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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 351 - 400 of 649

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Subject	Collection	Story	Interviewed by
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
Felix Angel Lopez - Santos	World War II	By Juan de la Cruz Felix López-Santos's early memories of his native Puerto Rico include watching everything float away from his front porch during the big San Felipe storm of 1928. After his Barrio Ceiba was washed away, his family moved... Read More	Doralis Perez-Soto
David Loredo	World War II	By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons When David Loredo was shot in the stomach in the hills of the Philippines during World War II, his first thought was he’d never see his mother again. "I remember standing there in a daze," Loredo said. "I... Read More
Derlin Rodriguez Loya	World War II	By Evelyn Ngugi Four days after his eighteenth birthday, rookie soldier Derlin Loya set sail for Germany on May 18, 1946. By that time, Germany and Japan had already surrendered to Allied Forces, so Loya never had to face day-to-day... Read More	Adolfo Dominguez
Guadalupe R. Loya	World War II	By Andres Quintero When Guadalupe "Lupe" Loya, Jr. was drafted into World War II, he was working at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Wyoming. Loya returned to his hometown of Beeville, Texas, before heading to San Antonio to meet... Read More	Alcario Alvarado
Placido Jose Lozano	World War II	By Andrew Stark, St. Bonaventure University and Alicia Machuca, Cal State Fullerton On Dec. 7, 1941, Placido Jose Lozano was at a movie theater, enjoying a soda and 25-cent popcorn with his friends. Suddenly the film stopped, and the... Read More	Mike Zambrano
Augustin Lucio	World War II	By Denise Chávarri In the Army, Agustin Lucio, a 10th-grade dropout from a farming community outside San Marcos, Texas, noticed that many other young soldiers were educated or had finished high school. So, while in training, he decided to... Read More	Denise Chávarri
Juan R. Lujan	World War II	By Joel Weickgenant As a 20-year-old at the end of 1942, Juan Lujan remembers thinking World War II was passing him by. He wanted to participate in the war effort, but he’d promised his mother he wouldn't volunteer. In the end, it... Read More	Joel Weickgenant
Lorenza Terrones Lujano	World War II	By Katie Woody Lorenza Terrones Lujano has battled prejudice, assumed a traditionally male role as an athlete and worked diligently to send all four of her children to college, an opportunity she never had. Lujano was born Sept. 5,... Read More	Patricia Aguirre
Lazaro Lupian	World War II	By Alison Kelley Lazaro Lupian doesn't think his accomplishments during World War II were a big deal; the only true war heroes, he says, are the ones that don't come back. Some would disagree, especially family members who still... Read More	Rene Zambrano
Johnnie Marino	World War II	By Robert Mayer Johnnie Marino was working as a tinsmith in Houston, having learned the trade from President Roosevelt's National Youth Administration program, when he heard about Hitler's running amok in Europe. In October of 1940,... Read More	Mr. Paul Rodriguez Zepeda
Alberto Ochoa Marquez	World War II	By Tara Wilcox-G. Alberto Marquez remembers an autumn day in Houston in 1942 when he and a friend went out for hot dogs and, by the time they returned home, they’d decided to volunteer to fight in World War II. While... Read More
Ascencion Martinez	World War II	By Anthony Underwood Just 14 miles south of Waco lies the town of Lorena, Texas --- home to World War II Veteran Ascencion "Chon" Martinez. Born in Acampo Guanajuato, Mexico, Martinez and his family moved to the United States when... Read More
Porfirio Escamilla Martinez	World War II	By Yazmin Lazcano The experience of stepping over hundreds of bodies -- the sounds of mine blasts, surf pelting the coast and bullets whizzing overhead filling his ears -- is as vivid to Porfirio Martinez today as it was 55 years ago.... Read More
Juan Lugo Martinez	World War II	Tribute provided by Yolanda Guerra, daughter of Mr. Martinez. While he lived much of his youth during the Great Depression, Juan Lugo Martinez always talked about happy times, daughter Yolanda Martinez Guerra recalled in a tribute provided... Read More
Juan Martinez	World War II	By Meredith Barnhill Juan Martinez, Jr. is the embodiment of the patriotism Mexican Americans demonstrated during his time in the Army. Born Nov. 20, 1922, in El Paso, Texas, to Juan Martinez, Sr. and Sebastiana Valdez Martinez, he... Read More
