World War II

By Kristin Stanford

While still a teenager, Esteban R. "Steve" Garcia learned firsthand that destroyers -- unlike nerves or stomachs -- are made of nearly impervious steel.

As waves incessantly pounded the sides of the four-stacker destroyer he was on in the South Pacific -- a ship built six years before he’d been born -- he and other newly trained enlistees slumped over the sides, with crisp white uniforms and green faces. It was Dec. 18, 1941, and they were en route to Alaska on the USS Kennison.

By Barrett Williams

Flying at full speed above Australia in a C-47 during WWII, radioman Alberto Rede heard bullets ripping through the plane, followed by a sputtering engine.

His mind raced: If power to the engines is lost, the plane will become a gliding, uncontrollable mass that could drop out of the sky.

By Amy K. Williams

Down in a foxhole in the midst of World War II Germany, Noé Sandoval, Jr. looked up to see a soldier standing at 6 feet 4 inches staring down at him saying, “Get the hell out of there. This is my foxhole. Go dig your own.”

By Rebecca De Leon

At the age of 18, Rafaela Navarro’s faith was tested. In 1942, her soon-to-be husband, Anastacio Juarez, was called to fight in World War II, leaving her and his family to fret about his safety.

Anastacio’s cousin was Rafaela’s brother-in-law, so the two families had known each other since Rafaela and Anastacio were very young. Both Rafaela and Anastacio grew up in San Marcos, Texas, as well as attended the same Catholic church, Sacred Heart of Mary, in nearby Martindale.

So when Anastacio returned from the war in 1946, he and Rafaela got married.

By Julie Flowers

Richard Ortiz was a senior at San Antonio Technical Vocational School in 1941 when he heard a fellow classmate discussing plans to go to college. At that moment, Ortiz realized that pursuing a higher education was an option for him, too.

“Man, if you can go to college, I can go to college,” Ortiz recalled saying to himself.

With aspirations of becoming a pharmacist, he knew he needed more education. He also knew he didn’t have the money for tuition.

BY Juliana Torres

Raised in small towns and on ranches, Juventino Guerra never went far from home. Then WWII opened new opportunities to travel and learn other perspectives. He enlisted on Jan. 8, 1941, in San Antonio, Texas. Initially, he was promised two weeks to say goodbye to his family before leaving Texas. But the two weeks were reduced to a phone call in New Jersey just before shipping out on the USS Lusitania with the 324th Material Squadron, bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina.

BY LINDSAY FITZPATRICK

Even after flying several successful missions over Italy during WWII, Leonard Fuentes was prepared to continue serving his country, and remained in the military after the war, serving in Korea.

Fuentes graduated from high school and wanted to attend trade school, so he began working odd jobs near Kelly Field and began saving for his education. After Pearl Harbor, Fuentes was compelled to join the war effort.

By Rebecca Fontenot

Anastacio Rodriguez spent four weeks in Cheyenne, Wyo., training with the Army for World War II, but he didn’t need to be taught how to roll with the punches. Rodriguez had been taking hardship in stride since he was a young boy.

“I can’t remember very good my mother, and my daddy I know a little,” Rodriguez said.

By Maggie Sirakos

To Flora Alicia Shank, the war seemed like what we see in the movies today – a medley of sacrifice, tragedy, celebration, shock, heroes and fright.

Shank was a teenager in El Paso, Texas, when World War II broke out. She recalls many evenings spent dancing at the local United Service Organization, or USO, which she says soldiers still visit for recreation today. According to the USO homepage, its mission is to provide morale, welfare and recreational services to uniformed military personnel. Nearly 120 USO Centers dot the world today.

By Maria Torres

Maria Torres was only 12 years old when the war began, yet she was old enough to remember the profound impact it had on her life and family in El Paso, Texas.

“When my brothers left, it just seemed like something that belonged to my parents had been taken, and they didn’t know if they were going to have that something back at home again,” recalled Torres, whose four brothers – Alfonso, Jose, Maurice and Alejandro Holguin – served in the war.