TX

By Yolanda Urrabazo

Julia Rodriguez Aguillon first knew tragedy when she was 10 years old, when her father passed away due to cirrhosis of the liver. Later, as an adult, she’d feel a deeper sorrow when she had a stillborn baby and, much later, when a daughter and granddaughter died. But through it all, she held on to a strong belief in God.

"To me, the loss of a child is the most hard ... but God will never give you anything more than you can bear," Aguillon said. "So I had faith and we pulled through."

By Joel Weickgenant

Salvador Aguilar remembers lonesome nights aboard the cargo ship he served on during World War II. On many nights, he and fellow sailors and troops were forced to lie in the dark, ordered not make any sounds. It was frustrating -- the trips across the Pacific were long and the troops were often prohibited from engaging in conversations that could be picked up by Japanese submarines swimming the waters like sharks.

By Stephanie Babb

Strong family ties and a good work ethic made the difficulties of World War II a learning experience, Alejandra Rojas Zuniga said.

"It was rough for us attending school in Texas because discrimination was bad there," Zuniga said. "I remember trying to get along with all the kids in the classroom, but they looked at us like we didn't belong there."

Zuniga remembers the teacher would at times ask the class to come together for a drawing assignment, and Zuniga would sit next to a little Anglo girl.

By Rachel Howell

At 16, Oscar Villarreal was too young to vote in 1943, but he wasn’t too young to serve his country in World War II by joining the Navy.

By Callie Jenschke

Unlike many other Latino World War II veterans who often found themselves in a minority during their military service, Roberto Vazquez says he seldom felt the brunt of discrimination as a soldier in his division, where he was one of 7,000 Hispanics fighting shoulder to shoulder against the German army.

By Noelle Pareja

Eighty-one-year old Houston resident Andrew Tamayo clearly remembers the day World War II broke out. And the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the 19-year-old Mexican American proudly enlisted in the Army.

Even though he volunteered to serve, Tamayo eventually harbored some doubts about his purpose as a Mexican American in the military. It was during a battle in Sicily in 1943 that he became most conflicted about his status as a Latino.

By Elizabeth Egeland

Paul Solis and his two brothers all served in World War II. He was in the China- Burma-India Theater; his older brother, Raymond, worked on dry docks in the Pacific; and his younger brother, August, served on the USS Farragut (DD 348). All returned safely.

For Solis, the war would be his chance to break away from his life in Houston, to hitchhike across America and see parts of the world he probably never would have had the chance to visit. It made him appreciate what he had back home.

By Brandi Grissom

Only one street led into and out of the poor barrio in El Paso, Texas, where Pablo Segura grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Segura was determined to follow that street out of the barrio, and believed education was key to achieving his goal. Through his service in the military during World War II, he believes he fulfilled his dream.

After graduating from high school in 1935, Segura put aside his college ambitions and left El Paso for California to look for work to help his family through the economically trying times.

By Ismael Martinez

Richard Savala and his family worked hard to live the American dream.

Savala's parents moved to the United States from Mexico to provide a better life for their family. And Savala did enjoy a better life: serving his country during World War II to help prepare troops for the Normandy Invasion and bringing home an English bride.

By Gillian Lawlor

Guadalupe Ortega remembers having to put a dead Japanese soldier into a foxhole with him to escape detection by enemy forces -- just one incident in his harrowing World War II military career.

Even before he received his call for duty, Ortega knew he’d probably be drafted, but didn’t relish the idea of joining the military. Although his near-death experiences in the Army justified his trepidation, he also acknowledges what he learned as a soldier helped him long afterward.