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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 301 - 350 of 649

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Subject	Collection	Story	Interviewed by
Tomas A. Hernandez	World War II	By Kristina Radke Despite the horrors he experienced during World War II, Tomas A. Hernandez has lived a full, happy life. Hernandez was born on Dec. 29, 1925, in Temple, Texas, to Mexican parents. "My father spoke broken... Read More	Andrea Shearer
Estella Zaragoza Hernandez	World War II	By Ashley Nelcy Garcia For Estella Zaragoza Hernandez, working in the fields under the sizzling California sun as a young girl was not much more than a child’s game. It was part of her life, growing up as the youngest of six children... Read More	Valerie Martinez
Candelario Hernandez	World War II	By Lucinda Guinn Candelario Hernandez' family moved to East Austin in 1931 from Seguin, Texas. The only time he left East Austin since then, was during World War II, when he served the United States Army in New Guinea. "I've been in... Read More	Lucinda Guinn
John S Hernandez	World War II	By Allison Harris Even at almost 90 years old, World War II veteran John S. Hernandez can recall the challenges facing him on his first day of kindergarten at Belvedere Elementary School in Los Angeles. "My mother couldn't speak... Read More	Nicole Cruz
Catarino Hernandez	World War II	By Antonio Gilb In the first days of the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, in Schmidt, Germany, American scouts reported that a division of German tanks and soldiers lay on the outskirts of town, ready to attack. To minimize casualties,... Read More	Antonio Gilb
Joe Hernandez	World War II	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... Read More	Brenda Sendejo
Rodolfo Hernandez	World War II	By Jordyn Davenport Although Rodolfo Hernandez never saw the frontline of battle, World War II was an exciting time for him. That’s because Hernandez performed with his family’s informal entertainment troupe as a singer nicknamed... Read More	Peter Haney
Ezequiel R. Hernandez	World War II	By Michael Trevino Following his brothers' example of taking a stand against a foreign power and volunteering for the military, Ezequiel Hernandez enlisted in the Armed Forces as a teenager. "When I turned 18, none of my brothers were... Read More	Mr. Paul Rodriguez Zepeda
Ernesto Hernando	World War II	By Rachel Vallejo As the Enola Gay took off from the island of Tinian to drop the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Ernesto Hernando waited alongside his fellow servicemen to hear about the destruction. According to the Navy’s online... Read More	Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Jesus Herrera	World War II	By Jennifer Lindgren Jesus Herrera risked his life as a Navy corpsman in Okinawa in May of 1945, assisting wounded soldiers under heavy enemy fire and, twice, rescuing hurt Marines and helping them to safety – while still under fire.... Read More	Jane O’Brien
Tony Holguin	World War II	By Jason Weddle Tony Holguin would rather talk about golf than about the time he spent as a soldier in the Army during World War II. He even says he might very well have been the Tiger Woods of his day. To Holguin’s credit, there... Read More	William Luna
Alfred Hurtado	World War II	By Cara Seo, California State University, Fullerton If anyone deserves to be called an American war hero it's Alfred Hurtado. He survived the Normandy Invasion as well as the Battle of the Bulge and received 11 medals, including the... Read More	Joseph Padilla
Ed Idar	World War II, Political & Civic Engagement	By Liliana Martinez When Ed Idar was a teenager living in Buenos Aires, a neighborhood in Laredo, Texas, he never thought he’d volunteer as a civilian for Station X in England, and go to India and China while in the Army. "I came to... Read More	Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Francisco Xavier Jacques	World War II	By Hiram Jacques When he attempted to join the military after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Francisco “Frank” Xavier Jacques of the West Texas town of Sweetwater was turned away because of his lack of education; he’d only been to the... Read More
Joe Jaime	World War II	By Ryan Martinez After a childhood spent dealing with discrimination in a small Kansas City-area community, Joe Jaime figured once drafted in 1942 into the Army, he’d finally get the chance to earn his American citizenship and ease the... Read More	Mary Sanchez
Joe Ramirez Jasso	World War II	By Tony Cantú Among his siblings, four of whom would join him in the war effort, Jose Ramirez "Joe" Jasso is remembered as el cabezudo, the hard-headed one of the bunch, always getting into trouble as a youth. Jasso had grown... Read More	Mrs. Evelyn Jasso-Garcia