Augustine Martinez	World War II	By Angela Macias Augustinee Martinez knew little about being a solider when his 65th Infantry Division reached La Havre, France. Though Martinez trained at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, and then in France for more than a month before hitting... Read More	Angela Macias
Elsie Schaffer Martinez	World War II	By Kimberly Wied Elsie Martinez saw a lot of World War II, but she never left the country and can't talk about it. "The things we saw, and the people that came back, it was horrible," said Martinez, recalling her work in a high-... Read More	Raquel C. Garza
Val Martinez	World War II	By Emma Graves-Fitzsimmons Nothing prepared Val Martinez for the icy winter night he landed in Marseilles, France, with the 103rd Infantry Division to prepare for combat in World War II. Martinez would spend more than nine months as a tank... Read More	William Luna
John Anastacio Martinez	World War II	By Christopher Trout At home in Houston in the 1940s, Johnnie Martinez was a well-known entertainer. He eventually would own a nightclub, lead his own big band, the Johnnie Martinez Band, and even own his own record label, Alameda. ... Read More
Trinidad G. Martinez	World War II	By David Muto Trinidad Martinez remembers the little things. Like the long list of vegetables he helped his family grow on their ranch in South Texas before World War II broke out. Thoughts like that punctuate Martinez's... Read More	Erika Martinez
Luis Martinez	World War II	By Sarah Adams Luis Martinez has had a hand in history. He participated in one of the more famous New Deal projects, witnessed D-Day from the English shores and attended Gen. George S. Patton's funeral. But what he remembers most as... Read More	Nicole Cruz
Jose Fuljencio Martinez	World War II	By Tony Cantú Jose Fuljencio Martinez remembers the minutest details of his tour of duty's defining moment, his unit's surrender at Bataan, recalling virtually every tear and each bead of sweat he shed as he faced his captors. "I... Read More	Rea Ann Trotter
Juan Martinez	World War II	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,"... Read More	Celina Moreno
Raymundo Rafael Martinez	World War II	By Laken Litman One would think returned war veterans would try blocking battle out of their minds forever. But that’s not at all the case with Raymundo Rafael Martinez. Having served as a Tech Sergeant in the Army’s 807th Engineer... Read More	Megan Beck
Eladio Martinez	World War II	When Eladio Martinez was growing up in Dallas, Texas, education was a priority. His father was a laborer and inspired his children to learn. Like his three younger siblings, Martinez graduated from Dallas Technical High School. Growing up, the... Read More
Ernesto Pedregón Martinez	World War II	By Nikki Muñoz Before he reached the age of 22, Ernesto Pedregón Martinez had already worked as a painter of bullfighting posters, helped liberate a Nazi concentration camp and returned home to start a new life, which would eventually lead... Read More	Jeffrey Lee Johnson
Raul Mata Martinez	World War II	By Brian Villalobos Raul Martinez's hands, thick, square and accented by a crest of jagged, walnut-sized knuckles, don’t seem to match his large, soft eyes. Over the past 76 years, these hands have handled everything from cement to... Read More	Robert Mayer
Raul Baca Martinez	World War II	By Taylor Fishytnt Raul B. Martinez spent four years in the Army’s Combat Corps of Engineers in World War II. The combat engineers went in first, then the assault troops. Their job: keep the Army moving. “Our unit built new... Read More	Jose Figueroa
Tomas Martinez	World War II	By Celina Moreno Tomás Martinez, a veteran of the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge who became a barber, has lived by a "do-it-yourself" philosophy since his youth in southern New Mexico. Born Dec. 21, 1923, to Amador... Read More	Marcello Salcido
Alfonso L. Matta	World War II	By Christina Tran When he became vice chairman of Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1990, Alfonso Matta would recall his closest experience with a railcar, when he was a 14-year-old on a bike. “The railcar – we had rail then... Read More
Henry McDonnell	World War II	In 1945, Henry McDonnell battled through Germany as a part of the 17th Airborne Division; 60 years later, he returned to Europe with his sons. Henry and his three sons, Bernard, Henry Jr. and Mark, traveled to the Netherlands in 2005 so... Read More
Jess Medina	World War II	By Sarah Kleiner Jess Medina witnessed death for the first time as a little boy when he saw a man get run over by a streetcar. Because of this experience, Medina says he had no fear when he had to piece together bodies of fellow... Read More	Ernesto Portillo
