The National World War II Museum estimates that 250,00-500,000 Hispanic Americans fought in WWII (Web archive.org). Hispanic-American soldiers proved to be successful, brave and well-decorated. Despite heroically battling for their country in WWII, many Mexican-Americans continued to be treated as second class citizens.
The video interview above with Latino activist and WWII veteran Ernest Eguia describes his disappointment to find continued mistreatment of Mexican-Americans upon his return to Houston in 1945. Having proudly served in the war, Ernest assumed and hoped that by performing the greatest possible service to his country, he would finally be looked at as a real American.
Ernest says, “There was a lot of discrimination. There were still restaurants that would not allow Hispanics in the restroom. Even though we had spent not only our lives but four years of our lives in the army fighting for the people back home” (Eguia, see embedded video above). Eguia’s experiences led him to activism, and he recognized the extreme prejudices carried by the predominantly white American masses.
In a 1998 LA Times article by Jerry Hicks, Hicks interviews three Mexican-American WWII veterans, Nick Alvarez, Andrew Ortega and Louie Armijo. These veteran’s experiences with racism upon their return home mirrored Mr. Eguia. Hicks writes, “Armijo will never forget the sergeant who at first tried to hold back his paperwork, declaring ‘We don’t take Hispanics in The Air Force.’” Later Hicks writes, “Latinos were fighting for their country, Aguirre says, at a time when they faced discrimination at home, the same as other minorities” (LA Times, Hicks). Sadly, Mexican-American soldiers in modern wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have complained of lingering oppressive stereotypes of Mexican’s within the military.
Eguia’s interview was produced by the Houston Public Library as an oral history project, and it has been further circulated by civil rights groups and veterans. Hick’s 1998 LA Times article was targeting an audience of progressives, war veterans, and Mexican-Americans. It is essential for historians and journalists to collect these types of oral history interviews to further understand the experience of Mexican-American veterans, as well as other minority veterans. Interviews like these give us a unique snapshot of American culture following WWII. Oral history offers a level of personal-depth, which is difficult to match with statistics and generalizations.
Mexican-American’s and other minorities continue to feel the repercussions of racial discrimination, not unlike the hatred Ernest Aguia faced when returning home from WWII. It is vital to continue to collect similar testimonies in order to teach positive change and identify culturally detrimental trends.
-Joseph Foley