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Narrator:
IN THE EARLY 1940s,

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WHILE SERVING ABOARD
THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER
USS "ENTERPRISE,"

00:00:15.682 --> 00:00:17.517
ENLISTED MAN CHARLES WHEELER

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HEARD SOME UNLIKELY NEWS
ABOUT A NEW OFFICER.

00:00:21.187 --> 00:00:23.898
I HEARD ABOUT ONE
OF OUR NEW PILOTS

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THAT COME ABOARD SHIP,
THAT HE WAS A MEXICAN BOY.

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AND I THOUGHT,
"I AIN'T BELIEVING THAT."

00:00:33.158 --> 00:00:36.035
WHEELER, TOO,
HAD MEXICAN ANCESTRY,

00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:38.204
BUT HE'D NEVER SEEN
A MEXICAN-AMERICAN PILOT

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UNTIL HE MET
ENSIGN MANUEL GONZALES
FROM CALIFORNIA.

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THEY SOON GREW CLOSE.

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WE BONDED
OVER OUR MEXICAN BACKGROUND,

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AND IT WAS LIKE HAVING
A NEW FRIEND.

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ON THE MORNING
OF DECEMBER 7th, 1941,

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THE SHIP WAS AT SEA,
2 DAYS BEHIND SCHEDULE.

00:01:02.645 --> 00:01:05.815
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE
IN PORT AT PEARL HARBOR.

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PRIOR TO GOING INTO ANY PORT,

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WE ALWAYS SENT
A FEW OF OUR AIRCRAFT IN

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TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS.

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SO, VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING,
THEY LAUNCHED THE DIVE-BOMBERS,

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AND ENSIGN GONZALES HAPPENED
TO BE IN THE SECOND LAUNCHING,

00:01:30.423 --> 00:01:32.467
AND THOSE WERE THE ONES
THAT GOT THERE

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WHEN-WHEN THE JAPANESE
WERE-WERE BLOWING THE PLACE UP.

00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:44.437
THE PLANES
FROM THE "ENTERPRISE"

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STUMBLED INTO THE MIDDLE
OF THE SURPRISE ATTACK

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AND SOON FOUND THEMSELVES
UNDER FIRE FROM BOTH SIDES.

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[MACHINE-GUN FIRE]

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BACK ON THE "ENTERPRISE,"

00:01:56.199 --> 00:01:59.244
A STARTLING TRANSMISSION
FROM ENSIGN GONZALES

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BROKE THE STANDARD
RADIO SILENCE.

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HE PLEADED, "DON'T SHOOT!
PLEASE DON'T SHOOT!

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FRIENDLY AIRCRAFT."

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AND THOSE WERE THE LAST WORDS
THE MAN EVER SAID.

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AMERICANS LOST
A DAMN GOOD PILOT,

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AND I LOST A GOOD FRIEND.

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ENSIGN MANUEL GONZALES
WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST

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AMERICAN CASUALTIES
OF WORLD WAR II,

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ONE OF AN ESTIMATED
HALF-MILLION LATINOS

00:02:40.076 --> 00:02:41.828
WHO SERVED IN THAT WAR.

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THEY CAME FROM ALL OVER--

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THE BARRIOS IN L.A.,
THE CASERIOS OF PUERTO RICO,

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THE PUEBLOS OF NEW MEXICO,

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THE FARMS AND BORDER TOWNS
OF TEXAS--

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AND THEY FOUGHT...

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IN ALL THE MAJOR BATTLES
ACROSS EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC.

00:03:04.767 --> 00:03:07.312
AND LIKE OTHER AMERICANS,

00:03:07.395 --> 00:03:10.398
THE EXPERIENCE
WOULD LEAVE THEM CHANGED.

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IN JUST A FEW YEARS,

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A MEXICAN-AMERICAN DOCTOR
FROM TEXAS

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WOULD BE TRANSFORMED
INTO A TIRELESS ADVOCATE
OF CIVIL RIGHTS.

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ON THE HOME FRONT,

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A TEENAGE GIRL
WOULD OVERCOME PREJUDICE

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TO JOIN THE WAR EFFORT,

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HELPING TO BUILD BOMBERS
AND FIGHTERS--

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ROSITA THE RIVETER.

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AND AN ARMY SOLDIER WOULD BECOME
THE FIRST MEXICAN NATIONAL

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TO EARN THE CONGRESSIONAL
MEDAL OF HONOR,

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ONLY TO BE REFUSED SERVICE
IN HIS HOME STATE.

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FIGHTING A WAR OVERSEAS

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WOULD TRANSFORM THE LATINO FIGHT
FOR CIVIL RIGHTS BACK HOME.

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[BELL TOLLING]

00:04:00.114 --> 00:04:02.867
WHEN THE UNITED STATES
ENTERED THE WAR

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AFTER THE ATTACK
ON PEARL HARBOR,

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A MEXICAN-AMERICAN DOCTOR
COMPLETING HIS RESIDENCY

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IN A NEBRASKA HOSPITAL

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IMMEDIATELY VOLUNTEERED
FOR SERVICE.

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HIS NAME WAS HECTOR P. GARCIA.

00:04:17.715 --> 00:04:21.052
I. Garcia: HECTOR DECIDED THIS
WAS THE CALL OF THE NATION.

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HE WAS GOING TO RESPOND.

00:04:22.428 --> 00:04:24.389
HE WENT TO THE DRAFT BOARD,
SAID, "I WANT TO GO IN."

00:04:24.472 --> 00:04:27.433
AND HE TOLD THEM,
"I'M A DOCTOR,
A MEDICAL DOCTOR.

00:04:27.517 --> 00:04:30.103
I'D LIKE TO BE
A MEDICAL OFFICER."

00:04:30.186 --> 00:04:32.271
IN ADDITION
TO A MEDICAL DEGREE,

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GARCIA HAD SPENT SEVERAL YEARS
IN THE ARMY RESERVES.

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Ramos:
RATHER THAN THE MILITARY

00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:39.195
REALLY LOOKING
AT HIS CREDENTIALS,

00:04:39.278 --> 00:04:40.446
WHICH ARE REALLY IMPECCABLE

00:04:40.530 --> 00:04:44.409
AS A MEDICAL PHYSICIAN
AND COLLEGE GRADUATE,

00:04:44.492 --> 00:04:47.620
IT'S ASSUMED
THAT NO MEXICAN CAN
POSSIBLY HAVE THAT PEDIGREE,

00:04:47.704 --> 00:04:50.915
AND HE IS PUT IMMEDIATELY
INTO THE INFANTRY.

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AAH!

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GARCIA TREATED THE DECISION
AS AN OVERSIGHT.

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DURING TRAINING, HE CONTINUED
TO LOBBY FOR THE MEDICAL CORPS.

00:04:58.965 --> 00:05:01.634
JUST BEFORE HE SHIPPED OUT
FOR NORTH AFRICA,

00:05:01.718 --> 00:05:03.136
THE MILITARY RECONSIDERED.

00:05:03.219 --> 00:05:06.597
I. Garcia: THEY FINALLY CAME
TO HIM AND SAID,

00:05:06.681 --> 00:05:07.765
"ARE YOU SURE
YOU'RE A MEDICAL DOCTOR?

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"WHERE DID YOU GET
YOUR TRAINING?

00:05:09.058 --> 00:05:11.310
IN GUADALAJARA
OR SOME SCHOOL IN MEXICO?"

00:05:11.394 --> 00:05:15.189
HE SAID, "NO, I WENT TO
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
AT GALVESTON.

00:05:15.273 --> 00:05:18.067
DID MY RESIDENCY
IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA."

00:05:18.151 --> 00:05:20.903
AND AT FIRST IT WAS VERY HARD
FOR THEM TO BELIEVE THAT,

00:05:20.987 --> 00:05:23.823
BUT EVENTUALLY,
THEY ACCEPTED THAT.

00:05:26.325 --> 00:05:29.912
IN LATE 1942, GARCIA ARRIVED
IN NORTH AFRICA...

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AS THE BATTALION SURGEON
FOR AN ENGINEERING GROUP,

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BUT THIS WASN'T HIS FIRST WAR.

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HE'D BEEN BORN
IN LLERA, MEXICO,

00:05:42.884 --> 00:05:44.927
IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION,

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A BRUTAL CONFLICT
THAT TOOK A MILLION LIVES.

00:05:49.015 --> 00:05:50.767
FLEEING THE VIOLENCE,

00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:55.271
HIS FAMILY IMMIGRATED TO A SMALL
SOUTH TEXAS TOWN, MERCEDES,

00:05:55.354 --> 00:05:58.691
WHERE RELATIVES OWNED
A DRY GOODS STORE.

00:05:58.775 --> 00:06:01.527
ALTHOUGH
LEGALLY CONSIDERED WHITE,

00:06:01.611 --> 00:06:05.364
MEXICANS AND MEXICAN-AMERICANS
WERE SEGREGATED FROM ANGLOS,

00:06:05.448 --> 00:06:07.450
WHO HELD ALL THE POWER.

00:06:07.533 --> 00:06:11.537
SHOOTINGS AND LYNCHINGS
OF MEXICANS WERE COMMON,

00:06:11.621 --> 00:06:15.833
ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH TEXAS.

00:06:18.377 --> 00:06:21.089
ONE OF THE REASONS
WHY THIS TRANSITION

00:06:21.172 --> 00:06:22.632
WAS SO TRAUMATIC
FOR THE GARCIA FAMILY

00:06:22.715 --> 00:06:25.843
IS THAT UNLIKE MANY
OF THE OTHER FAMILIES
THAT CAME NORTH,

00:06:25.927 --> 00:06:27.804
PROBABLY THE PREPONDERANCE,
OBVIOUSLY,

00:06:27.887 --> 00:06:30.515
THE GARCIA FAMILY
WAS VERY ESTABLISHED.

00:06:30.598 --> 00:06:32.725
THEY WERE UNIVERSITY
AND COLLEGE EDUCATED.

00:06:32.809 --> 00:06:37.396
THEY CAME INTO A SITUATION
REALLY UNPREPARED FOR WHAT
THEY WERE CONFRONTING--

00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:39.649
TREMENDOUS RESISTANCE BASED

00:06:39.732 --> 00:06:42.860
ON THEIR NATIONAL
AND RACIAL IDENTITY.

00:06:42.944 --> 00:06:46.072
THOUGH EDUCATORS
BY PROFESSION,

00:06:46.155 --> 00:06:48.199
OUTSIDE THEIR HOME,
HECTOR'S PARENTS

00:06:48.282 --> 00:06:49.784
WOULD NEVER TEACH AGAIN.

00:06:49.867 --> 00:06:53.746
INSIDE WAS A DIFFERENT STORY.

00:06:53.830 --> 00:06:55.873
RIGHT AFTER WORK,
THE FATHER AND THE MOTHER

00:06:55.957 --> 00:06:57.166
WOULD SIT THEM DOWN
AT THE KITCHEN TABLE,

00:06:57.250 --> 00:07:01.254
AND THEY WOULD GO OVER
MATHEMATICS, HISTORY.

00:07:01.337 --> 00:07:04.465
THEY WOULD READ TO THEM
FROM THE NEWSPAPER.

00:07:04.549 --> 00:07:06.050
Ramos:
ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN,

00:07:06.134 --> 00:07:09.428
HECTOR'S SIBLINGS,
WERE EDUCATED.

00:07:09.512 --> 00:07:10.513
THEY ALL WENT TO COLLEGE.

00:07:10.596 --> 00:07:12.223
MOST OF THEM
BECAME PHYSICIANS,

00:07:12.306 --> 00:07:15.768
HECTOR BEING AMONG THE FIRST
OF THEM TO ACHIEVE THAT.

00:07:15.852 --> 00:07:18.062
GARCIA
EARNED HIS MEDICAL DEGREE

00:07:18.146 --> 00:07:21.065
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
AT GALVESTON,

00:07:21.149 --> 00:07:23.234
BUT WHEN HE SOUGHT A RESIDENCY
IN TEXAS,

00:07:23.317 --> 00:07:26.904
HE COULDN'T FIND A HOSPITAL
THAT WOULD TAKE HIM

00:07:26.988 --> 00:07:30.074
AND ENDED UP
AT CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY
IN NEBRASKA.

00:07:30.158 --> 00:07:33.119
DESPITE
THE APPARENT DISCRIMINATION,

00:07:33.202 --> 00:07:37.081
GARCIA DIDN'T PERCEIVE IT
AS SUCH.

