Soldiers' Stories |Latinx Soldiers: Print Books

In April of 1945, just before the end of the Second World War, Mexico sent an air contingent to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with the Allied Forces: the 201st Fighter Squadron. The six-year war that had wrought so much havoc would be over in just three months: the group of Mexican pilots flew through the last, rapidly-closing gap in order to finish on the side of the victors. The thirty pilots who made up the air squadron did not fight Nazi Germany or Italian fascism, but Japanese imperialism in Luzon and Formosa. The mission dripped with symbolism: during colonial times, the Philippines had been administrated from New Spain (modern-day Mexico), and there were multiple cultural and social links between the two peoples.

Very few people would include Mexico in the list of U.S. World War II Allies. Sadly, Mexico's aid to the United States and the Allies has been largely ignored by historians and is mostly absent from American history books. When the Mexican aviators had the opportunity to show their courage in battle, they did so with valor. Allied theater commander General Douglas MacArthur commended the pilots and 150 support personnel. The 31 pilots of Mexican Expeditionary Force 201st Fighter Squadron flew missions supporting ground troops in the Philippines and long-range sorties over Formosa. The Aztec Eagles helped the Allies defeat Japan. They helped end the isolationism of Mexico.

"...pg 158 Rodolfo Hernandez: Corporal Rodolfo Hernandez was so badly torn up and had bled so heavily following his bayonet charge into a crowd of enemy on Hill 420 near Wontong-ni that the soldiers who found him early in the morning that he was dead." continue reading...

Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez 's edited volume Mexican Americans World War II brought pivotal stories from the shadows, contributing to the growing acknowledgment of Mexican American patriotism as a meaningful force within the Greatest Generation. In this latest anthology, Rivas-Rodríguez and historian Emilio Zamora team up with scholars from various disciplines to add new insights. Beyond the Latino World War II Hero focuses on home-front issues and government relations, delving into new arenas of research and incorporating stirring oral histories. These recollections highlight realities such as post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects on veterans' families, as well as Mexican American women of this era, whose fighting spirit inspired their daughters to participate in Chicana/o activism of the 1960s and 1970s.

In this companion volume to the 1996 PBS series of the same name, Rosales (history, Arizona State Univ.) describes the ten-year period of the Chicano movement from about 1965 to 1975. The author also situates the political movement of this time period in the historical context of 19th- and early 20th-century political activity. As such, his work is a valuable historical summary of political activism of Latinos of Mexican descent. An underlying theme is the discussion of their role in the overall American Civil Rights movement of the Sixties and Seventies. The value of Rosales's book is enhanced by the use of interview transcripts done for the TV series.

Virgil Fernandez was born in Port La Vaca, Texas in 1951. He and his family then moved to San Antonio when he was in high school. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1969, he joined the U.S. Navy and served aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga until 1971. He then enrolled in San Antonio College and received an associate's degree in Radio Broadcasting in 1973. Virgil then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and earned a bachelor's degree in government in 1975. Following college, Virgil worked as a news reporter and photographer/editor for radio and TV stations in Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Dallas. In 1985 he decided to return to San Antonio and in 1987 began working for the Texas Employment Commission as an Interviewer. Being a disabled veteran himself, he was selected to be a Disabled Veteran's Outreach counselor. Virgil specialized in job placement and also taught job search workshops for three years. Virgil's interest in veteran's issues remained after leaving the Commission in 1996, and he published his first book, The Complete Veterans' Benefits Manual, in 2000. He then returned to the University of Texas and completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Relations in 2001. Virgil then went to work for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as an Information Specialist, specializing in media relations and web and text publishing. However, his interest in Hispanic issues, history, and veterans remained throughout the years. He finally decided to combine them and began researching articles relating to Hispanics and the roles they have played in the U.S. military. Several years later, the result was this book, Hispanic Military Heroes. Book jacket.

The first book-length study of Latina/o experiences in World War II over a wide spectrum of identities and ancestries--from Cuban American, Spanish American, and Mexican American segments to the under-studied Afro-Latino experience--Latina/os and World War II probes the controversial aspects of Latina/o soldiering and citizenship in the war, the repercussions of which defined the West during the twentieth century. The editors also offer a revised, more accurate tabulation of the number of Latina/os who served in the war. Spanning imaginative productions, such as vaudeville and the masculinity of the soldado razo theatrical performances; military segregation and the postwar lives of veterans; Tejanas on the homefront; journalism and youth activism; and other underreported aspects of the wartime experience, the essays collected in this volume showcase rarely seen recollections.

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Author and acclaimed journalist Ray Suarez explores the lives of Latino American men and women over a five-hundred-year span, encompassing an epic range of experiences from the early European settlements to Manifest Destiny; the Wild West to the Cold War; the Great Depression to globalization; and the Spanish-American War to the civil rights movement. Latino Americans shares the personal struggles and successes of immigrants, poets, soldiers, and many others--individuals who have made an impact on history, as well as those whose extraordinary lives shed light on the times in which they lived, and the legacy of this incredible American people.

From migrant farm-worker and middle-school dropout to recipient of his country's highest award for bravery, Roy Benavidez demonstrated the courage and fortitude of an American hero. The half-Yaqui Indian, half-Mexican orphan fought his way out of the bigotry of South Texas to serve with the Army's elite -- the Special Forces. In February, 1981, President Reagan awarded him the Medal of Honor.

Memorial for the men of Company E, Delta Park, El Paso, Texas. On November 20, 1940, these proud Tejanos became part of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division, only fourteen months before Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. They were the first American soldiers to land in Europe in the Allied effort to defeat Fascism and Nazism. The 36th Texas Division initiated the Italian Campaign when they landed at the Bay of Salerno on September 9, 1943. As one of the combat outfits of the Texas Division, Company E fought some of the roughest battles of World War II in mountainous terrain at Salerno, San Pietro, Monte Cassino, Velletri, and Anzio.

Up to 750,000 Mexican American men served in World War II, earning more Medals of Honor and other decorations in proportion to their numbers than any other ethnic group. Mexican American women entered the workforce on the home front, supporting the war effort and earning good wages for themselves and their families. But the contributions of these men and women have been largely overlooked as American society celebrates the sacrifices and achievements of the "Greatest Generation." To bring their stories out of the shadows, this book gathers eleven essays that explore the Mexican American experience in World War II from a variety of personal and scholarly perspectives.

The Inspiring True Story of a Segregated Unit Whose Exploits Underscore the Forgotten Latino Contribution to the Allied Victory in World War II As a child, Dave Gutierrez hung on every word his father recalled about his cousin Ramon, "El Sancudo" (the mosquito), and his service in World War II, where he earned a Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, and escaped from the Germans twice. Later, Dave decided to find out more about his father's cousin, and in the course of his research he discovered that Ramon Gutierrez was a member of Company E, 141st Infantry, a part of the 36th "Texas" Division that was comprised entirely of Mexican Americans--the only such unit in the entire U.S. Army.

During World War II, the "all Puerto Rican" 65th Infantry Regiment had been broken up with its three battalions relegated to backwater assignments where combat was unlikely. Still smarting from this slight, the 65th regained a measure of respect when it soundly defeated the veteran 3d Infantry Division during postwar maneuvers. This victory was a harbinger of the future. The 65th proved resolute in combat during the Korean War, first as it battled its way north from the Pusan Perimeter and later as it defended the strategic port of Hungnam in the face of seemingly overwhelming Chinese attacks, providing a "safe harbor" for the retreat of X Corps from the Chosin Resevoir.