Alejandro De los Santos
By Denise Chavarri
Alejandro De Los Santos of Laredo served overseas during World War II for about 40 months.
"I missed home but at the same time I knew I couldn't return," De Los Santos said. "I wrote to my mom very often to let her know how I was doing."
Before the service, life for De Los Santos was peaceful. The middle child of two brothers and three sisters, he grew up on a farm near Laredo. As a child, he attended school only sporadically because he had to work to help his family.