00:07:37.165 --> 00:07:40.459
I. Garcia: IN THE EARLY YEARS,
HECTOR HAD A TENDENCY TO FEEL

00:07:40.543 --> 00:07:44.255
IF YOU EDUCATED YOURSELF,
IF YOU WERE ASSERTIVE,
IF YOU WERE ARTICULATE,

00:07:44.338 --> 00:07:46.757
PEOPLE DIDN'T DISCRIMINATE
AGAINST YOU,

00:07:46.841 --> 00:07:51.220
THAT THAT WAS MEANT
FOR THE POOR, BROWNER
MEXICAN-AMERICANS.

00:07:51.304 --> 00:07:55.558
IN FACT, GARCIA WOULD FEEL
HIS TIME IN THE MILITARY

00:07:55.641 --> 00:07:58.936
WAS FREE OF PREJUDICE.

00:07:59.020 --> 00:08:03.983
HE SERVED WITH DISTINCTION
IN NORTH AFRICA AND ITALY.

00:08:05.902 --> 00:08:08.738
BY THE WAR'S END,
HE'D BE PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN,

00:08:08.821 --> 00:08:10.781
THOUGH THAT WAS THE RANK
TYPICALLY GIVEN MEDICAL DOCTORS

00:08:10.865 --> 00:08:14.202
WHEN THEY FIRST ENTERED
THE ARMY.

00:08:17.413 --> 00:08:21.334
[MARCH PLAYING]

00:08:21.417 --> 00:08:23.419
THE LATINOS THAT SERVED
IN WORLD WAR II

00:08:23.502 --> 00:08:27.215
WERE OVERWHELMINGLY
OF MEXICAN DESCENT,

00:08:27.298 --> 00:08:30.801
BUT OVER 65,000 PUERTO RICANS
SERVED AS WELL.

00:08:30.885 --> 00:08:33.095
Announcer: TROOPS
AND THE ARTILLERY ON PARADE.

00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:35.723
THIS TAKES US
TO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
IMPORTANCE OF PUERTO RICO.

00:08:35.806 --> 00:08:40.770
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
IS CREATING A MAGNIFICENT
MILITARY STRONGHOLD.

00:08:40.853 --> 00:08:43.314
Narrator: AS U.S. CITIZENS,

00:08:43.397 --> 00:08:47.109
PUERTO RICANS WERE SUBJECT
TO THE DRAFT.

00:08:47.193 --> 00:08:50.112
OTHERS VOLUNTEERED
OUT OF PATRIOTISM

00:08:50.196 --> 00:08:54.033
OR HAD ENTERED THE MILITARY
BEFORE THE ATTACK
ON PEARL HARBOR

00:08:54.116 --> 00:08:56.035
AS A WAY TO ESCAPE
THE DIRE EFFECTS

00:08:56.118 --> 00:08:58.371
OF THE DEPRESSION
ON PUERTO RICO.

00:08:58.454 --> 00:09:00.748
♪♪

00:09:02.917 --> 00:09:05.962
MARCOS MELENDEZ
HAD MADE SOME MONEY

00:09:06.045 --> 00:09:09.465
AS A WORKING MUSICIAN,

00:09:09.548 --> 00:09:12.343
BUT IN 1939,
HIS FATHER ENCOURAGED HIM

00:09:12.426 --> 00:09:15.721
TO JOIN THE MILITARY
FOR THE STEADY PAY.

00:09:19.767 --> 00:09:23.688
I GREW UP IN THE ARMY.

00:09:23.771 --> 00:09:26.482
THEY MAKE ME A MAN

00:09:26.565 --> 00:09:29.568
WITH THE DISCIPLINE,

00:09:29.652 --> 00:09:34.282
BETTER FOOD, GOOD MONEY.

00:09:34.365 --> 00:09:36.617
IT'S A GOOD LIVING.

00:09:42.373 --> 00:09:45.501
LIKE MANY ISLANDERS
IN WORLD WAR II,

00:09:45.584 --> 00:09:49.171
MELENDEZ ENDED UP
IN THE 65th INFANTRY REGIMENT,

00:09:49.255 --> 00:09:54.427
SEGREGATED BY THE ARMY
TO BE ALL PUERTO RICAN.

00:09:54.510 --> 00:09:58.264
WITH THE 65th,
HE WOULD EVENTUALLY
BOARD A SHIP FOR EUROPE,

00:09:58.347 --> 00:10:02.018
HIS MUSICAL TALENT EASING
TENSIONS DURING THE CROSSING.

00:10:05.313 --> 00:10:08.566
WHEN WE-WE REACHED THE SHIP

00:10:08.649 --> 00:10:11.736
AND WE GET THE PEOPLE
IN THERE,

00:10:11.819 --> 00:10:16.198
SO MANY PEOPLE IN THERE
WANT MORALE HIGH,

00:10:16.282 --> 00:10:20.161
SO I PLAY THE GUITAR,
AND THEY HAVE FUN.

00:10:21.579 --> 00:10:24.999
[SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:11:04.413 --> 00:11:06.248
THE 65th WOULD SEE ACTION

00:11:06.332 --> 00:11:09.043
IN ITALY, CENTRAL EUROPE
AND GERMANY.

00:11:21.263 --> 00:11:23.265
WITH THE EXCEPTION
OF THOSE FROM PUERTO RICO,

00:11:23.349 --> 00:11:25.226
THERE WERE FEW
ALL-LATINO UNITS

00:11:25.309 --> 00:11:29.188
IN THE U.S. MILITARY
IN WORLD WAR II.

00:11:29.271 --> 00:11:33.067
IN CONTRAST TO THE SEGREGATION
OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS,

00:11:33.150 --> 00:11:36.821
MOST LATINOS FOUGHT ALONGSIDE
ANGLO SOLDIERS AND SAILORS,

00:11:36.904 --> 00:11:42.284
EXPERIENCING THE SAME TERRORS
AND BOREDOM,

00:11:42.368 --> 00:11:47.331
BROTHERHOOD AND DEATH.

00:11:47.415 --> 00:11:54.004
FOR MANY LATINOS,
IT WAS THE FIRST TASTE
OF FULL CITIZENSHIP,

00:11:54.088 --> 00:11:57.675
TO BE TREATED
AS EQUAL TO ANGLOS,

00:11:57.758 --> 00:12:00.344
AND SOME WOULD CHALLENGE ANYONE

00:12:00.428 --> 00:12:04.390
TO TAKE THAT EQUALITY AWAY
AFTER THE WAR,

00:12:04.473 --> 00:12:07.935
LIKE MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER
MACARIO GARCIA.

00:12:10.271 --> 00:12:14.233
GARCIA WAS A MEXICAN NATIONAL
FROM SUGAR LAND, TEXAS,

00:12:14.316 --> 00:12:18.571
WHERE HE WORKED
AS A MIGRANT PICKING COTTON
AND TENDED CATTLE.

00:12:18.654 --> 00:12:21.782
HIS PARENTS
HAD MOVED FROM MEXICO
IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE.

00:12:21.866 --> 00:12:25.327
THEY FOUND A HARSH EXISTENCE.

00:12:25.411 --> 00:12:27.288
Bailey:
IT WAS A ROUGH LIFE.

00:12:27.371 --> 00:12:29.707
A ONE-ROOM SHACK AT BEST,

00:12:29.790 --> 00:12:33.544
HOLES IN THE WALLS,
HOLES IN THE CEILING,

00:12:33.627 --> 00:12:35.921
BUT THEY WERE PEOPLE
WHO WERE WILLING

00:12:36.005 --> 00:12:39.216
TO MAKE IT--MAKE IT WORK,

00:12:39.300 --> 00:12:42.553
BECAUSE THEY WANTED A BETTER
LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

00:12:48.642 --> 00:12:50.728
IN JUNE 1944,

00:12:50.811 --> 00:12:54.106
2 DAYS AFTER
THE D-DAY INVASION OF EUROPE,

00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:57.234
PRIVATE MACARIO GARCIA LANDED
AT NORMANDY

00:12:57.318 --> 00:13:01.614
AS ONE OF THE REPLACEMENTS FOR
MEN LOST IN THE BLOODY FIGHTING.

00:13:01.697 --> 00:13:05.117
THE ARMY ASSIGNED HIM
TO THE 22nd INFANTRY REGIMENT,

00:13:05.201 --> 00:13:10.289
WHICH SOON BLAZED ITS WAY
ACROSS FRANCE AND BELGIUM.

00:13:10.372 --> 00:13:12.625
FIRE!

00:13:12.708 --> 00:13:15.336
Narrator:
BUT BY THE FALL OF '44,

00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:17.922
THE ALLIES' RAPID ADVANCE
HAD GROUND TO A HALT

00:13:18.005 --> 00:13:21.800
AT THE GERMAN BORDER
AND THE HURTGEN FOREST.

00:13:21.884 --> 00:13:23.802
[INDISTINCT]

00:13:23.886 --> 00:13:26.972
FOR GARCIA
AND THE U.S. MILITARY,

00:13:27.056 --> 00:13:28.891
THIS WAS A NEW KIND
OF FIGHTING.

00:13:28.974 --> 00:13:32.770
THE DENSE CONIFER FOREST
WITH FEW ROADS

00:13:32.853 --> 00:13:35.940
MADE TROOP MOVEMENTS SLOW
AND HARD FOUGHT.

00:13:36.023 --> 00:13:40.319
GERMAN ARTILLERY SHELLS EXPLODED
IN TREETOPS,

00:13:40.402 --> 00:13:43.447
TURNING THEM
INTO DEADLY SHARDS.

00:13:43.531 --> 00:13:48.244
WELL-PLACED GERMAN MACHINE GUNS
PRODUCED WITHERING CROSSFIRE.

00:13:50.246 --> 00:13:55.459
ON NOVEMBER 27th, GARCIA'S
BAKER COMPANY WAS PINNED DOWN

00:13:55.543 --> 00:14:00.047
AS THEY ATTEMPTED
TO TAKE A HILL OVERLOOKING
THE TOWN OF GROSSHAU.

00:14:00.130 --> 00:14:05.135
GARCIA WAS ORDERED FORWARD
WITH ANOTHER SCOUT.

00:14:05.219 --> 00:14:09.431
Bailey: WHEN MACARIO
AND HIS OTHER SCOUT,
J.P. EDWARDS,

00:14:09.515 --> 00:14:11.600
START ACROSS THE OPEN AREA,

00:14:11.684 --> 00:14:14.895
J.P.'S HIT
BETWEEN THE EYES,

00:14:14.979 --> 00:14:17.273
FALLS DEAD
AT MACARIO'S FEET.

00:14:17.356 --> 00:14:19.191
MACARIO'S HIT
IN THE SHOULDER,

00:14:19.275 --> 00:14:22.027
SPUN AROUND,
KNOCKED TO THE GROUND.

00:14:22.111 --> 00:14:25.823
GARCIA CRAWLED
INTO THE UNDERBRUSH.

00:14:25.906 --> 00:14:29.952
AS HE BEGAN TO FLANK THE SOURCE
OF THE FIRE, A MACHINE-GUN NEST,

00:14:30.035 --> 00:14:32.121
HE SURPRISED A GERMAN SOLDIER.

00:14:32.204 --> 00:14:33.706
THEY TRADED SHOTS.

00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:34.957
[GUNSHOTS]

00:14:35.040 --> 00:14:39.169
GARCIA HIT IN THE FOOT,
THE GERMAN KILLED.

00:14:39.253 --> 00:14:41.463
GARCIA KEPT GOING.

00:14:41.547 --> 00:14:44.550
HE FINALLY COMES UP
ON THAT MACHINE-GUN NEST.

00:14:44.633 --> 00:14:46.677
MACARIO SHOOTS.

00:14:46.760 --> 00:14:51.140
ONE GERMAN CLAWS AT THE AIR
AND FALLS BACKWARD,

00:14:51.223 --> 00:14:54.476
THE OTHER DOUBLES OVER
AND FALLS FORWARD.

00:14:54.560 --> 00:14:58.397
GARCIA THREW A GRENADE
TO DESTROY THE GUN

00:14:58.480 --> 00:14:59.565
AND LATER RECALLED
SEEING THE BODIES

00:14:59.648 --> 00:15:03.068
OF THE DEAD GERMANS SHUDDER.

00:15:03.152 --> 00:15:05.154
AND HE STARTS
BACK DOWN THE HILL.

00:15:05.237 --> 00:15:10.284
BUT JUST AS HE BEGAN HIS REPORT
TO HIS COMPANY COMMANDER...

00:15:10.367 --> 00:15:12.328
[MACHINE-GUN FIRE]

00:15:12.411 --> 00:15:15.164
...A SECOND MACHINE GUN
OPENED FIRE.

00:15:15.247 --> 00:15:17.333
AND HE JUST TAKES OFF.

