridith Kohut
There were ways to battle tedium in the long stretches at sea: poker games, movie nights and dishes of ice cream. But for Gilbert Garcia of Houston, Texas, it was mostly the poker winnings he relished.
At sea, Garcia was perhaps the best poker player on ship. He boasts being able to win hands despite other players sharing their cards with one another in an effort to beat him.
By Ashley Tompkins
Cipriano Gamez contends he "never did anything outstanding," but many would disagree. His actions speak for themselves and for the thousands of other men who served in World War II.
Born in Belmont, Iowa, in 1922, Cipriano (one of nine brothers) and his parents moved to East Chicago, Ind., when he was a baby. After high school graduation in 1941, Gamez heard President Roosevelt announce the shocking news that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor.
