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World War II

Stories with interview subjects from our World War II collection. Browse all stories to see subjects across all Voces collections.

Displaying 601 - 649 of 649

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Subject	Collection	Story	Interviewed by
Sara Frances Garcia Valenzuela	World War II	By Jessica Eaglin Sara Valenzuela’s strong work ethic has remained a mainstay throughout her life. On July 31, 1924, Sara Frances Garcia was born in the small town of Edna, Texas – the first child of eight – to Henry Andrew Garcia... Read More	Raquel C. Garza
Alfred Q. Valenzuela	World War II	By E.J. Urbanczyk Alfred Valenzuela was an 18-year-old sailor in 1943 when he found his older brother in Hawaii. Valenzuela recalled looking for Claudio, eight years his senior, at Schofield Barracks, a United States installation... Read More	Raquel C. Garza
John Valls	World War II	By Bianca Krause Dec. 8, 1941, forever changed his life. Riding in a car on Market Street in Laredo, Texas, 16-year-old John Valls heard a speech that would shape his future. With his “Day of Infamy” speech, President Franklin... Read More	Liliana Rodriguez
Manuel Castro Vara	World War II	By Guillermo X. García Manuel C. Vara was a high school senior attending a Sunday movie matinee in his hometown of San Antonio when news broke out on the screen: All soldiers were to report back to base immediately. Japan had launched a... Read More	Martha Treviño
Joe Vargas	World War II	By Eva Hernandez The air is rife with the sounds of men preparing for battle on the front lines. This is the real deal, and Private Joe Vargas is ready. He lumbers off the back of the Army truck – just barely – and moves forward. Two... Read More
Wilhelmina Cooremans Vasquez	World War II	By Kim Loop Sisters Wilhelmina Cooremans Vasquez, 79, and Delfina Cooremans Baladez, 81, have done nearly everything together throughout their lives, including joining the workforce during World War II. In early 1942, when the... Read More	Brenda Sendejo
Refugio Miguel Vasquez	World War II	One Valentine's Day, Mike Vasquez knocked on the door to the Cooremans' house with three boxes of chocolates for the daughters still living at home. Fourteen-year-old Wilhelmina, the youngest, answered the door. She was so shocked to discover the... Read More
Guy Vasquez	World War II	By Laura Barganier Becoming a doctor and helping others have a better life was Guy Vasquez’s dream growing up after witnessing his father die of a brain tumor. Life worked out differently for Vasquez, however, as the United States... Read More	Natasha Samreny
Armando Faustino Vasquez	World War II	By Noor Nahas Living in a small town named Casa Piedra, 42 miles outside of Marfa, Texas, Armando Faustino Vasquez lived and worked like many of the other young men in the area. He went to church every week, worked long days on his father's... Read More	Liliana Rodriguez
Fidel H. Vasquez	World War II	By Ashley Park At least once in his life, Fidel Vasquez considered himself to be really lucky. His U.S. Army construction unit shipped out ahead of the supply ship carrying the equipment for him and his fellow soldiers. They made it, but... Read More	Liliana Rodriguez
George S. Vasquez	World War II	By Krystal De los Santos When George S. Vasquez was separated from his unit during the Battle of the Bulge in Germany, he lived by his wits behind enemy lines for a month “The whole company had just vanished in the dark,” Vasquez... Read More	Angela Macias
Marshall Gonzales Vasquez	World War II	By Caprice Padilla Turned away on his first attempt to join the Army because of a bad eye, Marshall Vasquez’s determination and will were fierce. Sitting next to his serviceman photo and an array of framed medals, Vasquez, who by showing... Read More	Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Edward B. Vasquez	World War II	By Andrea Williams For Edward Vasquez, the war years represented the ultimate adventure for a boy given to impetuous feats. A Mexico-born mother and Texas father’s middle child of seven, Vazquez remembers being taunted by his older... Read More	Andrea Williams
Anna Torres Vazquez	World War II	By Callie Jenschke Unlike many other Latino World War II veterans who often found themselves in a minority during their military service, Roberto Vazquez says he seldom felt the brunt of discrimination as a soldier in his division, where... Read More	William Luna
Roberto Vazquez	World War II	By Callie Jenschke Unlike many other Latino World War II veterans who often found themselves in a minority during their military service, Roberto Vazquez says he seldom felt the brunt of discrimination as a soldier in his division, where... Read More	William Luna
Lauro Vega	World War II	By Miguel A. Castro Lauro Vega distinctly remembers being in England and anxiously waiting to receive orders from the 197th AAA Battalion, the company he was in. "They told us, 'All you fellows will be in an invasion but we don't... Read More	Rene Zambrano