00:15:17.416 --> 00:15:21.086
HE'S BACK ACROSS
THE OPEN AREA ALONE,
BACK UP THE HILL.

00:15:21.170 --> 00:15:23.922
GARCIA LOCATED
THE SECOND MACHINE-GUN NEST

00:15:24.006 --> 00:15:26.759
AND TRIED TO DESTROY IT
WITH A GRENADE,

00:15:26.842 --> 00:15:29.345
BUT WOUNDED, HE MISSED.

00:15:31.096 --> 00:15:33.140
HE HAS TO GET CLOSER,
AND HE THROWS,

00:15:33.223 --> 00:15:34.475
LOBS ANOTHER ONE IN THERE,

00:15:34.558 --> 00:15:38.020
AND THIS TIME HE'S ACCURATE
WITH HIS THROW.

00:15:42.941 --> 00:15:44.485
MACARIO'S ACTIONS,

00:15:44.568 --> 00:15:47.780
TAKING OUT 2 MACHINE-GUN NESTS
SINGLEHANDEDLY,

00:15:47.863 --> 00:15:50.908
ALLOWED 2 COMPANIES
TO CHARGE THE HILL

00:15:50.991 --> 00:15:53.952
IN A SUCCESSFUL ASSAULT.

00:15:54.036 --> 00:15:56.455
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY,
HE'S A BLOODY MESS,

00:15:56.538 --> 00:16:00.376
HE'S WOUNDED,
AND YET HE'S REFUSING
TO GO TO THE REAR.

00:16:00.459 --> 00:16:04.296
HE'S REFUSING ANY HELP,
BECAUSE HIS PLACE IS
WITH HIS MEN.

00:16:04.380 --> 00:16:08.050
AND THAT'S THE KIND OF MAN
THAT MACARIO GARCIA WAS.

00:16:08.133 --> 00:16:13.889
GARCIA WOULD SPEND 2 MONTHS
IN ARMY HOSPITALS

00:16:13.972 --> 00:16:16.058
RECOVERING FROM HIS WOUNDS.

00:16:16.141 --> 00:16:17.309
REPORTS OF HIS HEROISM

00:16:17.393 --> 00:16:20.020
HAD ALREADY STARTED
UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.

00:16:24.024 --> 00:16:26.777
[BAND PLAYING MARCH]

00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:29.947
EVEN BEFORE MOST MEN
HAD SEEN BATTLE,

00:16:30.030 --> 00:16:33.492
THE WAR EFFORT CHANGED THE LIFE
OF LATINOS ON THE HOME FRONT.

00:16:33.575 --> 00:16:36.912
CALLING MILLIONS
TO MILITARY SERVICE

00:16:36.995 --> 00:16:39.415
CREATED MASSIVE LABOR SHORTAGES.

00:16:39.498 --> 00:16:42.626
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:43.836
BROUGHT RURAL MEXICANS
ACROSS THE BORDER

00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.464
IN A GUEST WORKER
BRACERO PROGRAM.

00:16:47.548 --> 00:16:48.757
IN THE CITIES,

00:16:48.841 --> 00:16:51.176
THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING
DEFENSE INDUSTRIES

00:16:51.260 --> 00:16:56.473
IGNORED TRADITION AND ACTIVELY
SOUGHT WOMEN AND MINORITIES.

00:16:58.892 --> 00:17:02.187
FOR INSTANCE YOU SEE
IN THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY
IN LOS ANGELES,

00:17:02.271 --> 00:17:05.774
DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT PUTS OUT
HUGE BILLBOARDS IN SPANISH,

00:17:05.858 --> 00:17:10.279
ESSENTIALLY SAYING,
"WE HAVE JOBS AND WE WANT
MEXICANS TO APPLY."

00:17:10.362 --> 00:17:12.906
THIS IS A TREMENDOUS SHIFT.

00:17:13.824 --> 00:17:16.785
A YOUNG TEENAGER,
CARMEN GURROLA,

00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:18.829
QUIT A JOB IN A SEWING FACTORY

00:17:18.912 --> 00:17:20.706
TO WORK AT A GOODYEAR PLANT

00:17:20.789 --> 00:17:22.875
MANUFACTURING
RUBBERIZED GAS TANKS

00:17:22.958 --> 00:17:25.544
FOR FIGHTERS AND BOMBERS.

00:17:25.627 --> 00:17:28.338
HER JOB REQUIRED CLIMBING
INSIDE THE TANK

00:17:28.422 --> 00:17:30.591
AFTER IT HAD COOLED.

00:17:30.674 --> 00:17:33.677
Gurrola: JUST LIKE GETTING
INSIDE OF A COFFIN.

00:17:33.761 --> 00:17:35.679
MY FACE WAS TOTALLY BLACK
FROM THE RUBBER.

00:17:35.763 --> 00:17:40.684
OF COURSE I HAD
A BANDANNA, COVERALLS.

00:17:40.768 --> 00:17:44.229
I-I DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A GIRL.
[LAUGHS]

00:17:44.313 --> 00:17:47.357
YOU FELT PROUD THAT
YOU WERE DOING SOMETHING

00:17:47.441 --> 00:17:50.778
FOR THE DEFENSE
OF THE COUNTRY.

00:17:53.113 --> 00:17:56.700
AND I THOUGHT EVEN IF I DON'T
SPEAK ENGLISH VERY WELL,
DOESN'T MATTER.

00:17:56.784 --> 00:18:00.913
I DID THE JOB.

00:18:00.996 --> 00:18:02.831
ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS,

00:18:02.915 --> 00:18:05.417
THE WAR EFFORT
PUSHED TOGETHER ETHNIC GROUPS

00:18:05.501 --> 00:18:07.461
WITH LITTLE PRIOR CONTACT,

00:18:07.544 --> 00:18:11.298
INCLUDING LATINOS AND ANGLOS.

00:18:12.508 --> 00:18:16.178
Escobedo: IN SOME CASES,
THIS PROVIDES FOR BRIDGING

00:18:16.261 --> 00:18:19.598
OF THOSE MORE TRADITIONAL
ETHNIC AND RACIAL GAPS.

00:18:19.681 --> 00:18:23.685
ON THE OTHER HAND,
IT PROVIDES A LOT OF CONFLICT.

00:18:23.769 --> 00:18:26.021
IN LOS ANGELES, THAT CONFLICT
WOULD FIND ITS FOCUS

00:18:26.105 --> 00:18:30.609
IN A NEW STYLE OF DRESS POPULAR
AMONG YOUNG LATINOS--

00:18:30.692 --> 00:18:32.736
THE ZOOT SUIT.

00:18:32.820 --> 00:18:35.405
Villalobos: I DON'T KNOW
WHERE THIS STYLE CAME FROM,

00:18:35.489 --> 00:18:37.199
BUT WE ALL JUST TOOK TO IT.

00:18:37.282 --> 00:18:39.034
WE'D GET OUR PAYCHECK
ON FRIDAY, AND THEN SATURDAY

00:18:39.117 --> 00:18:42.913
WE'D GET GUSSIED UP
AS BEST WE COULD, GO DANCING.

00:18:42.996 --> 00:18:45.374
THE GIRLS SEEMED
TO LIKE IT A LITTLE BETTER

00:18:45.457 --> 00:18:47.584
WHEN I DRESS THIS WAY.

00:18:47.668 --> 00:18:50.629
WE ALSO DEVELOPED OUR SLANG.

00:18:50.712 --> 00:18:52.464
"HEY, CARNAL--"
YOU KNOW, BROTHER.

00:18:52.548 --> 00:18:55.634
"HEY, CARNAL, COMO TE VAS?"
HOW'S IT GOING?

00:18:55.717 --> 00:18:57.261
[SPEAKS SPANISH]

00:18:57.344 --> 00:18:59.429
NICE COAT YOU HAVE,
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

00:18:59.513 --> 00:19:02.349
AND THERE'S QUITE A FEW
THAT ARE--I DON'T WANT TO SAY--

00:19:02.432 --> 00:19:05.227
REPEAT IN FRONT
OF THE LADIES HERE, YOU KNOW?

00:19:07.396 --> 00:19:09.314
THE ZOOT SUIT
HAD AN ASSOCIATION

00:19:09.398 --> 00:19:12.484
WITH BARRIO GANG MEMBERS KNOWN
AS PACHUCOS,

00:19:12.568 --> 00:19:16.280
ADDING AN AIR OF CRIMINALITY
TO THE "DRAPES,"

00:19:16.363 --> 00:19:19.825
THOUGH, LIKE THE BLACK LEATHER
JACKET OF THE '50s,

00:19:19.908 --> 00:19:22.661
SOME KIDS WORE IT
JUST TO BE HIP.

00:19:29.793 --> 00:19:32.129
WHILE THE ZOOT SUIT
BECAME ITS SYMBOL,

00:19:32.212 --> 00:19:33.797
THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE
OF TENSIONS

00:19:33.881 --> 00:19:36.800
BETWEEN ANGLOS AND LATINOS
IN LOS ANGELES

00:19:36.884 --> 00:19:40.345
WAS A HUGE NEW NAVY ARMORY
FOR INDUCTION AND TRAINING

00:19:40.429 --> 00:19:41.972
BUILT JUST BEFORE THE WAR

00:19:42.055 --> 00:19:44.933
IN A TRADITIONALLY MEXICAN PART
OF THE CITY.

00:19:45.017 --> 00:19:49.104
THE TRIP FROM THE ARMORY
TO THE BARS AND RED LIGHT
DISTRICT DOWNTOWN

00:19:49.187 --> 00:19:51.857
RAN RIGHT THROUGH
A MEXICAN NEIGHBORHOOD,

00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:57.195
LEADING TO CHARGES OF HARASSMENT
FROM BOTH SIDES.

00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:58.947
WHITE SERVICEMEN COMPLAINED

00:19:59.031 --> 00:20:00.407
OF VERBAL ABUSE
AND PHYSICAL ATTACKS

00:20:00.490 --> 00:20:02.993
BY ZOOT SUITERS.

00:20:03.076 --> 00:20:06.997
BUT LOCAL MEXICAN-AMERICAN YOUTH
ALSO FELT BESIEGED.

00:20:07.080 --> 00:20:11.710
THE SAILORS USED TO COME IN
IN BUNCHES, DRUNK,

00:20:11.793 --> 00:20:16.298
COME FROM DOWNTOWN AND PASS
THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
TO GET TO THEIR BASE,

00:20:16.381 --> 00:20:18.550
AND THEY WOULD
SOMETIMES THINK

00:20:18.634 --> 00:20:20.385
THAT OUR GIRLFRIENDS
WERE PROSTITUTES

00:20:20.469 --> 00:20:23.263
AND PROPOSITION THE GIRLS.

00:20:23.347 --> 00:20:26.975
BY LATE SPRING 1943,

00:20:27.059 --> 00:20:30.646
CONFRONTATIONS HAD BECOME
A DAILY OCCURRENCE.

00:20:32.606 --> 00:20:35.901
THEN, ON THE EVENING
OF JUNE 4th,

00:20:35.984 --> 00:20:37.986
THOSE SEETHING TENSIONS
EXPLODED

00:20:38.070 --> 00:20:41.782
IN WHAT CAME TO BE KNOWN
AS THE ZOOT SUIT RIOTS.

00:20:41.865 --> 00:20:45.953
ABOUT 200 WHITE SAILORS
AND MARINES ARMED

00:20:46.036 --> 00:20:47.037
WITH STICKS AND BATS

00:20:47.120 --> 00:20:49.414
TOOK TO THE STREETS,
SEEKING REVENGE

00:20:49.498 --> 00:20:51.917
FOR RECENT SCUFFLES.

00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.753
ANYONE WEARING A ZOOT SUIT
BECAME THE TARGET,

00:20:54.836 --> 00:20:57.547
EVEN THOSE AS YOUNG AS 12.

00:20:57.631 --> 00:21:00.050
MEXICAN-AMERICANS
WERE BEATEN

00:21:00.133 --> 00:21:03.053
ALONG WITH THOSE THAT TRIED
TO STOP THE ATTACKERS

00:21:03.136 --> 00:21:06.598
AND STRIPPED
OF THEIR CLOTHES.

00:21:06.682 --> 00:21:09.601
THE SERVICEMEN HALTED STREETCARS
AND ENTERED BARS

00:21:09.685 --> 00:21:11.103
IN SEARCH OF ZOOT SUITERS.

00:21:11.186 --> 00:21:16.608
7-YEAR-OLD SAL CASTRO WAS
IN A DOWNTOWN MOVIE THEATER.

