TX

By Clara Obregón

Ascención Ambros Cortez can't help but cry when she thinks of the sacrifices her brother, Enrique Ambros, and husband, Hernan Cortez, Sr., made for their country during World War II. Her husband lost his right hand and her brother paid the ultimate price -- his life. Both gladly volunteered to serve their country, she remembers.

Cortez was one of seven children born to Gaspar and Dominga Ambros in Laredo, Texas. Gaspar died from a head injury after falling off a horse in 1933, leaving Dominga widowed with seven children.

By Brooke West

Even after 58 years of marriage, Guadalupe "Lupe" Conde still serenades his wife, Maria, on some nights. It was Maria, he says, who restored the sense of peace he lost in battle in North Africa and Italy.

Conde’s life hasn’t been an easy one: His mother died when he was a child, he quit school in the fourth grade to work in the fields and he entered the service before Pearl Harbor, unaware of the impending war. The horrors he witnessed exacted a toll on him, manifesting itself in a "nervous condition" that, at the time, had no treatment.

By Yvonne Lim

Carlos Cavazos, a veteran infantry instructor, has been wearing his olive-brown wool uniform, along with his Army cap and gray, knotted, tie to special events for 35 years. He keeps the uniform, issued to him more than 50 years ago, clean and neatly pressed, and modestly decorated with medals and ribbons.

Cavazos says he wears it to honor veterans and those who served on the home front throughout all wars.

"It means a lot to me," Cavazos said. "I wear my uniform with pride, but I do not wear it to glorify myself. I wear it to honor the veterans."

By Anthony Sobotik

At 30 years of age, Jesus Castro was one of the older soldiers drafted for duty during World War II. However, this soldier and father of six children wasn't about to let his age hinder his dedication or performance.

As a young man in San Antonio, Caesar Castro was an accomplished pianist.

His talent caught the attention of a group of famed California musicians who wanted Caesar to move west with them, so that they could mold him.

Castro didn't take the offer; but even so, his musical skills continued to grow.

Castro was born on Oct. 27, 1924, in San Antonio, Texas. He had a half-brother, Alfred, and a half-sister, Margaret, from his father's first marriage. And he had two more siblings born to his father and his mother, Maria Villarreal Castro.

Alfred Castro was the son of an accomplished musician, who recognized early that Alfred had a natural gift and did all he could to foster the boy’s musical growth.

By Anna Zukowski

Aurora Gonzalez Castro's story isn't just about her; it’s also the story of two half-brothers, Caesar and Alfred Castro, both musicians in military bands during World War II, as well as accomplished musicians after the conflict.

Castro’s marriage to the older half-brother, Alfred, after the 1966 death of Caesar, seems to have been destined. Alfred married Aurora Gonzalez June 8, 1968, and a reception was held in her sister's house after their marriage.

"It was meant to be,” said Castro of how she ended up with two musicians.

By Francisco H. Cortes

Manuel Cavazos Cadena was only a boy during WWII. But he witnessed the effects the war had in one of the several towns he lived in: San Marcos, Texas.

Two of his brothers were employed because of the war, when an airfield was built, and gravel had to be transported for it. One brother got a job as a maintenance worker and another as a bus boy in the mess hall at the field.

By Ashley Hitson

Without prior understanding of the war or its impact on the world, young Herminia Cadena watched her brother leave home to join the Marines.

"I didn't recognize the importance [of the war] until my brother went in," said Cadena, who was only 9 at the time, unfamiliar with the events that were changing the world.

By Xochitl Salazar

On Friday, Oct. 13, 1944, the 79th Infantry Division was in its 23rd day of battle against German forces in the eastern part of Alsace-Lorraine, France.

Eduardo Botello, in a platoon of 27 men, walked slowly and carefully through the town of Embermenil searching for the enemy, when, suddenly, a mortar shell hit 8 feet behind them. The shell broke into many small fragments. Botello felt one wound to the left side of his neck. A second hit, to the back of his left thigh, was discovered later.