Juan Martinez
By BROOKE MEHARG
Juan Martinez smiled as he remembered receiving letters from proud siblings while he was stationed in the Philippines, telling him he was in their prayers.
"Thanks to God that their prayers went up to heaven," Martinez said.
Born in 1923, he grew up in La Gruya, Texas, between the cities of Mission and Rio Grande City, living with his grandmother until the age of 9 because of his parents' divorce. Unlike many families, his did not struggle economically by virtue of his father's successful bakery and Mexican food restaurant.