00:21:16.692 --> 00:21:18.276
THEY TURNED ON THE LIGHTS,

00:21:18.360 --> 00:21:21.238
AND A BUNCH OF SAILORS WENT
INTO THE THEATER

00:21:21.321 --> 00:21:23.782
LOOKING FOR MEXICAN KIDS,
THEN THEY YANKED THEM OUT

00:21:23.865 --> 00:21:26.868
AND THEY STARTED
TAKING OFF THEIR PANTS
OR CUTTING THEIR TROUSERS,

00:21:26.952 --> 00:21:28.870
AND THE WORST PART IS
I SAID, "WELL, THEY'RE
GOING TO STOP THIS.

00:21:28.954 --> 00:21:30.831
THE COPS ARE COMING,
AND THEY'RE GOING TO STOP IT."

00:21:30.914 --> 00:21:34.418
HELL NO.
THE COPS STOOD THERE LAUGHING.

00:21:34.501 --> 00:21:37.004
FOR 3 NIGHTS,

00:21:37.087 --> 00:21:38.964
SERVICEMEN FREELY ROAMED
THE STREETS

00:21:39.047 --> 00:21:41.925
OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN
NEIGHBORHOODS, DOWNTOWN,

00:21:42.009 --> 00:21:46.471
AND OTHER PARTS OF L.A.
IN TRUCKS AND HIRED TAXIS,

00:21:46.555 --> 00:21:50.142
BEATING LATINOS ALONG WITH
SOME AFRICAN-AMERICANS

00:21:50.225 --> 00:21:53.103
AND AMERICAN FILIPINOS.

00:21:53.186 --> 00:21:55.063
SO ANY TIME
YOU WENT SOMEPLACE,

00:21:55.147 --> 00:21:57.899
YOU EITHER--
IF SAW A TRUCK COMING
WITH A BUNCH OF SAILORS,

00:21:57.983 --> 00:22:00.694
YOU'D JUST DUCK, HIDE.

00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:08.201
Villalobos:
IT WAS HORRIBLE, BELIEVE ME.

00:22:08.285 --> 00:22:10.829
VERY UN-AMERICAN.

00:22:13.415 --> 00:22:16.793
IRONICALLY
MANY OF THOSE VICTIMIZED
IN THE ZOOT SUIT RIOTS

00:22:16.877 --> 00:22:18.754
HAD BROTHERS AND FRIENDS
IN THE MILITARY

00:22:18.837 --> 00:22:21.965
OR WOULD END UP SERVING
THEMSELVES.

00:22:25.719 --> 00:22:27.679
A TARGET
OF RIOTING SERVICEMEN,

00:22:27.763 --> 00:22:30.640
RUDY LOPEZ WOULD JOIN
THE MERCHANT MARINES,

00:22:30.724 --> 00:22:34.352
THEN 2 YEARS LATER,
THE ARMY.

00:22:34.436 --> 00:22:38.106
THEY USED TO ASK ME, MY FRIENDS,
"WERE YOU A PACHUCO?"

00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:39.691
I SAID, "WELL, I USED TO
WEAR THE PANTS,"

00:22:39.775 --> 00:22:43.153
I SAID,
"BUT I WASN'T A PACHUCO."

00:22:52.037 --> 00:22:54.873
ON JUNE 13th, 1944,

00:22:54.956 --> 00:23:00.170
THE U.S. NAVY BEGAN BOMBARDING
THE ISLAND OF SAIPAN

00:23:00.253 --> 00:23:04.174
IN THE JAPANESE-HELD
MARIANA ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC.

00:23:05.717 --> 00:23:08.053
THEY WERE SOFTENING UP
JAPANESE DEFENSES

00:23:08.136 --> 00:23:09.846
FOR AN INVASION.

00:23:15.143 --> 00:23:17.145
AFTER 2 DAYS OF SHELLING,

00:23:17.229 --> 00:23:20.857
8,000 MARINES
HIT THE WESTERN BEACHES.

00:23:22.734 --> 00:23:25.654
AMONG THEM WAS PRIVATE
FIRST CLASS GUY GABALDON,

00:23:25.737 --> 00:23:26.905
A MEXICAN-AMERICAN
FROM CALIFORNIA

00:23:26.988 --> 00:23:31.034
ABOUT TO ENTER
HIS FIRST BATTLE OF THE WAR.

00:23:33.120 --> 00:23:36.540
IT WAS 8:45 IN THE MORNING
THAT WE HIT THE BEACH.

00:23:36.623 --> 00:23:42.838
IT WAS HOT AND HEAVY
AND FURIOUS,

00:23:42.921 --> 00:23:46.341
BULLETS HITTING THE SAND
ALL AROUND YOU.

00:23:46.424 --> 00:23:50.512
[MEN SHOUT]

00:23:52.472 --> 00:23:57.894
I SAW A BODY--AND MARINE--
MARINES HAD JUST BEEN HIT--

00:23:57.978 --> 00:24:00.355
AND I-I FROZE.

00:24:00.438 --> 00:24:02.858
BUT, YOU KNOW,
I WASN'T SCARED.

00:24:02.941 --> 00:24:05.026
I FROZE,
AND IT WASN'T FEAR.

00:24:05.110 --> 00:24:08.029
IT WAS--I SAID,
"WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

00:24:08.113 --> 00:24:11.074
I SHOULD BE BACK IN L.A.
AT THE BOWLING ALLEY."

00:24:17.706 --> 00:24:21.459
BORN IN 1926, GUY GABALDON
GREW UP IN EAST LOS ANGELES,

00:24:21.543 --> 00:24:22.919
THEN A DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOOD

00:24:23.003 --> 00:24:28.758
OF MEXICAN, JAPANESE,
JEWISH AND ARMENIAN FAMILIES.

00:24:28.842 --> 00:24:33.513
HE WAS A STREET-SMART KID
WHO TENDED TO GET INTO TROUBLE.

00:24:33.597 --> 00:24:35.640
YOU'RE SCRAPPY, PUGNACIOUS,
AND EVEN BEFORE YOUR TEENS,

00:24:35.724 --> 00:24:37.142
WHEN YOUR GANG GETS
INTO A FIGHT,

00:24:37.225 --> 00:24:40.478
YOU ALWAYS PICK THE BIGGEST
FELLA TO TACKLE YOURSELF.

00:24:40.562 --> 00:24:42.856
ONCE, AFTER YOU HAVE YOUR NOSE
BROKEN IN A FIGHT,

00:24:42.939 --> 00:24:45.650
YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL
TO HAVE IT FIXED,

00:24:45.734 --> 00:24:48.612
AND WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT
YOU CAME OUT OF THE HOSPITAL?

00:24:48.695 --> 00:24:50.197
IT WAS BROKEN AGAIN.

00:24:50.280 --> 00:24:53.283
YOU GOT INTO ANOTHER FIGHT
AND GOT IT BROKEN
ALL OVER AGAIN.

00:24:53.366 --> 00:24:56.328
GABALDON'S BRAVADO
MASKED A DEEP CURIOSITY

00:24:56.411 --> 00:24:59.414
ABOUT THE WORLD.

00:24:59.497 --> 00:25:02.542
IN SCHOOL HE GREW CLOSE TO
SOME OF HIS JAPANESE CLASSMATES

00:25:02.626 --> 00:25:05.086
AND THEIR FAMILIES.

00:25:06.755 --> 00:25:08.465
BUT THAT CAME TO AN END

00:25:08.548 --> 00:25:10.508
IN THE MONTHS
FOLLOWING PEARL HARBOR,

00:25:10.592 --> 00:25:14.554
WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
INTERNED OVER 100,000 JAPANESE,

00:25:14.638 --> 00:25:19.351
MORE THAN HALF OF THEM
U.S. CITIZENS.

00:25:19.434 --> 00:25:21.144
WITH HIS FRIENDS INTERNED,

00:25:21.228 --> 00:25:25.482
GUY CELEBRATED HIS 17th BIRTHDAY
BY JOINING THE MARINES.

00:25:25.565 --> 00:25:28.151
THOUGH TOO SHORT
AND HAVING A PERFORATED EARDRUM,

00:25:28.235 --> 00:25:32.530
HE TALKED HIS WAY IN, CLAIMING
TO BE FLUENT IN JAPANESE.

00:25:32.614 --> 00:25:35.909
IN TRUTH,
HE HAD ONLY PICKED UP A LITTLE.

00:25:35.992 --> 00:25:39.371
BUT IT LED TO A JOB AS A SCOUT
FOR AN INTELLIGENCE UNIT

00:25:39.454 --> 00:25:42.874
DURING THE ATTACK ON SAIPAN.

00:25:42.958 --> 00:25:44.834
THE DAY AFTER THE INVASION,

00:25:44.918 --> 00:25:47.671
WHILE OTHERS SET UP
AN OBSERVATION POST,

00:25:47.754 --> 00:25:51.007
HE SLIPPED OUT BEYOND
THE FRONT LINES TO THE NORTH.

00:25:51.091 --> 00:25:53.009
I TOOK OFF ON MY OWN

00:25:53.093 --> 00:25:54.719
AND WENT
INTO JAPANESE TERRITORY,

00:25:54.803 --> 00:25:56.680
AND I CAME BACK
WITH A COUPLE OF PRISONERS,

00:25:56.763 --> 00:25:59.599
AND MY COMMANDING OFFICER,
CAPTAIN JOHN SCHWABE--

00:25:59.683 --> 00:26:02.018
HE'S ONE HELL OF A NICE GUY--

00:26:02.102 --> 00:26:04.354
HE SAYS, "DON'T YOU EVER
DO THAT AGAIN.

00:26:04.437 --> 00:26:08.233
YOU'RE NOT A PRIMA DONNA.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WORK
ON YOUR OWN."

00:26:08.316 --> 00:26:10.568
I SAYS, "YES, SIR.
VERY GOOD, SIR,"

00:26:10.652 --> 00:26:12.612
AND THAT NIGHT, I FILLED
MY POCKETS WITH AMMUNITION

00:26:12.696 --> 00:26:16.241
AND I WENT BACK
TO THE JAPANESE TERRITORY.

00:26:19.494 --> 00:26:24.624
ON HIS OWN, GABALDON CAPTURED
A DOZEN MORE JAPANESE SOLDIERS.

00:26:24.708 --> 00:26:26.668
SO I RETURNED
TO THE AMERICAN LINES

00:26:26.751 --> 00:26:30.088
WITH A WHOLE MESS
OF JAPANESE PRISONERS,

00:26:30.171 --> 00:26:32.841
AND HE SAYS,
"WELL, WHAT THE HELL.

00:26:32.924 --> 00:26:35.719
"LET THE LITTLE KID GO.
LET THE LITTLE JERK GO.

00:26:35.802 --> 00:26:39.097
HE'S GETTING THE RESULTS."
SO I WENT ON MY OWN.

00:26:39.973 --> 00:26:41.599
I CHOSE WHERE
AND WHEN AND HOW

00:26:41.683 --> 00:26:44.853
I WAS GOING TO FIGHT
THE JAPANESE.

00:26:52.444 --> 00:26:55.739
THE AMERICAN INVASION
GRADUALLY PUSHED NORTH,

00:26:55.822 --> 00:26:59.743
WITH THE JAPANESE TAKING
ADVANTAGE OF VOLCANIC CAVES

00:26:59.826 --> 00:27:04.706
TO HIDE DURING THE DAY
AND ATTACK AT NIGHT.

00:27:07.208 --> 00:27:11.046
APPROACHING THOSE CAVES
BECAME A GABALDON SPECIALTY.

00:27:12.589 --> 00:27:15.300
I'D SNEAK UP
AND GET TO THE SIDE
OF THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE

00:27:15.383 --> 00:27:19.095
AND TOSS A FRAG GRENADE IN
AND KILL A BUNCH OF THEM.

00:27:19.179 --> 00:27:22.265
AND SOMETIMES
ONE GUY WOULD COME OUT.

00:27:22.349 --> 00:27:24.642
I'D HAVE MY CARBINE
RIGHT ON HIM AND I'D SAY,

00:27:24.726 --> 00:27:27.270
"I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU.
TELL YOUR BUDDIES
TO COME ON OUT.

00:27:27.354 --> 00:27:29.898
"I ASSURE YOU, WE'RE-WE'RE
NOT GOING TO HARM YOU.

00:27:29.981 --> 00:27:32.150
"IF YOU DON'T," I SAID,
"I GOT A BUNCH OF MARINES

00:27:32.233 --> 00:27:35.487
BEHIND
ALL THOSE TREES THERE."
I HAD NO ONE. I WAS ALONE.

00:27:35.570 --> 00:27:38.615
I SAID,
"YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE."
AND, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD WORK.

