By Jeff Heimsath
Conrado P. Ramirez said that having served in World War II opened many doors for him and many other Latinos.
"We had the opportunity to go to college," Ramirez said. "We saw other parts of the world than just Alpine, Texas. To me, our opportunities expanded considerably, it was up to you to take advantage of it."
Ramirez did not always have such opportunities; his parents were immigrants from Mexico, and money was tight when he was growing up.
"My early days were tough because they were during the Depression," said Ramirez, adding that he started working when he was seven years old. He cleaned a barbershop so he could have the privilege of cleaning shoes for a nickel a shine on Saturdays. By the time he was a senior in high school, Ramirez said, he was working three jobs and going to school. His day began with his cleaning a department store until classes started; he left school at two o'clock to work in construction for the National Youth Administration 5 p.m. From there, he went to work in a movie theater selling popcorn and candy.
"I was always working after school," Ramirez said. "I contributed to the family, with whatever I could from my earnings, to buy shoes and clothing for my brothers and sisters."
Ramirez recalled that he was always at the top of his class in school, and he was known as the teacher's pet. He even skipped the second grade, moving straight from first to third.
"I guess they liked me, or I was smart. I don't know, but I didn't have to go to second grade," he said.
After fifth grade, Ramirez was allowed to go to the better-funded Anglo schools across the railroad tracks for the remainder of his education. He said that he had been one of four Mexican-American students allowed to go to that school.
In 1940, when he graduated from high school, Ramirez attended Sul Ross University in his hometown of Alpine. After two years of majoring in history and biology, Ramirez attempted to enter the Army's Officer Candidate School but was rejected because he had a herniated appendix.
Ramirez returned home, and six months later, after he had surgery for the problem, he was drafted into the Army. He was inducted at Texas' Fort Bliss in 1944 and sent to Camp Roberts in California for basic training. After basic training, Ramirez was told to report to Fort Wayne, Ind.
Ramirez arrived early in Maryland in order to see Washington, D.C., but he ran out of money within a few days so he reported early to Fort Wayne. Since he reported early, he was put into a different group than the one to which he had initially been assigned and was told he would be going to a U.S. Navy base in Argentia, Newfoundland.
Ramirez was stationed there in an intelligence office for the remainder of the war.
"Apparently, I was well-liked because I always believe in good grooming," said Ramirez, adding that a combination of impeccable grooming and a knowledge of current events helped him get good assignments.
The fact that he could type didn't hurt either. Because he possessed this skill, he says he was one of few people he knew of who were never sent to Japan.
Instead, he remained in Argentia, where his captain promoted him to the rank of supply sergeant.
Ramirez was discharged from the Army in May 1946 and returned to the U.S. He earned a Good Conduct medal.
Back in the states, Ramirez initially planned to move to California to look for work.
"The only degree I could get at Sul Ross was a teaching degree and, at the time, teachers were not making very much money," Ramirez said. "So I decided to move to California."
On his way to California, however, Ramirez stopped in El Paso to visit his sister, Margaret Rodriguez, who persuaded him to stay there and try to land a job. He found employment right away at a department store.
She also persuaded Ramirez to attend The Texas College of Mines (which later became Texas Western College and is now the University of Texas at El Paso). He said he agreed because the school had a good business program and, since his sister lived there, he would not have to live alone.
While pursuing an accounting degree, Ramirez was elected class president for his remaining two years of college. Another big plus about El Paso was his wife-to-be, Cora Sepulveda, was there. The two worked in the same department store, having hit it off from the beginning, when Ramirez offered to buy her lunch.
They married in 1947 and had their first of three children in 1953. Ramirez was a good, strict and reliable father to their two sons and daughter, his wife recalled.
After he earned his accounting degree, a professor urged him several times to apply at Standard Oil. But each time he went to fill out an application, he was told there were no positions available. He said that he later learned that Standard Oil would not hire Latinos.
So he went to work at the State National Bank in El Paso, becoming the first Mexican American employed there. Ramirez said he did not get a fair salary at the bank, however, so he went to night school to complete an accounting class he never took in college, in an attempt to earn more money.
After completing night school, Ramirez was offered a higher paying job as an office manager by the owner of Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co.
"I told him, 'When can I leave?' " Ramirez said.
He quickly switched jobs, and stayed with the company for more than five years. Then, in 1955, Ramirez left his position as an accountant to work as a sales agent at The Prudential Insurance Company of America, where he stayed for 17 years.
Ramirez's civic activities included serving on the national board of the Girl Scouts of America USA; on the committee that recommended changing the name of Texas Western College to the University of Texas at El Paso, and as president of his local Goodwill Industries, He also has served as a United Way board member and has worked with the El Paso Child Guidance Center and a local LULAC council.
He was also an integral part of the successful 1957 campaign to elect Raymond L. Telles Jr., as the first Mexican-American mayor of El Paso.
Ramirez said he witnessed many changes over the years in how Hispanics have been treated.
"I did not have the possibility of talking to department heads or business owners that are Anglo. It was very difficult to get beyond the receptionist," Ramirez said. "My sons, they don't have that problem anymore, which is great."
Mr. Ramirez was interviewed by Joanne R. Sanchez in Austin, Texas, on July 30, 2007.