By David Muto
When Andrew E. Guzman tried to enlist in the Marines at 18, he was turned away and told to wait for the draft.
With remorse, Guzman said he’s fortunate he didn’t enlist on that day in 1944. Otherwise, he believed he likely would have been sent to the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles.
“I was lucky that I wasn’t accepted,” he said.
By David Muto
Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, Baldomero Estala relied on quiet independence.
In junior high school – from which Estala withdrew for economic reasons before fighting in World War II – he kept to himself, he says.
“I tried to get along with people, and I learned how to read Spanish,” said Estala of his formal education. “I never belonged to a sports team. I wasn’t too much of a mixer with people in school.”
By Paul Brown
Ismael Nevarez was headed west across the Pacific Ocean aboard a troopship in early August of 1945. Countless other United States Navy vessels surrounded him as far as the eye could see, and they were all headed in the same direction.
With the Port of Seattle out of sight, this 19-year-old from a tiny village in Puerto Rico received the official word: He and his fellow soldiers were to take part in the invasion of Japan.
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 age of 20.
“If I hadn’t of gone, they would have taken me,” he half-joked in Spanish.
In Germany, where Uncle Sam sent Lopez’s regiment, the 335th Infantry, part of the 84th Division, after maneuvers training in Lake Charles, La., Lopez was in, among other fights, the Battle of the Bulge.
By Na Kyung Kim
General society’s prevailing atmosphere of racial discrimination couldn’t shake the strong comradeship present in the Army for Albert Caballero, who began his service in 1940 with the 36th Infantry Division. Though he initially enlisted to prepare himself for war, for him, the Army turned out to be primarily a place where he could interact and unite with others, rather than learn how to fight.
“When the combat started, we leaned how to respect each other,” Caballero said. “[It] was people from different parts of [the] country into one segment.”
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 different – love.
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 throughout San Antonio, Texas, the 81‐year‐old Army Major says volunteering for the Purple Heart Association and at his church have taken the place of work.
“And in my free time, I work for a young lady. Her name is Angela Vela, and she keeps me very busy,” said Vela with a laugh.
By Donnie Hogan
Alfred Antonio De La Cruz made $2 per week working as a radio technician, while the military paid $17 per month, so joining the Army was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
De La Cruz says he has always had a passion for gaining knowledge and a determination to never be complacent. Growing up poor in San Antonio, Texas, he recalls his parents insisting he get an education and strive to be the best at whatever profession or trade he went into.
By Kristin LaFrate
When Emilio Torres enlisted in the Navy at the age of 18 on Sept. 18, 1942, little did he know he was beginning a more than 30-year military career spanning three wars.
Torres served in World War II and, later, in the Korean and Vietnam wars with the Army.
“We managed to get in with the ways of the people, and try to keep good relations with everybody,” said Torres of his interaction with civilians.
By Brandon Fried
Ramiro Ramos has spent much of his life just trying to get by.
Raised near the Texas-Mexico border, in the town of Salineno, Ramos was one of seven children born to Rita and Esteban Ramos in the early 1920s. He was born on Sept. 12, 1924.
“There were more than enough of us to play with,” said Ramos.