00:27:38.698 --> 00:27:43.620
I CONNED THEM
INTO SURRENDERING.

00:27:43.703 --> 00:27:47.415
GABALDON RACKED UP MORE AND MORE
CAPTURED SOLDIERS.

00:27:47.499 --> 00:27:50.919
THE REMAINING JAPANESE
WERE GROWING DESPERATE,

00:27:51.002 --> 00:27:54.756
CUT OFF ON THE ISLAND
FROM ALL MILITARY SUPPORT.

00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:59.177
IN EARLY JULY, THEY TRIED
A FINAL BANZAI ATTACK,

00:27:59.260 --> 00:28:00.804
THE LARGEST OF THE WAR,

00:28:00.887 --> 00:28:03.306
AND IT FAILED.

00:28:03.390 --> 00:28:06.518
THE SURVIVING JAPANESE,
PUSHED ALL THE WAY NORTH,

00:28:06.601 --> 00:28:10.355
OCCUPIED CAVES
IN THE CLIFFS ALONG THE SHORE.

00:28:10.438 --> 00:28:14.275
RIGHT THERE AT THE CLIFFS,
I TOOK A COUPLE OF PRISONERS

00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:15.527
AND SENT ONE DOWN
TO GET SOME MORE,

00:28:15.610 --> 00:28:19.531
AND A FEW WOULD COME UP--
10, 15, 20--

00:28:19.614 --> 00:28:24.285
AND I SAID, "OH, MY GOD.
WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END?"

00:28:24.369 --> 00:28:29.499
BEFORE I KNEW IT, IN 4 HOURS,
I HAD 800 PRISONERS.

00:28:29.582 --> 00:28:31.501
2 MARINES SAW ME.

00:28:31.584 --> 00:28:33.461
COULDN'T BELIEVE
WHAT THEY WERE SEEING,

00:28:33.545 --> 00:28:35.547
THAT HERE WAS THIS ONE MARINE

00:28:35.630 --> 00:28:37.715
WALKING BACK AND FORTH
AMONG ALL THE JAPANESE,

00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:40.343
AND THEY SAID
THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT
WHAT THE HELL WAS HAPPENING.

00:28:40.427 --> 00:28:41.803
SO THEN
THEY FINALLY CAME DOWN.

00:28:41.886 --> 00:28:45.014
I SAID, "GET YOUR ASS ON BACK
AND GET SOME HELP,"

00:28:45.098 --> 00:28:48.435
I SAID, "IMMEDIATELY,
BEFORE THEY TURN ON ME."

00:28:48.518 --> 00:28:51.396
GUY GABALDON WOULD BE CREDITED

00:28:51.479 --> 00:28:54.482
WITH BRINGING IN
OVER 800 PRISONERS THAT DAY,

00:28:54.566 --> 00:28:56.443
AN UNMATCHED FEAT
FOR A SINGLE SOLDIER

00:28:56.526 --> 00:29:00.572
IN U.S. MILITARY HISTORY.

00:29:00.655 --> 00:29:05.743
I'M 77 YEARS OLD,
AND I LOOK BACK AND I SAY,
"DID THIS REALLY HAPPEN?"

00:29:05.827 --> 00:29:11.082
HIS WARTIME CAREER
CAME TO AN END JUST WEEKS LATER

00:29:11.166 --> 00:29:14.711
WITH A MACHINE-GUN WOUND
TO HIS ARM AND HAND.

00:29:14.794 --> 00:29:18.590
ALL TOLD ON SAIPAN,
HE'D KILLED 33 ENEMY SOLDIERS

00:29:18.673 --> 00:29:22.218
AND CAPTURED OVER 1500.

00:29:22.302 --> 00:29:26.306
Announcer:
HERE IS THE WAY IT WAS!

00:29:26.389 --> 00:29:28.933
Narrator: 16 YEARS LATER,
THOSE REMARKABLE EXPLOITS

00:29:29.017 --> 00:29:30.268
WERE TURNED INTO A MOVIE--

00:29:30.351 --> 00:29:34.230
"HELL TO ETERNITY."

00:29:34.314 --> 00:29:37.066
Announcer: THE AMAZING
TRUE STORY OF GUY GABALDON,

00:29:37.150 --> 00:29:42.363
THE MARINE WHO CAPTURED MORE
THAN 1,000 ENEMY PRISONERS
SINGLEHANDED.

00:29:42.447 --> 00:29:44.532
AT 5'4",
GABALDON WAS PLAYED

00:29:44.616 --> 00:29:49.078
BY A 6-FOOT ANGLO,
JEFFREY HUNTER.

00:29:49.162 --> 00:29:53.249
THAT HE WAS LATINO NEVER MADE IT
ONTO THE SCREEN...

00:29:55.001 --> 00:29:58.630
...SADLY, A METAPHOR
FOR THE WAY MANY AMERICANS

00:29:58.713 --> 00:30:03.218
WOULD SOON FORGET THE ROLE
OF LATINOS IN WORLD WAR II.

00:30:04.761 --> 00:30:06.888
THERE WAS NAVY SAILOR
HECTOR ACEDO,

00:30:06.971 --> 00:30:08.264
WHO SURVIVED
THE TORPEDOING OF HIS SHIP

00:30:08.348 --> 00:30:10.725
OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA.

00:30:10.808 --> 00:30:14.812
AND THERE WAS JOSE ZARAGOZA
OF THE COAST GUARD.

00:30:14.896 --> 00:30:18.441
HE SPENT 15 MONTHS
ON A LONELY ATOLL IN THE PACIFIC

00:30:18.525 --> 00:30:23.154
SENDING OUT NAVIGATION SIGNALS
TO SHIPS.

00:30:23.238 --> 00:30:24.781
THERE WAS PEDRO DEL VALLE,

00:30:24.864 --> 00:30:26.741
THE FIRST PUERTO RICAN TO REACH
THE RANK OF MAJOR GENERAL

00:30:26.824 --> 00:30:29.202
WHEN HE TOOK COMMAND
OF THE 1st MARINE DIVISION

00:30:29.285 --> 00:30:33.665
IN OCTOBER 1944.

00:30:33.748 --> 00:30:35.500
AND CARMEN CONTRERAS-BOZAK

00:30:35.583 --> 00:30:37.877
OF THE WOMEN'S ARMY
AUXILIARY CORPS, THE WAACS.

00:30:37.961 --> 00:30:41.130
SHE'D SHIP OUT FOR ALGIERS
TO WORK A TELETYPE,

00:30:41.214 --> 00:30:45.802
TRANSMITTING ENCODED MESSAGES
TO THE BATTLEFIELD.

00:30:45.885 --> 00:30:47.595
AND THEN THERE WAS
PRIVATE JOE P. MARTINEZ,

00:30:47.679 --> 00:30:49.514
KILLED
LEADING A SUCCESSFUL CHARGE

00:30:49.597 --> 00:30:52.642
AGAINST A KEY
JAPANESE DEFENSIVE POSITION

00:30:52.725 --> 00:30:55.645
WHEN THE ALLIES
RETOOK THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS.

00:30:55.728 --> 00:30:58.064
POSTHUMOUSLY,
MARTINEZ WOULD BE AWARDED

00:30:58.147 --> 00:31:01.067
THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL
OF HONOR.

00:31:01.150 --> 00:31:02.151
BY THE WAR'S END,

00:31:02.235 --> 00:31:05.113
10 OTHER LATINOS
WOULD EARN ONE AS WELL,

00:31:05.196 --> 00:31:08.533
IN PROPORTION, MORE THAN
ANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP,

00:31:08.616 --> 00:31:11.202
EXEMPLARY SERVICE
THAT MANY HOPED WOULD END

00:31:11.286 --> 00:31:14.330
THE DISCRIMINATION LATINOS FACED
BACK HOME.

00:31:16.040 --> 00:31:20.128
M.C. Garcia: MEXICAN-AMERICANS
HAD A SECOND CLASS STATUS
IN AMERICAN SOCIETY,

00:31:20.211 --> 00:31:24.841
BUT ALSO,
MEXICAN-AMERICANS BELIEVE
IN THE UNITED STATES SO MUCH

00:31:24.924 --> 00:31:27.260
THAT THEY VOLUNTEER
IN RECORD NUMBERS

00:31:27.343 --> 00:31:30.722
AND SERVE IN RECORD NUMBERS,

00:31:30.805 --> 00:31:33.266
AND THERE IS AN EXPECTATION
ON THEIR RETURN

00:31:33.349 --> 00:31:35.226
THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR SERVICE,

00:31:35.310 --> 00:31:38.730
BECAUSE THEY HAVE RISKED
THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY,

00:31:38.813 --> 00:31:40.898
THAT THE COUNTRY
WILL WELCOME THEM,

00:31:40.982 --> 00:31:42.817
THAT THEY WILL ACKNOWLEDGE

00:31:42.900 --> 00:31:46.154
THAT, YES, YOU ARE
FULL-FLEDGED MEMBERS
OF AMERICAN SOCIETY,

00:31:46.237 --> 00:31:49.324
AND IT DOESN'T EXACTLY
WORK OUT THAT WAY.

00:31:51.242 --> 00:31:55.079
WHEN THE LONG WAR FINALLY CAME
TO AN END IN 1945,

00:31:55.163 --> 00:31:58.791
ONE RETURNING VETERAN SAID,
"MEXICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS

00:31:58.875 --> 00:32:03.338
"SHED AT LEAST A QUARTER
OF THE BLOOD SPILLED AT BATAAN.

00:32:03.421 --> 00:32:07.258
"WHAT THEY WANT NOW
IS A DECENT JOB, A DECENT HOME,

00:32:07.342 --> 00:32:09.802
AND A CHANCE TO LIVE PEACEFULLY
IN THE COMMUNITY."

00:32:14.766 --> 00:32:19.854
ON AUGUST 23rd, 1945
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,

00:32:19.937 --> 00:32:22.732
MACARIO GARCIA BECAME
THE FIRST MEXICAN NATIONAL

00:32:22.815 --> 00:32:25.318
TO RECEIVE
A CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

00:32:25.401 --> 00:32:28.237
FOR HIS ACTIONS
IN THE HURTGEN FOREST.

00:32:28.321 --> 00:32:35.578
TRUMAN IS BEAMING
AS HE PUTS THE MEDAL
AROUND MACARIO'S NECK.

00:32:35.662 --> 00:32:37.789
HE SAID, ".I WOULD
RATHERHAVE ONE OF THESE

00:32:37.872 --> 00:32:41.334
THAN BE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED
STATES."/

00:32:41.417 --> 00:32:43.711
MACARIO RETURNED
TO THE HOUSTON AREA

00:32:43.795 --> 00:32:45.254
TO A HERO'S WELCOME.

00:32:45.338 --> 00:32:48.091
Olivas: HE WAS A ROCK STAR.

00:32:48.174 --> 00:32:50.885
HE WAS IN THE PAPERS,
HE WAS ON THE RADIO,

00:32:50.968 --> 00:32:54.889
AND-AND HE WAS A--
HE WAS A GENUINE HERO.

00:32:57.725 --> 00:33:01.562
Bailey:
BUT HE RETURNED TO TEXAS.

00:33:01.646 --> 00:33:02.897
TEXAS HADN'T CHANGED.

00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:08.695
IT WAS STILL DEEP IN ITS MIRE
OF CASTE SYSTEM.

00:33:12.657 --> 00:33:14.701
JUST 2 1/2 WEEKS
AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMAN

00:33:14.784 --> 00:33:17.995
HAD PLACED THE MEDAL OF HONOR
AROUND HIS NECK,

00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:21.457
MACARIO GARCIA ENTERED
A RESTAURANT IN RICHMOND, TEXAS,

00:33:21.541 --> 00:33:27.171
NEAR HIS HOME IN SUGAR LAND,
THE OASIS CAFE.

00:33:27.255 --> 00:33:29.465
WELL, THE OASIS CAFE
WAS AT THAT TIME

00:33:29.549 --> 00:33:34.053
THE ONLY NIGHTSPOT IN RICHMOND.

00:33:34.137 --> 00:33:37.056
THERE WERE SOME OTHER PLACES
ACROSS THE TRACKS

00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:40.643
THAT CATERED
TO SOME OF THE MINORITIES,

00:33:40.727 --> 00:33:46.190
BUT IT WAS--THIS WAS
THE ONLY WHITE ESTABLISHMENT
IN RICHMOND.

00:33:46.274 --> 00:33:49.152
IT WAS QUITE WELL KNOWN
AS A PLACE NOT HOSPITABLE
TO MEXICANS.