Jesus Jasso	World War II	Mexican immigrants Antonio Jasso and Genoveva Ramirez Jasso, who picked cotton in South Texas, would see five of their sons go off to war. Their granddaughter, Evelyn Jasso Garcia, set out to record their story, and that of her... Read More
Francisco Jasso	World War II	Mexican immigrants Antonio Jasso and Genoveva Ramirez Jasso, who picked cotton in South Texas, would see five of their sons go off to war. Their granddaughter, Evelyn Jasso Garcia, set out to record their story, and that of her... Read More
Trinidad Jasso	World War II	Mexican immigrants Antonio Jasso and Genoveva Ramirez Jasso, who picked cotton in South Texas, would see five of their sons go off to war. Their granddaughter, Evelyn Jasso Garcia, set out to record their story, and that of her... Read More
Tomas Jasso	World War II	Mexican immigrants Antonio Jasso and Genoveva Ramirez Jasso, who picked cotton in South Texas, would see five of their sons go off to war. Their granddaughter, Evelyn Jasso Garcia, set out to record their story, and that of her... Read More
Antonio R. Jasso	World War II	Mexican immigrants Antonio Jasso and Genoveva Ramirez Jasso, who picked cotton in South Texas, would see five of their sons go off to war. Their granddaughter, Evelyn Jasso Garcia, set out to record their story, and that of her... Read More
Antonio Jasso	World War II	By Sarah Culler Antonio Jasso wanted to make sure no one considered him a war hero. “I didn’t see no war … I’m not gonna take credit or say that I saw action. I didn’t. I was, thanks to God, a cook in the Navy. I had it made in... Read More	Mr. John Jasso
Julius V. Joseph	World War II	By Jacob Collazo At the onset of the Korean War in 1952, Julius V. Joseph, a veteran of World War I and II called his local recruiting office to volunteer his service. The recruiter asked Joseph if he had ever served in the military,... Read More	Jacob Collazo
Manuel Juarez	World War II	By Cheryl Smith Kemp When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, 14-year-old Manuel Juarez was raring to go. “I had been keeping up with the war in Europe, so I was more or less aware of what was going on,” recalled Juarez... Read More	George Dobosh
Anastacio Juarez	World War II	By Juan de la Cruz As the only Mexican American in his troop, Anastacio Perez Juarez experienced problems not normally encountered by other soldiers. Because of his limited English, even the simplest commands -- forward, march, halt,... Read More	Alicia Perez
Rafaela Navarro Juarez	World War II	By Rebecca De Leon At the age of 18, Rafaela Navarro’s faith was tested. In 1942, her soon-to-be husband, Anastacio Juarez, was called to fight in World War II, leaving her and his family to fret about his safety. Anastacio’s cousin... Read More	Julio C. Ovando
Ruperto Soto Juarez	World War II	By Amanda Crane Ruperto Soto Juarez, of Norwalk, Ca., has not had an easy life: he was orphaned as an adolescent; he quit school as a child, he fibbed about his age in order to join the Navy and serve his country in WWII. He has been a... Read More	Valerie Talavera-Bustillos
Beatrice Amado Kissinger	World War II	By Amanda Traphagan World War II gave Beatrice Amado Kissinger a ticket out of her small-town life in southern Arizona and into the big city adventure of serving as a Navy nurse in San Francisco. When the United States entered the... Read More	Ernesto Portillo
Alfonso Lara	World War II	The Other Soldiers Little-remembered treaty sent 300,000 sons of Mexico to the United States during WWII; their weapons were their labor-hardy bodies By Violeta Dominguez The battlefield wasn’t the only place where... Read More	Violeta Dominguez
Joe Henry Lazarine	World War II	By Cheryl Smith Kemp Joe Henry Lazarine’s interview is more of a conversation between two old friends than a question and answer session. After all, Lazarine was raised in Beeville, and so was interviewer Eloy Rodriguez, the son of one of... Read More	Eloy Rodriguez
Josephine Kelly Ledesma Walker	World War II	By Monica Rivera When she was being trained as an airplane mechanic in the 1940s, Josephine Ledesma was the only woman in her training group. Later, as an airplane mechanic at Bergstrom Air Field, she was one of three women out of her... Read More	Monica Rivera
Salvador S Leon	World War II	By Melanie Boehm Salvador León had a choice during World War II: either take the automatic deferment provided for a family's last son not in the military, or serve his country. Salvador went anyway. "My mom said, 'This country... Read More	Ismael Martinez
Joe G. Lerma	World War II	By Chris Nay Even before arriving at the European concentration camps in 1945, Joe Lerma of San Diego and his division could smell the dead. "The sight and smell of human death is terrible," he said. His division's job was to... Read More	Rene Zambrano