Martin Vega	World War II	By Natalie England Martin Vega knows what discrimination is. He saw it in his everyday life. He even saw that everyday discrimination culminate in murder. Vega was born in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. His family immigrated to Taylor,... Read More	William Luna
Francisco Vega	World War II	By Michelle Witters San Antonio native Francisco Vega survived D-Day on Omaha Beach unscathed. That’s not to say he didn’t suffer acute pain later during the war, however. When Sergeant Major Vega went to see the medic in Bad... Read More	Juan Marinez
Raymond Vega	World War II	By Israel Saenz At the Vega home in East Chicago, Ind., during World War II, there were five blue stars in the window -- one for each of the sons serving in the military. Raymond Vega was one of them, serving aboard a ship as a hospital... Read More	Violeta Dominguez
Abel Vela	World War II	By Valerie Harris Most people hope to retire around age 65, but hard-working Abel Vela stayed busy well into his 70s. After 27 years in the Army and more than 30 years of owning and operating a number of McDonald’s franchises... Read More	Nora Frost
Angela A. Vela	World War II	By Veronica Rosalez Growing up in Austria, Angela Vela had a front-row seat to the effects Hitler and World War II had on Europe. But in a time when fear and turmoil plagued the country, Vela was fortunate enough to find something very... Read More
Gerard Roland Vela	World War II	By Araceli Jaime and Jasmin Sun G. Roland Vela was an 11-year-old delivering newspapers when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Suddenly, everyone wanted to learn more about the bombing, and they swarmed Vela as he rode along... Read More	Raquel Garza
Angel Antonio Velazquez	World War II	By Ernie Garrido Before he joined the Army in World War II, Angel Antonio Velázquez taught English at a junior high school in his hometown of Yabucoa, in the southeastern part of Puerto Rico. During the war, in the Panama Canal, his... Read More	Doralis Perez-Soto
Francisco Venegas	World War II	By Erika Rodriguez Francisco Venegas sits in the kitchen of his house in southeast Austin. That act alone makes him feel lucky. Venegas has worked and struggled his whole life to be able to relax in his own home at the... Read More	Erika Martinez
Manuel Vera	World War II	By Eric Latcham On Jan. 27, 1945, in freezing, blizzard-like conditions,, Sgt. Manuel Vera was wounded in action in Nennig, Germany, when an explosion sent shell fragments into his right leg. Having grown up in Nebraska during the... Read More	Raquel C. Garza
Edelmiro T. Vidaurri	World War II	By Michael Taylor During the span of a 27-year military career, Edelmiro Vidaurri has worked on the aircraft used to fight three wars. In the course of those conflicts, he saw change both in the technology of aircraft and the attitudes of... Read More	Michael Taylor
Martha Ortega Vidaurri	World War II	By Tammi Grais Martha Ortega Vidaurri learned at a young age the hardships that life could serve up: During World War II, all five of her brothers and her husband would serve in the country's defense. Her brothers; Samuel, Daniel,... Read More	Tammi Grais
Willie Vila	World War II	By Lindsay Stafford For Marine sniper Willie Vila, the only way to make it through World War II alive was to kill or be killed. Vila used this advice, which he recalls getting from Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller, to... Read More	Dulcinea Cuellar
Joe Villa	World War II	By Ashley Hord As an Army veteran, Joe Villa has experienced his ups and down throughout life. From coming close to death as a baby to venturing through Nazi territory, the 83-year old has seen more than what his small Texas town ever... Read More	Amanda Abrigo
Miguel Villa	World War II	By Veronica Rosalez With the many hardships that their family faced throughout World War II, military veterans Mike Villa and his brothers, Raymond and Joe, were grateful that they all returned home safely to the United States. ... Read More	Samantha Salazar
Ramon Sr. Villa	World War II	By Frank Trejo Having grown up in rural South Texas during the Great Depression and having lost his mother when he was only 10, Ramón Villa Sr. knew hardship. But he was unprepared for the struggles he faced in World War II as... Read More	Amanda Abrigo
Gonzalo Villanueva	World War II	By Doralís Perez-Soto The only time Gonzalo Villanueva has been away for any extended period from his neighborhood in Arecibo, Puerto, Rico, was during World War II, when he served in North Africa, France, Italy and Germany. He even jokes... Read More	Doralis Perez-Soto
Oscar Villarreal	World War II	By Rachel Howell At 16, Oscar Villarreal was too young to vote in 1943, but he wasn’t too young to serve his country in World War II by joining the Navy. Villarreal was born March 1, 1927. In order to join the National Youth... Read More	Juan De la Cruz