00:33:49.235 --> 00:33:51.154
THERE WAS NEVER ANY EVIDENCE
THAT THEY PUT

00:33:51.237 --> 00:33:53.906
THE "NO MEXICANOS NI PERROS"
SIGN IN THE WINDOW,

00:33:53.990 --> 00:33:55.658
BUT MEXICANS DIDN'T GO THERE.

00:33:55.742 --> 00:33:58.578
WE HAD VERY FEW BLACKS
OR MEXICAN-AMERICANS

00:33:58.661 --> 00:34:00.621
COME IN AND ASK FOR SERVICE

00:34:00.705 --> 00:34:03.541
BECAUSE WE DIDN'T CATER
TO THEIR NEEDS.

00:34:03.624 --> 00:34:06.377
WE DIDN'T HAVE
THEIR KIND OF MUSIC.

00:34:06.461 --> 00:34:08.880
WE DIDN'T HAVE
THEIR KIND OF FOOD.

00:34:08.963 --> 00:34:12.884
SO WE JUST DIDN'T SEE ANY
OF THEM.

00:34:12.967 --> 00:34:15.052
BUT MACARIO HAS DECIDED
THAT IT'S TIME

00:34:15.136 --> 00:34:17.346
FOR HIM
TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT,

00:34:17.430 --> 00:34:18.681
AND HE WANTS TO GO THERE
TO HAVE IT.

00:34:18.765 --> 00:34:22.977
THOUGH THE CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD BE DISPUTED,

00:34:23.060 --> 00:34:27.690
ONE FACT EVERYONE AGREED UPON--
GARCIA WAS REFUSED SERVICE.

00:34:31.903 --> 00:34:35.573
THE OWNER'S SON, TIRED OUT
FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE
THAT AFTERNOON,

00:34:35.656 --> 00:34:39.410
WAS ASLEEP IN THE APARTMENT
OVER THE CAFE.

00:34:39.494 --> 00:34:42.580
ABOUT 11:00,
I HEARD GLASS BREAKING
DOWNSTAIRS THAT WOKE ME UP,

00:34:42.663 --> 00:34:46.417
AND I PUT ON MY CLOTHES
AS QUICK AS I COULD

00:34:46.501 --> 00:34:47.752
AND RAN DOWNSTAIRS
TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON.

00:34:47.835 --> 00:34:51.672
AND THE FIRST THING I SAW
WAS A SERVICEMAN,

00:34:51.756 --> 00:34:55.218
MEXICAN-AMERICAN SERVICEMAN
IN UNIFORM,

00:34:55.301 --> 00:34:58.763
AND HE WAS THROWING THINGS
AT THE MIRRORED WALL.

00:34:58.846 --> 00:34:59.847
MACARIO PICKS UP
SALT SHAKERS...

00:34:59.931 --> 00:35:03.100
SUGAR BOWLS...
AND KETCHUP BOTTLES...

00:35:03.184 --> 00:35:04.560
ANYTHING THAT CAME TO HAND.

00:35:04.644 --> 00:35:08.189
WINDOWS BEGIN TO BREAK
AND ALL KINDS OF GLASS.

00:35:08.272 --> 00:35:11.484
A FIGHT BROKE OUT.

00:35:11.567 --> 00:35:16.531
GARCIA WAS ARRESTED
AND EVENTUALLY CHARGED.

00:35:16.614 --> 00:35:19.116
IN HIS DEFENSE,
HE ACCUSED THE OASIS OWNERS

00:35:19.200 --> 00:35:21.702
OF REFUSING TO SERVE HIM
BECAUSE OF HIS RACE.

00:35:21.786 --> 00:35:27.458
HERE'S A MAN WHO'S FOUGHT
AND SHED HIS BLOOD,

00:35:27.542 --> 00:35:30.586
A MAN WHO RECEIVED
THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL
OF HONOR,

00:35:30.670 --> 00:35:35.508
AND YET HE CAN'T GET
SOMETHING TO EAT.

00:35:35.591 --> 00:35:40.346
LOUIS PAYTON'S MOTHER
GAVE A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT.

00:35:40.429 --> 00:35:42.890
SHE TOLD ME LATER
THAT HE HAD COME IN

00:35:42.974 --> 00:35:46.519
AND WAS OBVIOUSLY DRUNK
AND BELLIGERENT,

00:35:46.602 --> 00:35:48.563
AND SHE WOULDN'T SERVE HIM.

00:35:48.646 --> 00:35:52.483
THE INCIDENT WAS PICKED UP
BY THE NATIONAL NEWS,

00:35:52.567 --> 00:35:55.695
WITH MANY BELIEVING
MACARIO'S ACCOUNT.

00:35:55.778 --> 00:35:59.240
AND THERE WERE OTHER
SIMILAR CONFRONTATIONS.

00:35:59.323 --> 00:36:04.161
YET THE FACT REMAINED
THAT DENYING MEXICAN-AMERICANS
SERVICE IN A RESTAURANT

00:36:04.245 --> 00:36:09.333
WASN'T ILLEGAL
AND HAPPENED SO OFTEN
IT WASN'T EVEN NEWSWORTHY.

00:36:09.417 --> 00:36:11.752
BUT AFTER WORLD WAR II,

00:36:11.836 --> 00:36:16.299
THEIR STATUS AS VETERANS STARTED
TO CHANGE THAT PERCEPTION.

00:36:16.382 --> 00:36:18.467
IN THE END,
WHAT MATTERED MOST

00:36:18.551 --> 00:36:20.595
WAS THE QUESTION
THE INCIDENT RAISED.

00:36:20.678 --> 00:36:24.390
HOW COULD A COUNTRY
THAT FELT AN ENORMOUS DEBT
TOWARDS ITS VETERANS

00:36:24.473 --> 00:36:28.978
TREAT SOME
AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS?

00:36:39.655 --> 00:36:44.994
BY 1946, DR. HECTOR GARCIA
HAD RETURNED TO CIVILIAN LIFE.

00:36:45.077 --> 00:36:48.122
AT AGE 32,
WORLDLY AND WELL EDUCATED,

00:36:48.205 --> 00:36:51.959
GARCIA HAD MANY PATHS
AVAILABLE TO HIM,

00:36:52.043 --> 00:36:56.631
BUT HE CHOSE
TO RETURN TO SOUTH TEXAS.

00:36:56.714 --> 00:36:59.216
AT HIS SIDE
WAS A YOUNG WOMAN HE'D MET

00:36:59.300 --> 00:37:04.221
WHILE STATIONED IN ITALY,
WANDA FUSILLO.

00:37:04.305 --> 00:37:07.391
I. Garcia: SHE CAME
FROM AN ARISTOCRATIC FAMILY.

00:37:07.475 --> 00:37:10.061
SHE'S BEAUTIFUL,
SHE'S ARTICULATE,

00:37:10.144 --> 00:37:13.981
SHE'S VERY WELL EDUCATED,
AND TYPICAL OF HECTOR,

00:37:14.065 --> 00:37:17.318
HE DECIDES THAT THAT'S
THE WOMAN HE WANTS TO MARRY.

00:37:17.401 --> 00:37:18.861
SHE ACTUALLY THOUGHT
HE WAS A SPANIARD

00:37:18.945 --> 00:37:21.906
AND WOULD NOT KNOW THAT HE WAS
MEXICAN-AMERICAN, SHE SAID,

00:37:21.989 --> 00:37:24.617
UNTIL SHE CAME WITH HIM
BACK TO CORPUS.

00:37:27.954 --> 00:37:30.539
HECTOR AND WANDA SETTLED
IN CORPUS CHRISTI,

00:37:30.623 --> 00:37:33.042
A COASTAL CITY IN SOUTH TEXAS.

00:37:33.125 --> 00:37:34.835
GARCIA STARTED UP HIS PRACTICE

00:37:34.919 --> 00:37:37.338
AND SOON HAD A STEADY STREAM
OF PATIENTS,

00:37:37.421 --> 00:37:41.217
INCLUDING SEVERAL
MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS
AND THEIR FAMILIES.

00:37:41.300 --> 00:37:45.262
MANY LIVED IN THE BARRIO,
ONE OF THE POOREST IN THE STATE.

00:37:45.346 --> 00:37:47.765
ONCE PAPA GOT ON HIS FEET

00:37:47.848 --> 00:37:50.601
AND HE STARTED TREATING
THESE PATIENTS IN THE BARRIO,

00:37:50.685 --> 00:37:53.604
HE GOT TO SEE ALL
OF THIS POVERTY FIRSTHAND.

00:37:57.358 --> 00:37:59.110
THERE WERE, LIKE, FAMILIES
OF 5 OR 6 PEOPLE

00:37:59.193 --> 00:38:02.113
LIVING IN ONE-ROOM SHACKS.

00:38:02.196 --> 00:38:05.199
THE BOARDS WERE SEPARATED.

00:38:05.282 --> 00:38:10.371
THERE WERE NO FOUNDATIONS.
THERE WERE DIRT FLOORS.

00:38:10.454 --> 00:38:15.459
THEY HAD NO SANITARY FACILITIES,
NO RUNNING WATER.

00:38:15.543 --> 00:38:19.255
THEY DIED
OF MOSTLY TUBERCULOSIS.

00:38:19.338 --> 00:38:24.760
THE INFANTS DIED OF DYSENTERY.

00:38:24.844 --> 00:38:27.304
IT WAS JUST
A BLEAK WAY OF LIFE.

00:38:27.388 --> 00:38:31.100
AS A BOY GROWING UP
IN MERCEDES,

00:38:31.183 --> 00:38:35.062
GARCIA HAD KNOWN RURAL POVERTY,

00:38:35.146 --> 00:38:39.900
AND HE HAD SEEN IT AND DISEASE
IN WORN-TORN AFRICA AND EUROPE,

00:38:39.984 --> 00:38:42.611
BUT THE URBAN POVERTY
OF CORPUS CHRISTI

00:38:42.695 --> 00:38:45.072
DISTURBED HIM EVEN MORE.

00:38:45.156 --> 00:38:48.367
THIS LITTLE BOY BEGGED MY FATHER
TO GO WITH HIM TO HIS HOUSE.

00:38:48.451 --> 00:38:51.287
AND WHEN MY FATHER GOT THERE,

00:38:51.370 --> 00:38:53.956
THE MOTHER HAD BURST HER LUNG
FROM TUBERCULOSIS,

00:38:54.040 --> 00:38:59.336
AND THERE WAS BLOOD ALL OVER
THE 4 OR 5 CHILDREN
IN BED WITH HER.

00:38:59.420 --> 00:39:02.298
SO OF COURSE
THEY GOT TUBERCULOSIS.

00:39:02.381 --> 00:39:04.300
AND MY FATHER
ASKED THE HUSBAND,

00:39:04.383 --> 00:39:06.469
"WHY DIDN'T YOU COME
AND GET ME?"

00:39:06.552 --> 00:39:08.721
AND THE HUSBAND SAYS,
"WE JUST COULDN'T AFFORD IT."

00:39:14.560 --> 00:39:18.105
Announcer:
THE G.I. BILL OF RIGHTS.

00:39:18.189 --> 00:39:19.607
Narrator:
HECTOR ENCOUNTERED

00:39:19.690 --> 00:39:22.109
MORE AND MORE STRUGGLING
MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS

00:39:22.193 --> 00:39:24.278
AT A TIME WHEN UNPRECEDENTED
BENEFITS FOR VETERANS

00:39:24.361 --> 00:39:27.364
WERE RESHAPING THE COUNTRY.

00:39:27.448 --> 00:39:29.784
Man: JUST WHO GETS
THE BENEFITS OF THIS BILL?

00:39:29.867 --> 00:39:31.619
Announcer:
ANY VETERAN, MALE OR FEMALE,

00:39:31.702 --> 00:39:34.497
WITH MORE THAN 3 MONTHS'
ACTIVE SERVICE

00:39:34.580 --> 00:39:37.708
WHO HASN'T BEEN
DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED.

00:39:37.792 --> 00:39:41.837
Narrator: THE SERVICEMEN'S
READJUSTMENT ACT OF 1944,

00:39:41.921 --> 00:39:43.547
THE G.I. BILL,

00:39:43.631 --> 00:39:45.466
INCLUDED LOW-COST MORTGAGES
THAT MOVED MILLIONS

00:39:45.549 --> 00:39:49.637
FROM URBAN APARTMENTS
TO SUBURBAN HOMES

00:39:49.720 --> 00:39:53.182
AND EDUCATIONAL LOANS WHICH PUT
OVER 2 MILLION VETERANS

00:39:53.265 --> 00:39:56.310
INTO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

00:39:56.393 --> 00:39:59.355
AND ANOTHER 6 MILLION
INTO TRAINING PROGRAMS.