Leon Leura $Leon\Jack\"Leura after basic training in Sharon, PA in Dec. 1942."$	World War II	By ISMAEL MARTINEZ In the beginning of 1944, 22-year-old Tech. Pvt. Leon "Jack" Leura was among the American troops able to cross the raging Rapido River, and help gain control of Italy. That summer, a wounded Leura would be taken prisoner... Read More	Frank O. Sotomayor
Robert Leyva	World War II	By Andrea R. Williams In the midst of conflict, Robert Leyva sometimes would think the enemy troops killed in World War II could have been among his friends in another time and place. This kind of love of mankind is a mainstay in Leyva's... Read More	Andrea Williams
Luis Leyva	World War II	By Monica Flores Feeling like a full-fledged American despite lacking a U.S. birth certificate, Luis Leyva never let his Mexican citizenship status affect his dedication to his adopted homeland. Born to Mexican parents Guadalupe... Read More	Mary Alice Carnes
Heriberto Longoria	World War II	by Minette Hernandez MCALLEN, Texas -- Ask Heriberto Longoria, Sr. about the license plate on his 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, and he will proudly tell you the piece of metal, which displays a Purple Heart, cost him only three dollars. To... Read More	Minette Hernandez
Felix Longoria	World War II	By Ashlyn Shadden When Felix Longoria enlisted in the Army in October of 1940 as a 20‐year‐old from the South Texas town of Beeville, he had no idea what he was getting into. Four years later, the United States was in the midst of... Read More	Oscar Gomez
Quirino Longoria	World War II	By Laura Carroll Quirino Longoria recalls joining the long Navy tradition of being initiated – or, according to some, hazed – a “Shellback” upon his virgin crossing of the Equator in 1945. New seamen are designated “Polliwogs” until they... Read More	Elizabeth Fisanick
Anthony Duane Lopez	World War II	By Anjli Mehta Looking back on his childhood, Anthony D. Lopez chuckled to himself and said, “Yeah, I was a runaround kid.” Maybe it was all that running around that got him through years of combat leading up to the liberation of the... Read More	Henry Velez
Crecencio Lopez	World War II	By Nicole Dreyer As a ranch hand, Cresencio Lopez didn't get much news about what was happening overseas in World War II. Some neighbors and his cousin had been drafted, and it was hard to get information from them. Later, when Lopez was... Read More	Brian Lucero
Jose M. Lopez	World War II	By Ernie Carrido Jose M. Lopez is one of the 12 Latino World War II veterans to have received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military accolade. He had a difficult childhood, but maintained a fervent belief in the... Read More	Manuel Medrano
Gilbert Lopez	World War II	By Ismael Martinez Gilbert Lopez was born Sept. 30, 1919, in Azusa, northeast of Los Angeles. His father, Victorio Jose Lopez, worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a stonemason. Lopez' mother, Dephene Lopez, was a homemaker... Read More	Jack Steingart
Severo Paul Lopez	World War II	By Sonia Alvarez and Joe Muller Due to his father's career as a casting agent and magazine entertainment writer, Severo Lopez always held a special place in his... Read More	Frank Sotomayor
Genaro V Lopez	World War II	By Simon Wagner, St. Bonaventure University World War II "actually made a man out of me," Genaro V. Lopez told his son, Genaro, during their father-to-son interview for the Voces Oral History Project. Born April 8, 1925, in... Read More	Mr. Genaro C. Lopez
Erasmo G. Lopez	World War II	By Cheryl Smith Kemp Erasmo G. Lopez spent a good chunk of his twenties on the front lines of battle, both in World War II and the Korean War. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Lopez was drafted into the Army in 1942 at the... Read More
Eliceo Lopez	World War II	By Kimberly Tilley On the walls of a small, comfortable East Austin residence, family photographs fill the house. A framed photo of a beaming couple sits on the mantle, and an adjacent bedroom contains a small altar with a photo,... Read More	Kimberly Tilley
Vicenta Sanchez Lopez	World War II	By Mary Mejia In 1938, Vicenta Sanchez Lopez became the first Mexican American woman to graduate from her high school in her predominantly Anglo home town of Sonora, Texas, about 200 miles west of Austin. Just one year earlier, the first... Read More	Taylor Peterson
Jose Angel Lopez	World War II	By Ayesha Mirza Jose Angel Lopez saw myriad battlegrounds while braving the frontlines across France, Belgium and Germany in World War II. His tales of loss and heroism are as abundant as the grains of sand on the Normandy coast. He... Read More	Rea Ann Trotter
Elvira Orta Pardo Lopez	World War II	By Karina Valenzuela Elvira Orta Pardo Lopez's memories of World War II revolve around her brother, Apolonio “Polo” Pardo, Jr., whom she describes as a quiet and serious man. Polo got as far as the fifth grade before quitting to work... Read More

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