Santa Fe

By Andrea Couch

Growing up in Santa Fe, N.M., in the '30s and '40s, Gilberto Delgado saw sign language for the first time: It was how one of his friends communicated with her deaf grandmother.

Later, that childhood exposure would lead him to take a role in education for the deaf, aiding him in earning his doctoral degree from Catholic University of America. Delgado also helped develop devices for the deaf, including closed-captioning for television and TTYs (text telephones) for phone communication.

By Anjali Desai

Cayetano Casados had a floating, front row seat for the historic Normandy Invasion of World War II.

"We were the first ship to be fired on and the first ship to fire in the invasion," said Casados of the campaign that led to the allied victory over Germany.

"We had some very close calls. Sometimes there would be shrapnel all over you. But I was very fortunate, I only lost one man," he said.

By Alicia Dietrich

When New Mexico native Joseph Rodriguez set sail from New York harbor bound for Europe to fight in World War II, he had no idea where he was headed. He only knew they were traveling east.

"We didn't know nada," said Rodriguez, laughing. "When I got on, I went straight to the back of the ship and saw the Statue of Liberty, and I waved at her."

By Ashley Clary

The laugh-worn eyes of Arthur B. Smith hide a courageous yet triumphant story. Not only did he face the dangers of the 1942 Bataan Death March and three years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, he went on to lead a productive and fulfilling life.

Smith was born June 14, 1919, to José Padilla Smith and Isabel Britton Smith in Santa Fe, N.M. Neither of his parents received more than a third-grade education. One of eight brothers and sisters who grew up in Santa Fe, Smith graduated from high school and joined the military in 1940.