00:39:59.438 --> 00:40:02.566
BUT THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN
VETERANS

00:40:02.650 --> 00:40:04.902
GARCIA WAS SEEING
IN HIS PRACTICE

00:40:04.985 --> 00:40:07.071
HAD TROUBLE GETTING THESE
AND OTHER BENEFITS

00:40:07.154 --> 00:40:08.989
THEY'D EARNED
THROUGH THEIR SERVICE.

00:40:09.073 --> 00:40:10.407
AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF THESE STORIES,

00:40:10.491 --> 00:40:13.202
HE STARTS
TO PUT 2 AND 2 TOGETHER,

00:40:13.285 --> 00:40:15.246
AND HE REALIZES
THIS IS NOT INCIDENTAL

00:40:15.329 --> 00:40:17.206
TO EACH AND EVERY ONE
OF THESE INDIVIDUALS.

00:40:17.289 --> 00:40:18.999
THIS IS SYSTEMATIC.
THIS IS A PROBLEM

00:40:19.083 --> 00:40:20.918
THAT IS A LARGELY
INSTITUTIONALIZED PROBLEM

00:40:21.001 --> 00:40:26.423
THAT SEEMS TO TARGET
MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS,
AND THIS INFURIATED HIM.

00:40:26.507 --> 00:40:30.177
WHEN HECTOR GOT CHARGED
ABOUT SOMETHING, IT WAS,
YOU KNOW, GAME ON.

00:40:30.261 --> 00:40:32.888
GARCIA BEGAN HOLDING MEETINGS

00:40:32.972 --> 00:40:36.934
FOR VETERANS
TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS.

00:40:37.017 --> 00:40:40.396
BY MARCH OF 1948,
THEY HAD BECOME THE FOUNDATION

00:40:40.479 --> 00:40:43.732
OF A NEW MEXICAN-AMERICAN
ORGANIZATION,

00:40:43.816 --> 00:40:46.193
THE AMERICAN G.I. FORUM.

00:40:46.277 --> 00:40:48.571
I. Garcia: THE IDEA WAS THIS IS
A VETERANS' ORGANIZATION,

00:40:48.654 --> 00:40:52.575
BUT IN HECTOR'S MIND,
HE SAW ALL MEXICAN-AMERICANS

00:40:52.658 --> 00:40:57.121
AS EITHER BEING VETERANS
OR VETERANS BY PROXY,

00:40:57.204 --> 00:41:01.083
BECAUSE THE WIFE THAT WAS
SUPPORTIVE OF A MAN,

00:41:01.167 --> 00:41:03.377
THE PARENTS
WHO HAD RAISED A YOUNG MAN

00:41:03.460 --> 00:41:04.879
WILLING TO DIE
FOR HIS COUNTRY

00:41:04.962 --> 00:41:10.092
WERE AS MUCH A PART OF THIS
VETERANS AND MILITARY CULTURE.

00:41:10.176 --> 00:41:13.012
AND SO EVERYBODY IN
THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

00:41:13.095 --> 00:41:15.598
BECOMES A VETERAN.

00:41:17.516 --> 00:41:22.062
THIS INCIPIENT GROWTH
OF VETERANS' ACTIVISM
BEGINS TO-TO FLOURISH,

00:41:22.146 --> 00:41:26.901
AND IN THE EARLY PART OF 1948,
IT SIMPLY BLOWS UP.

00:41:28.903 --> 00:41:30.821
THE CATALYST
WAS THE CONTROVERSY

00:41:30.905 --> 00:41:34.617
SURROUNDING THE BURIAL OF
PRIVATE FELIX Z. LONGORIA, JR.,

00:41:34.700 --> 00:41:37.244
KILLED IN ACTION
IN THE PHILIPPINES.

00:41:37.328 --> 00:41:41.624
IN 1948, AFTER HIS REMAINS
FINALLY MADE IT BACK
TO THE STATES,

00:41:41.707 --> 00:41:45.336
HIS WIDOW BEATRICE TRIED
TO MAKE FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

00:41:45.419 --> 00:41:50.257
IN HIS HOMETOWN
OF THREE RIVERS, TEXAS.

00:41:50.341 --> 00:41:54.637
THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR REFUSED
BECAUSE LONGORIA WAS A MEXICAN,

00:41:54.720 --> 00:41:58.974
LATER TELLING A REPORTER,
"THE WHITES WOULDN'T LIKE IT."

00:41:59.058 --> 00:42:01.852
WORD OF THE REFUSAL
REACHED HECTOR GARCIA,

00:42:01.936 --> 00:42:03.812
AND HE SPRANG INTO ACTION,

00:42:03.896 --> 00:42:06.982
CALLING NEWSPAPERS
AND SENDING TELEGRAMS
TO ELECTED OFFICIALS

00:42:07.066 --> 00:42:09.109
FROM THE STATE
AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,

00:42:09.193 --> 00:42:12.613
EVEN PRESIDENT TRUMAN.

00:42:12.696 --> 00:42:14.740
Ramos:
THE STORY IS PUBLISHED.

00:42:14.823 --> 00:42:18.118
THIS BECOMES
A HUGE, HUGE CONTROVERSY.

00:42:18.202 --> 00:42:21.330
GARCIA CALLED TOGETHER MEMBERS
OF THE G.I. FORUM

00:42:21.413 --> 00:42:23.290
TO PLAN A PROTEST.

00:42:23.374 --> 00:42:26.126
OVER 1,000 PEOPLE FILLED
AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

00:42:26.210 --> 00:42:27.628
IN CORPUS CHRISTI.

00:42:27.711 --> 00:42:29.630
IN THE COURSE
OF THE MEETING,

00:42:29.713 --> 00:42:32.174
HECTOR RECEIVES A TELEGRAM
FROM LYNDON JOHNSON,

00:42:32.258 --> 00:42:35.094
WHO IS A NEWLY ELECTED SENATOR
FROM TEXAS,

00:42:35.177 --> 00:42:38.347
AND JOHNSON, ACTUALLY,
AS A VETERAN HIMSELF,

00:42:38.430 --> 00:42:42.351
WAS OUTRAGED
AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES

00:42:42.434 --> 00:42:46.313
AND VERY, VERY SYMPATHETIC
TO HECTOR'S CONCERNS.

00:42:51.235 --> 00:42:55.781
Announcer: A TEXAS WAR HERO
REFUSED BURIAL IN HIS HOME TOWN

00:42:55.864 --> 00:42:57.741
BECAUSE OF HIS MEXICAN ORIGIN

00:42:57.825 --> 00:43:00.703
IS LAID TO REST
AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

00:43:00.786 --> 00:43:04.331
WITH AMERICA'S
MOST HONORED DEAD.

00:43:04.415 --> 00:43:07.543
Narrator: THE LONGORIA AFFAIR
CHANGED HECTOR GARCIA'S LIFE.

00:43:07.626 --> 00:43:12.256
IT LED TO A CLOSE BUT AT TIMES
CONTENTIOUS FRIENDSHIP

00:43:12.339 --> 00:43:13.257
WITH LYNDON JOHNSON,

00:43:13.340 --> 00:43:16.218
GIVING THE DOCTOR
UNUSUAL ACCESS

00:43:16.302 --> 00:43:19.680
TO A WASHINGTON POWERBROKER
AND FUTURE PRESIDENT.

00:43:19.763 --> 00:43:21.098
IT ALSO PERMANENTLY CHANGED
THE FOCUS

00:43:21.181 --> 00:43:23.517
OF THE AMERICAN G.I. FORUM

00:43:23.600 --> 00:43:27.271
FROM VETERANS' RIGHTS
TO CIVIL RIGHTS,

00:43:27.354 --> 00:43:32.401
WITH HECTOR GARCIA
LEADING THE WAY.

00:43:32.484 --> 00:43:35.863
I. Garcia: WHEN HE'S PULLED
INTO THE WHOLE ARENA

00:43:35.946 --> 00:43:38.240
OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN REFORM,

00:43:38.324 --> 00:43:40.451
HECTOR FINDS HIS CALL.

00:43:40.534 --> 00:43:45.622
HE REALIZES THAT HE'S BEEN
PREPARED FROM QUITE YOUNG.

00:43:45.706 --> 00:43:48.292
HE BEGINS TO REMEMBER THAT
WHEN THEY USED TO TRAVEL,

00:43:48.375 --> 00:43:51.295
THEY WOULD STAY IN THE CAR.
THEY COULDN'T FIND HOTELS.

00:43:51.378 --> 00:43:54.465
FATHER WOULD NOT TALK ABOUT IT
AND SAY, "THIS IS RACISM,"

00:43:54.548 --> 00:43:57.384
BUT THEY ALL KNEW
THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

00:43:57.468 --> 00:44:00.137
THE LONGORIA AFFAIR
BRINGS TO HECTOR

00:44:00.220 --> 00:44:03.432
ALL OF THESE EXPERIENCES.

00:44:07.061 --> 00:44:09.563
HECTOR GARCIA WOULD QUICKLY
BECOME THE MOST PROMINENT

00:44:09.646 --> 00:44:14.276
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER OF HIS ERA.

00:44:14.360 --> 00:44:16.779
UNDER HIS DIRECTION,
THE AMERICAN G.I. FORUM

00:44:16.862 --> 00:44:20.741
WOULD GROW
ACROSS TEXAS AND THE SOUTHWEST,

00:44:20.824 --> 00:44:25.496
CHALLENGING SEGREGATION
IN ITS MANY FORMS,

00:44:25.579 --> 00:44:29.166
FROM DISPARITIES
IN HEALTH SERVICES

00:44:29.249 --> 00:44:33.921
TO SEGREGATION IN SCHOOLS

00:44:34.004 --> 00:44:36.840
TO THE POLL TAXES
THAT KEPT MEXICAN-AMERICANS

00:44:36.924 --> 00:44:39.968
AND OTHER MINORITIES
FROM VOTING.

00:44:40.052 --> 00:44:44.223
UNTIL THOSE TAXES WERE OUTLAWED
IN THE MID-1960s,

00:44:44.306 --> 00:44:48.394
THE G.I. FORUM
HELD BEAUTY PAGEANTS,

00:44:48.477 --> 00:44:52.272
WHERE THE WINNER WAS THE GIRL
WHO RAISED THE MOST MONEY

00:44:52.356 --> 00:44:55.234
TO PAY THE TAXES
SO OTHERS COULD VOTE.

00:44:55.317 --> 00:44:57.820
I. Garcia: IN HECTOR'S MIND,
WHATEVER PROGRESS

00:44:57.903 --> 00:45:00.489
THAT THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN
COMMUNITY WOULD ENGAGE IN

00:45:00.572 --> 00:45:02.991
WOULD BE
BY BECOMING MORE AMERICAN,

00:45:03.075 --> 00:45:05.285
BY UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM,
BY VOTING,

00:45:05.369 --> 00:45:09.123
BY GOING INTO THE MILITARY,
BY GETTING A GOOD EDUCATION.

00:45:09.206 --> 00:45:12.000
HECTOR WANTED
TO MAKE THIS BRIDGE--

00:45:12.084 --> 00:45:14.837
BRING IN AMERICAN SOCIETY
INTO THE BARRIO

00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:17.631
AND BRING THE BARRIO
INTO AMERICAN SOCIETY.

00:45:17.714 --> 00:45:21.593
GARCIA WANTED MEXICAN-AMERICANS
TO FOLLOW THE SAME PATH

00:45:21.677 --> 00:45:23.470
AS OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS
WHO HAD OVERCOME PREJUDICE

00:45:23.554 --> 00:45:27.850
TO BECOME PART OF THE FABRIC
OF THE UNITED STATES,

00:45:27.933 --> 00:45:32.229
SUCH AS THE IRISH
AND THE ITALIANS,

00:45:32.312 --> 00:45:36.233
BUT HE ALSO PERCEIVED
A DIRECT THREAT TO HIS PLANS--

00:45:36.316 --> 00:45:38.986
A GROWING NUMBER OF MEXICANS

00:45:39.069 --> 00:45:43.490
ILLEGALLY CROSSING THE BORDER
IN SEARCH OF WORK.

00:45:43.574 --> 00:45:46.410
AT THE CONSTANT RISK
OF DEPORTATION,

00:45:46.493 --> 00:45:49.246
UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS
WERE EASILY EXPLOITED,

00:45:49.329 --> 00:45:51.165
FORCED TO WORK LONG HOURS

00:45:51.248 --> 00:45:54.418
AND TO LIVE
IN DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS.