Joe Medina	World War II	By Naomi Price Joe Borunda Medina was fresh out of Wiley High School in Wiley, Colo., when he was inducted into the Army in June of 1943. Initially drafted, Borunda says he received a notice several weeks later that he was no longer... Read More	Steven Rosales
Julian Medina	World War II	By Pierre Bertrand It seems as if Army infantryman Julian Medina, who was drafted in 1943, was on the frontlines of every major World War II European campaign, from the Normandy Invasion to the Battle of the Bulge. “I was in every... Read More	Jenny Achilles
Jose Medina-Negron	World War II	By Erin Brady Puerto Rican Jose Medina-Negrón put college on hold when he volunteered to join the United States Army on July 15, 1943. He simply wanted to do his part, and says he didn’t know he was on the road to his future career.... Read More
Rafael C. Medrano	World War II	By Kaitlyn Clement Rafael Cantu Medrano left his Texas hometown to join the military in 1940. Four years later, he landed at a Normandy beach four days after D-Day. He was wounded in combat and was awarded a Bronze Star. Medrano... Read More	Rafael A. Medrano
Juan Mejia	World War II	By Frank Trejo From childhood poverty in South Texas through the Battle of the Bulge, one of World War II's bloodiest conflicts, Juan Mejia proved he was a survivor. Mejia's wartime experiences included being listed as missing-in-... Read More	Laura Barberena
Manuel Salazar Mejia	World War II	By Brooke West World War II interrupted Manuel Salazar Mejia's academic endeavors when, as an 18-year-old high school sophomore, he enlisted in the Army in May of 1942. One of five children born to immigrants from Zacatecas, Mexico,... Read More	Joe Olague
Andrew Soria Melendrez	World War II	By Voces Oral History Project Andrew Melendrez lost his mother at 9 and his father a few years later. By 19, he had been drafted into the Army and would see brutal combat in Europe during World War II. He fought in some of the war's most... Read More	Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Nemesio Mena	World War II	By Danielle Flahrity As his B-24 bomber turned to begin its bombing run, radio operator Nemesio Mena would carefully stand on the catwalk over the bomb bay and take pictures of the damage below. After the bomb run, he would have to... Read More	Luis A. Saenz
Alvino Mendoza	World War II	By Haldun Morgan "We were in Saipan when I had my first taste of combat. Not combat, [but] of bombs being dropped on us, trying to sink us. And I'm staring at the airplanes dropping, and I'm sure everyone is gonna hit us." Before... Read More	Haldun Morgan
Antonia Meza	World War II	By Rachel Gor In Antonia Meza's day, girls had chaperones accompany them on dates and stayed home with their mothers to make tortillas. Today, Meza's own granddaughters spend entire weekends with their boyfriends, and even she buys... Read More	Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez
Juan Meza	World War II	By Ignacio Laguarda It was New Year's Eve in 1944 when Soldier First Class Juan Meza discovered Germans had occupied an abandoned college in France -- the same building where he and five other soldiers were resting. "We were... Read More	Erika Martinez
José Pablo Miramontes	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... Read More	Violeta Dominguez
Joel C. Mojica	World War II	By Rachel Fleischman Before he was 20 years old, Joel C. Mojica had fought in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, and had a Purple Heart medal to prove it. Mojica was an Army sergeant during the war, and, like many young... Read More
Ernest J. Montoya	World War II	By Isis Romero While many 18-year-olds are getting ready for college and planning their senior trips, teenagers living in the early 1940s got ready for something else, and took trips of a different sort. Ernest J. Montoya was one of... Read More	Rea Ann Trotter
Juanita Tapia Montoya	World War II	By Alicia Rascón While scores of Latinos served their country valiantly during World War II, many women did their part on the home front. Juanita Tapia Montoya vividly remembers wartime rationing back home during these years, when... Read More	Adrianna Lujan
Maclovio Montoya	World War II	By Gilbert Song Born March 15, 1926, Maclovio Montoya experienced the Great Depression and military duty in World War II. Then it was off to the Pacific for the Korean War. However, it was in his golden years when he fought his greatest... Read More	Violeta Dominguez
Miguel Morado	World War II	By Sarah Griffin While he sat in his foxhole, 23-year-old Mike Morado was scared and cold, and wondering if he would survive World War II or even make it to his 24th birthday. Little did he know that his moment of fear and... Read More	Valerie Martinez