By Paul R. Zepeda and Maggie Rivas Rodriguez
Four stars hung in the front window of the house of 1608 Ave. L in Bay City, Texas, during WWII. Each represented a son of Guadalupe Zepeda, who fled from San Luis Potosí¬, Mexico, because he didn't want to take part in the Mexican Revolution, and Lina Rodriguez, who grew up in the area of San Marcos, Texas.
By Paul R. Zepeda and Maggie Rivas Rodriguez
Four stars hung in the front window of the house of 1608 Ave. L in Bay City, Texas, during WWII. Each represented a son of Guadalupe Zepeda, who fled from San Luis Potosí¬, Mexico, because he didn't want to take part in the Mexican Revolution, and Lina Rodriguez, who grew up in the area of San Marcos, Texas.
By Paul R. Zepeda and Maggie Rivas Rodriguez
Four stars hung in the front window of the house of 1608 Ave. L in Bay City, Texas, during WWII. Each represented a son of Guadalupe Zepeda, who fled from San Luis Potosí¬, Mexico, because he didn't want to take part in the Mexican Revolution, and Lina Rodriguez, who grew up in the area of San Marcos, Texas.
By Erika Rodriguez
Francisco Venegas sits in the kitchen of his house in southeast Austin. That act alone makes him feel lucky.
By Cody Morris
Joe Moreno Uriegas faced overwhelming enemy fire and unfamiliar surroundings on the front lines in Northern Europe during World War II.
A soldier in the 188th Field Artillery Battalion supporting the 82nd Airborne Division, Uriegas remained optimistic and strong-willed, however, summoning his beliefs as a devout Catholic to pull him through. Once back home, he’d again turn to his faith: this time to help establish a local veterans post to support and nurture Catholic veterans.
By Amy Bauer
By the age of 20, Leova Tellez Urias had already experienced segregation, the affects of the Great Depression, battle at the front lines during World War II and imprisonment by German soldiers. Now, at age 76, he looks back on his experiences.
Born Sept. 28, 1925, Urias grew up in Sonora, Texas, with his parents, Jesus and Leocadia, and a house full of sisters, four to be exact. Urias, known to his friends as L.T., said this was quite an adventure. "At times it got pretty hectic," he said laughing.
By Tony Cantú
Charles Vizcaino Uranga, a self-made millionaire who fought at Normandy during World War II, left little doubt about who his hero was, during his interview in 2001.
Relating anecdotes from his childhood in Alpine, Texas, he summoned vivid memories of his father, Clemente J. Uranga, who, according to Uranga, helped Latinos gain admission into the town's high school. The older Uranga was very adamant about Latinos doing for themselves, his son said.
By Stephanie Scalco
By Raquel C. Garza
Growing up in Laredo, Texas, Pedro "Pete" Tijerina said he "never knew what discrimination was," mainly because the city's population was mostly Mexican. School children spoke Spanish freely, never fearing reproach from teachers.
His father, Pedro Martinez Tijerina, provided for his family in a humble way; he worked as a self-employed truck driver, moving furniture from house to house. The elder Tijerina made a modest sum for his services, "75 cents, a dollar and a quarter would be too much," recalled Tijerina, smiling.
By Vanessa Adams
Esteban Soto is part of the second generation of veterans in his family. He remembers his father, a World War I veteran, telling stories of mustard gas and other horrors of the war. Little did Soto know, he too would witness these experiences himself -- in three different wars: World War II, Korea and, finally, Vietnam, a conflict in which his sons also fought.