00:45:54.501 --> 00:45:56.670
AS A DOCTOR, HECTOR GARCIA

00:45:56.753 --> 00:46:00.090
HAD SEEN THOSE CONDITIONS
FIRSTHAND IN SOUTH TEXAS

00:46:00.174 --> 00:46:04.970
AND BELIEVED THEM INHUMANE
AND UN-AMERICAN.

00:46:07.181 --> 00:46:10.267
HE ALSO THOUGHT THE SEEMINGLY
ENDLESS SUPPLY OF CHEAP LABOR

00:46:10.350 --> 00:46:13.395
HURT MEXICAN-AMERICANS
BY DRIVING DOWN WAGES,

00:46:13.479 --> 00:46:18.066
FORCING WHOLE FAMILIES
TO SEASONALLY MIGRATE NORTH

00:46:18.150 --> 00:46:20.569
IN SEARCH OF BETTER PAY.

00:46:22.821 --> 00:46:25.574
HIS SOLUTION WAS
TO TAKE A STRONG STANCE

00:46:25.657 --> 00:46:28.911
AGAINST THE HIRING
OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS,

00:46:28.994 --> 00:46:30.120
DRAWING A CLEAR DISTINCTION

00:46:30.204 --> 00:46:34.541
BETWEEN MEXICAN
AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN LABOR.

00:46:34.625 --> 00:46:37.753
HE SAW ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
AS A REAL THREAT

00:46:37.836 --> 00:46:42.382
TO THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN
COMMUNITY'S ABILITY
TO STAY AT HOME,

00:46:42.466 --> 00:46:44.593
GET EDUCATED,
GET STABLE JOBS,

00:46:44.676 --> 00:46:48.680
PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTORAL
PROCESS AND BECOME AMERICAN.

00:46:48.764 --> 00:46:53.477
BUT IN PUSHING
FOR A RESTRICTION
OF THE BORDER,

00:46:53.560 --> 00:46:55.479
HECTOR
AND THE AMERICAN G.I. FORUM,

00:46:55.562 --> 00:46:58.732
THEY WERE AT TIMES
REPEATING THE STEREOTYPES

00:46:58.815 --> 00:47:00.984
THAT AMERICANS HAD
OF MEXICANS,

00:47:01.068 --> 00:47:03.904
AND, IN FACT, IN THE ONE
SPONSORED PAMPHLET,

00:47:03.987 --> 00:47:05.989
"WHAT PRICE WETBACKS?"

00:47:06.073 --> 00:47:09.326
WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY ONE
OF HIS MOST LOYAL FRIENDS,

00:47:09.409 --> 00:47:11.828
IT IS FULL OF STEREOTYPES

00:47:11.912 --> 00:47:16.542
AND COMMENTS THAT WOULD
MAKE ANYBODY CRINGE.

00:47:16.625 --> 00:47:20.754
IN 1954,
THE FORUM THREW ITS SUPPORT

00:47:20.837 --> 00:47:23.173
BEHIND A QUASI-MILITARY
SEARCH AND SEIZURE

00:47:23.257 --> 00:47:26.718
OF ILLEGAL WORKERS CONDUCTED
BY THE U.S. BORDER PATROL,

00:47:26.802 --> 00:47:30.514
OPERATION WETBACK.

00:47:30.597 --> 00:47:32.766
WITH ITS LATE-NIGHT RAIDS,

00:47:32.849 --> 00:47:36.144
ITS DEPORTATION OF PEOPLE PULLED
OFF THE STREETS,

00:47:36.228 --> 00:47:39.940
AND THE BREAK-UP OF FAMILIES
BASED ON CITIZENSHIP,

00:47:40.023 --> 00:47:42.192
OPERATION WETBACK
BROUGHT IMMEDIATE PROTESTS

00:47:42.276 --> 00:47:44.945
FROM THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN
COMMUNITY,

00:47:45.028 --> 00:47:48.365
ENOUGH TO CHANGE
HECTOR GARCIA'S MIND.

00:47:48.448 --> 00:47:52.244
I. Garcia:
AND IT IS AT THAT MOMENT

00:47:52.327 --> 00:47:55.455
WHERE YOU SEE HECTOR
SHIFT HIS VIEWS.

00:47:55.539 --> 00:47:57.499
THAT IS SUCH A PAINFUL ORDEAL

00:47:57.583 --> 00:48:01.628
FOR THE MEXICAN
AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

00:48:01.712 --> 00:48:06.216
THAT NOW YOU DON'T SEE
MEXICAN-AMERICAN
OR LATINO LEADERS

00:48:06.300 --> 00:48:09.344
PROMOTING ANY KIND
OF DEPORTATION CAMPAIGN.

00:48:11.680 --> 00:48:13.056
AS IT TURNED OUT,

00:48:13.140 --> 00:48:16.476
OPERATION WETBACK
HAD LITTLE LASTING EFFECT.

00:48:16.560 --> 00:48:21.398
DEPRESSED WAGES IN AGRICULTURAL
WORK IN TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA

00:48:21.481 --> 00:48:23.567
AND A GROWING U.S. ECONOMY

00:48:23.650 --> 00:48:27.988
LED MANY MEXICAN-AMERICANS
TO MOVE OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST,

00:48:28.071 --> 00:48:31.199
AND WHERE
MEXICAN-AMERICANS WENT,

00:48:31.283 --> 00:48:35.537
THE AMERICAN G.I. FORUM
SOON FOLLOWED.

00:48:35.621 --> 00:48:39.207
WITH PUERTO RICAN VETERANS IN
THE NORTHEAST ALSO JOINING UP,

00:48:39.291 --> 00:48:41.251
BY THE END OF THE 1950s,

00:48:41.335 --> 00:48:45.422
THERE WERE MORE THAN 30 CHAPTERS
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

00:48:45.505 --> 00:48:49.051
FOR HECTOR GARCIA, THIS NETWORK
PROVIDED THE LEVERAGE HE NEEDED

00:48:49.134 --> 00:48:51.678
TO CHANGE THE LIVES
OF LATINOS EVERYWHERE

00:48:51.762 --> 00:48:55.724
THROUGH THE POWER
OF THE BALLOT BOX.

00:48:55.807 --> 00:49:01.438
Ramos: THIS IS THE ENDGAME
THAT HECTOR GARCIA
REALLY WAS AFTER.

00:49:01.521 --> 00:49:04.441
UNTIL LATINOS,
MEXICAN-AMERICANS
IN PARTICULAR,

00:49:04.524 --> 00:49:06.652
BECOME A NATIONAL
POLITICAL FORCE

00:49:06.735 --> 00:49:08.945
THAT CAN MAKE OR BREAK
A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,

00:49:09.029 --> 00:49:12.908
WE WILL ALWAYS BE
A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY.

00:49:12.991 --> 00:49:14.826
GARCIA'S TIMING WAS PERFECT.

00:49:14.910 --> 00:49:19.247
THE 1960 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE
WAS GOING TO BE CLOSE,

00:49:19.331 --> 00:49:22.793
AND CANDIDATE JOHN KENNEDY HAD
CHOSEN AN OLD FRIEND OF HECTOR'S

00:49:22.876 --> 00:49:26.129
TO BE HIS RUNNING MATE,
LYNDON JOHNSON.

00:49:26.213 --> 00:49:29.883
LYNDON JOHNSON IS GOING
TO DELIVER THE STATE OF TEXAS

00:49:29.966 --> 00:49:31.927
AND OTHER STATES
THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHWEST

00:49:32.010 --> 00:49:33.804
BECAUSE OF HIS UNDERSTANDING
AND KNOWLEDGE

00:49:33.887 --> 00:49:35.555
OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN
LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITIES,

00:49:35.639 --> 00:49:41.478
AND HECTOR GARCIA IS HIS MAN
TO GET THAT JOB DONE.

00:49:41.561 --> 00:49:44.606
RATHER THAN POLITICIZE
THE FORUM,

00:49:44.690 --> 00:49:47.984
GARCIA CREATED
A NEW ASSOCIATION,

00:49:48.068 --> 00:49:51.071
THE VIVA KENNEDY CLUBS.

00:49:51.154 --> 00:49:56.660
THEY HELD RALLIES, FUNDRAISERS
AND VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES,

00:49:56.743 --> 00:49:58.995
ALL TO ROLL OUT
THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN VOTE

00:49:59.079 --> 00:50:01.498
ON ELECTION DAY.

00:50:01.581 --> 00:50:04.209
[SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:50:12.050 --> 00:50:15.929
AND AS IT TURNED OUT,
EVERY VOTE COUNTED.

00:50:16.012 --> 00:50:20.267
KENNEDY WON BY LESS THAN 1%
OF THE POPULAR VOTE,

00:50:20.350 --> 00:50:23.019
WITH MANY STATES CAPTURED
BY VERY SMALL MARGINS.

00:50:23.103 --> 00:50:25.772
IT WAS NOT LOST ON HECTOR

00:50:25.856 --> 00:50:30.068
THAT THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION
OWED SOMETHING VERY DIRECTLY

00:50:30.152 --> 00:50:32.988
TO THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE
FOR THAT VICTORY.

00:50:37.909 --> 00:50:39.286
HECTOR GARCIA
WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED.

00:50:39.369 --> 00:50:42.122
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
NEVER CAME THROUGH

00:50:42.205 --> 00:50:43.373
WITH THE INITIATIVES
AND APPOINTMENTS

00:50:43.457 --> 00:50:49.546
GARCIA FELT MEXICAN-AMERICANS
HAD EARNED.

00:50:49.629 --> 00:50:53.884
BUT KENNEDY'S SUCCESSOR,
LYNDON JOHNSON, DID.

00:50:53.967 --> 00:50:55.886
HE APPOINTED
MORE MEXICAN-AMERICANS

00:50:55.969 --> 00:51:01.725
TO POSITIONS IN GOVERNMENT
THAN ANY PRESIDENT BEFORE

00:51:01.808 --> 00:51:04.561
AND HE PASSED
LANDMARK LEGISLATION

00:51:04.644 --> 00:51:07.189
MAKING ILLEGAL
THE FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

00:51:07.272 --> 00:51:10.067
HECTOR GARCIA HAD BATTLED
FOR YEARS,

00:51:10.150 --> 00:51:13.528
FROM SEGREGATION
IN RESTAURANTS AND SCHOOLS

00:51:13.612 --> 00:51:16.740
TO POLL TAXES.

00:51:16.823 --> 00:51:19.743
WHILE MANY SAW THE NEW LAWS ONLY
IN THE CONTEXT

00:51:19.826 --> 00:51:22.329
OF THE BLACK
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT,

00:51:22.412 --> 00:51:24.372
WHEN JOHNSON ADDRESSED CONGRESS,

00:51:24.456 --> 00:51:27.209
HE INVOKED HIS OWN EXPERIENCE
AS A TEACHER

00:51:27.292 --> 00:51:30.921
IN A SMALL MEXICAN-AMERICAN
SCHOOL IN TEXAS.

00:51:33.173 --> 00:51:35.217
Johnson:
MY STUDENTS WERE POOR

00:51:35.300 --> 00:51:39.554
AND THEY KNEW EVEN IN THEIR
YOUTH THE PAIN OF PREJUDICE.

00:51:39.638 --> 00:51:44.267
THEY NEVER SEEMED TO KNOW
WHY PEOPLE DISLIKED THEM,

00:51:44.351 --> 00:51:48.438
BUT THEY KNEW IT WAS SO,
BECAUSE I SAW IT IN THEIR EYES.

00:51:48.522 --> 00:51:54.027
I NEVER THOUGHT
THAT I MIGHT HAVE THE CHANCE

00:51:54.110 --> 00:51:57.405
TO HELP THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS
OF THOSE STUDENTS

00:51:57.489 --> 00:52:03.912
AND TO HELP PEOPLE LIKE THEM
ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY.

00:52:03.995 --> 00:52:08.208
BUT NOW I DO HAVE THAT CHANCE,

00:52:08.291 --> 00:52:11.878
AND I'LL LET YOU IN ON A SECRET.
I MEAN TO USE IT.

00:52:11.962 --> 00:52:14.214
[APPLAUSE]

00:52:18.468 --> 00:52:21.763
Narrator: 20 YEARS
AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR II,

00:52:21.847 --> 00:52:24.891
THE CITIZENSHIP
LATINOS HAD FOUGHT AND DIED FOR

00:52:24.975 --> 00:52:26.351
HAD FINALLY ARRIVED,

00:52:26.434 --> 00:52:30.188
BUT THE STRUGGLE
FOR TRUE EQUALITY

00:52:30.272 --> 00:52:32.649
WAS JUST BEGINNING.