By Cheryl Smith
Looking at the elderly man in the brown fedora and navy blue dress coat, preening his snowy mustache with a miniature comb from his shirt pocket, one would never suspect the turbulent road he has followed throughout his life.
Teodoro Franco was unaware of battles raging overseas before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He wasn't supposed to get drafted, he said, because he had a bad back; however, he entered the Army in 1942 without protest.
By Cari Hammerstrom
Ramon C. Flores was 64 years old when the Persian Gulf War began. Struck with pangs of patriotism, the World War II veteran promptly showed up at the recruitment office and tried to enlist, but was turned away because of his age.
"I can still handle a gun," Flores said. "I was tired of being a civilian."
By Deborah Bonn
During a brief trip home from the war in Japan, Moises Flores surprised a whole colony in Mexico that thought he’d been killed in combat.
Among those shocked by Flores' return was the sheriff in Chihuahua, Mexico’s Colonia Dublan, the town in which Flores was raised. Although he’d been born 200 miles across the border in Los Angeles, Flores was well known in the town where he spent his formative years. The lawman had heard of Flores' heroics abroad, and wanted to discover just how brave he really was.
By Kendra Mayer
Education is said to open the door to opportunity, and Felicitas Flores, who has led an exceptional life, all the while using education as her key to success, knows this well.
By Jane Slater and Chris Schulz
It was a Sunday in 1941 when Delmiro Isidro Elizondo bought a movie theater ticket. As he did, he learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
His life would never be the same again.
His day, as always, had begun at 5 a.m., when he opened the family's grocery store on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. At noon, he hopped on a bus to the city and caught a double feature at the theater.
But Dec. 7, 1941, would alter his routine and bring him closer to his destiny. By the following year, he’d be inducted into the service.
By Liliana Velázquez
Leon Eguia has kept silent for many years, never inclined to share his feelings about World War II with anyone, not even his family.
"I saw a lot of things," said Eguia, who opened up during a recent interview. "So I put a wall between me and my feelings. Otherwise, I would become crazy."
By Anna Wong
Evident in his service to the United States, Teodoro De La Rosa is a man who’s proud and loyal to his country.
De La Rosa was born in the humble surroundings of Pharr, Texas. His father, Gregorio De La Rosa, was a migrant farm worker; his mother, Beatriz Cavazoz De La Rosa, a housewife. They didn't own any property, but as long as they worked at the farm, the family had a place to stay, De La Rosa said.
By Liliana Velazquez
Lying on the deck of the USS Tripoli on a quiet night on the Pacific Ocean, Luis Reyes Davila felt at peace in a time of war. During this brief respite from battle, with the soothing waves splashing against the aircraft carrier and the twinkling stars above, he thought of the peaceful life back in El Paso, Texas, that he left behind to serve his country.
"I used to think about home, how things would be back home," Davila said.
By Emily Priest
On June 6, 1944, Herman R. Cortez and his fellow soldiers scurried down side ladders onto landing crafts alongside a U.S. military ship as it dropped anchor on the coast of France, placing the men as close to shore as possible. As soon as the plank dropped, the soldiers jumped out and began making their way up Omaha Beach amid a shower of artillery shells from German soldiers.
By Anna Zukowski
An award-winning sharpshooter, Valentino "Smokey" Cervantes dodged death as a member of the 801st Tank Destroyer Battalion.
On an M-1 Tracked Recovery Vehicle, Cervantes would pick up disabled half tracks after each battle. With a promotion to technician 5th class, he went on to see dogfights in which British fighter planes were shot down, "buzz bombs" flying toward England and damaged American bombers plummeting to earth. Once, a bomb even fell 20 yards away from Cervantes' vehicle, while his company was crossing the Roar River in Germany.