Raul Cantu Villarreal	World War II	By Robert Inks When Raul Cantú Villarreal came home to Brownsville, Texas, in 1949 after serving in World War II, he had adjustments to make. For one thing, Villarreal lost his right leg after stepping on a land mine. "I thanked... Read More	Xochitl Salazar
Ignacio Vindiola	World War II	By Jessica Goetz, St. Bonaventure University Ignacio Vindiola was 27 years old when he joined the Army Air Forces and was assigned the job of radio operator aboard bomber planes. He was old enough to understand that those bombs being... Read More	Michelle Lojewski
William Raymond Wood	World War II	By Rosa Imelda Flores William Wood was "born in space," his reference to the little mining town of Santa Rita, which was in the hilly terrain of southwestern New Mexico. Santa Rita was excavated for the valuable copper ore lying... Read More	Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Vicente Ximenes	World War II	By Erika Martinez Vicente Ximenes still recalls his days as a Mexican American boy growing up in the 1930s in Floresville, Texas, a town where segregation formed part of his everyday life. Ximenes also remembers that out of the 100... Read More	Jim Morrison
Paul Ybarra	World War II	By Claire Gordon Paul Ybarra does not see himself as a hero, even though he survived the bloody Normandy Invasion and a mistaken Allied bombing, and he was about to be deployed to the Pacific when World War II ended. All he did, in his... Read More
Andres Ybarra	World War II	By Jennifer Lindgren "That's a picture of my great-granddaughter," said 81-year-old veteran Andres Ybarra, admiringly pointing out photographs in his home. "That's a picture of my -- all my grandkids and myself over there. And that one over... Read More	Shamiso Masowsue
Frank Yturralde	World War II	By Rachel Fleischman Frank Yturralde’s life is interwoven with the threads of family and education. At times they clashed, at times they co-existed, but mostly they were symbiotic -- family feeding education, education feeding... Read More	Joseph Villescas
Esequiel Zamudio	World War II	By Desirée Mata By the time Esequiel Zamudio was drafted at age 21, he already knew hard work and hardship. Zamudio started working as a young man for a government project called the National Youth Administration. As part of the NYA... Read More	Desirée Mata
Jose Robert Zaragoza	World War II	When Jose R. Zaragoza returned from World War II, he found an invigorated Los Angeles ripe with opportunities for younger generations of Latinos. Zaragoza was born in Los Angeles, Calif. in 1920. His parents had emigrated with his two... Read More	Anica Butler
Domingo Zatarian	World War II	By Donetta Nagle Domingo Zatarian looked on a map and set out to find his brother's division shortly after the Battle of the Bulge had ended in Europe. And he found him. There was Marty in a ditch, doing the last thing Zatarian would... Read More	Rene Zambrano
Angel Zavala	World War II	By Andie Salazar Between April 1944 and December 1945, Angel Zavala experienced everything from seeing the architecture of England and the islands of the South Pacific to nightly bombings and a searing sun at sea. What was a 22-... Read More	Daniel Reyes
Isaac R. Zepeda	World War II	By Paul R. Zepeda and Maggie Rivas Rodriguez Four stars hung in the front window of the house of 1608 Ave. L in Bay City, Texas, during WWII. Each represented a son of Guadalupe Zepeda, who fled from San Luis Potosí¬, Mexico, because he... Read More	Mr. Paul Rodriguez Zepeda
Elias R. Zepeda	World War II	By Paul R. Zepeda and Maggie Rivas Rodriguez Four stars hung in the front window of the house of 1608 Ave. L in Bay City, Texas, during WWII. Each represented a son of Guadalupe Zepeda, who fled from San Luis Potosí¬, Mexico, because he... Read More	Mr. Paul Rodriguez Zepeda
Robert Zepeda	World War II	By Paul R. Zepeda and Maggie Rivas Rodriguez Four stars hung in the front window of the house of 1608 Ave. L in Bay City, Texas, during WWII. Each represented a son of Guadalupe Zepeda, who fled from San Luis Potosí¬, Mexico, because he... Read More	Mr. Paul Rodriguez Zepeda
William Zermeno	World War II	By Yiyi Jennifer Yang It took a war for William Zermeno to leave his hometown, Houston, and his beloved family. The Zermeno family shared a very close bond -- the brothers, particularly, would play and hang out together even as they grew... Read More	Elizabeth Blancas
Alejandra Rojas Zuniga	World War II	By Stephanie Babb Strong family ties and a good work ethic made the difficulties of World War II a learning experience, Alejandra Rojas Zuniga said. "It was rough for us attending school in Texas because discrimination was bad there... Read More	Raul Garcia

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