Army

Jesus G. Reyes

By Cynthia Agnew

Jesus "Jesse" Reyes, an accomplished shoe repairman, painter and World War II veteran, describes his Army experience as a life-altering phenomenon that helped him become the man he is today. The will to fight for his life when on the front line in Germany taught him that all good things come from hard work and perseverance.

Joe Hernandez

By Caleb Pritchard

During his 22 months in the Army Air Forces, Joe Hernandez survived a remarkable 35 bombing missions in World War II Europe as the top turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber.

Hernandez remembered how he and other men in his unit, the 93rd Bombardment Group in the 8th Air Force became accustomed to the reverberations of exploding flak that would regularly meet them when they neared a target. On three different occasions, the flak damaged the aircraft enough to require Hernandez to make emergency landings in Allied territory.

Joe Nevarez

By Melanie Sewell

A pioneer in his field at a time when jobs were scarce, Joe Reyes Nevarez was one of the first Mexican Americans to work for The Los Angeles Times as a reporter.

"I used to tell the managing editor, 'Why don't you employ Mexican Americans?'" said Nevarez, adding that his editors always told him there wasn't anyone who was trained.

"Of course today," he said, "I think the whole staff is Mexican American. There are so many Mexican-American reporters at the Times."

Randel Zepeda Fernández

By Colleen Torma

Randel Zepeda Fernández was only a baby when his family moved from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, and then to Los Angeles. But later, as a young man, his lack of United States citizenship hampered him.

"I couldn't find a good job because I was an alien," Fernández said. "At the time, joining the Armed Forces was the fastest way to become a citizen."

Thomas Lopez Casso

By Sarah Carter

Thomas Casso took off through the jungle after lighting a smoke signal that would tell United States troops where to target the Japanese, who were trailing his company on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.

Casso recalled his superior telling him, "Look, here's a smoke pot ... after we're out of sight and you can't hear us anymore -- 15 minutes -- you stay here then you light it and then you run ... and catch up with us.”

"Oh, 15 minutes can be a long, long time," Casso said.

Abner Carrasco

By Juliana Torres

During the landing at Salerno, Abner Carrasco was shooting at a German Panzer, a heavily armored tank, when its turret suddenly pivoted and pointed directly at him. Facing his potential death, Carrasco kept firing and was surprised when the tank drove off.

He’d spent his childhood working odd jobs, from picking tomatoes to caddying at country clubs or setting up pins in bowling alleys. He says he joined the Texas National Guard in 1938 "for fun," not thinking the United States would ever go to war.

Ignacio Servín

By Miranda Bollinger

When Ignacio Servín volunteered during World War II for a mission so dangerous his commander wouldn’t even assign it to someone, he wasn’t even frightened. He wanted to do it.

"I just kept thinking, 'If I die, it will be for a great country,'" Servín said.

Reynaldo Benavides Rendon

By Erica Sparks

Unlike most World War II soldiers from the U.S., Reynaldo Benavides Rendon joined the military to get out of jail.

He wound up there in 1942 after an immigration officer outside of Corpus Christi, Texas, stepped onto a bus on which Rendon was riding. He’d been picking cotton in Mississippi with his father and was headed back to Robstown to recruit workers to help out on the plantation.

According to Rendon, the immigration officer asked him where he was born so he gave an honest answer:

Mexico.

Eladio Martinez

When Eladio Martinez was growing up in Dallas, Texas, education was a priority. His father was a laborer and inspired his children to learn. Like his three younger siblings, Martinez graduated from Dallas Technical High School. Growing up, the Martinez children enjoyed outdoor activities such as fishing and hunting.

Virgilio G. Roel

By Stacy Nelson

Post-World War II brought what Virgilio G. Roel termed "The Golden Era" for Mexican Americans.

"With the GI Bill, for the first time in the history of our country, and our ethnic experience, Mexican Americans had the opportunity to attend colleges and universities all over the United States" Roel said.

For more than six decades he was involved in the betterment of the social, labor, economic, educational and political advancement of Mexican Americans, and, later, Latinos in general, as well as other minority men, women and young people.

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