Latino Americans

Man: WHAT IS OUR HISTORY?

WHAT IS OUR PAST?

WHAT IS THE CLAIM THAT WE HAVE TO BE MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY?

Man: WE ARE NOT HERE TO THREATEN OR TO BEG.

WE ARE HERE TO PARTICIPATE.

Woman: YOU CANNOT CLOSE YOUR EYES AND YOUR EARS

TO US ANY LONGER BECAUSE WE ARE HERE.

Man: MOST PEOPLE ARE SAYING, SPANISH, THE MEXICANS,

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DO NOT HAVE THE SPECIAL INHERITANCE

OF LIBERTY THAT WE HAVE.

Man: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES

WOULD BE LIKE PARADISE.

THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS.

Man: THE TOUGHEST PART WAS WHEN I LEFT MY MOM

NOT KNOWING IF I'M GONNA SEE HER AGAIN.

Woman: HERE'S A MAN WHO'S SHED HIS BLOOD,

AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

Man: RECKLESS?

YES.

DANGEROUS?

EXTREMELY.

DID IT PAY OFF?

DAMN RIGHT.

Woman: THE FIRST EUROPEAN LANGUAGE

SPOKEN IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES IS SPANISH.

Rita Moren: IMMIGRATION MEANS IT ALL GETS TO BE

PART OF YOUR IDENTITY.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

Gloria Estefan: IT'S CRUCIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO WE ARE,

WHERE WE COME FROM, AND WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE.

I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.

I, SONIA SOTOMAYOR...

Man: THERE'S SO MUCH AT STAKE FOR ALL AMERICANS

IN HOW LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DO.

Announcer: FUND Narrator: IN THE EARLY 1940s,

WHILE SERVING ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS "ENTERPRISE,"

ENLISTED MAN CHARLES WHEELER: HEARD SOME UNLIKELY NEWS ABOUT A NEW OFFICER.

I HEARD ABOUT ONE OF OUR NEW PILOTS

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

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

WHEELER, TOO, HAD MEXICAN ANCESTRY,

BUT HE'D NEVER SEEN A MEXICAN-AMERICAN PILOT

UNTIL HE MET ENSIGN MANUEL GONZALES FROM CALIFORNIA.

THEY SOON GREW CLOSE.

WE BONDED OVER OUR MEXICAN BACKGROUND,

AND IT WAS LIKE HAVING A NEW FRIEND.

ON THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 7th, 1941,

THE SHIP WAS AT SEA, 2 DAYS BEHIND SCHEDULE.

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE IN PORT AT PEARL HARBOR.

PRIOR TO GOING INTO ANY PORT,

WE ALWAYS SENT A FEW OF OUR AIRCRAFT IN

TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS.

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

AND ENSIGN GONZALES HAPPENED TO BE IN THE SECOND LAUNCHING,

AND THOSE WERE THE ONES THAT GOT THERE

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

THE PLANES FROM THE "ENTERPRISE"

STUMBLED INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE SURPRISE ATTACK

AND SOON FOUND THEMSELVES UNDER FIRE FROM BOTH SIDES.

[MACHINE-GUN FIRE]

BACK ON THE "ENTERPRISE,"

A STARTLING TRANSMISSION FROM ENSIGN GONZALES

BROKE THE STANDARD RADIO SILENCE.

HE PLEADED, "DON'T SHOOT!

PLEASE DON'T SHOOT!

FRIENDLY AIRCRAFT."

AND THOSE WERE THE LAST WORDS THE MAN EVER SAID.

AMERICANS LOST A DAMN GOOD PILOT,

AND I LOST A GOOD FRIEND.

ENSIGN MANUEL GONZALES WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST

AMERICAN CASUALTIES OF WORLD WAR II,

ONE OF AN ESTIMATED HALF-MILLION LATINOS

WHO SERVED IN THAT WAR.

THEY CAME FROM ALL OVER--: THE BARRIOS IN L.A., THE CASERIOS OF PUERTO RICO,

THE PUEBLOS OF NEW MEXICO,

THE FARMS AND BORDER TOWNS OF TEXAS--

AND THEY FOUGHT...

IN ALL THE MAJOR BATTLES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC.

AND LIKE OTHER AMERICANS,

THE EXPERIENCE WOULD LEAVE THEM CHANGED.

IN JUST A FEW YEARS,

A MEXICAN-AMERICAN DOCTOR FROM TEXAS

WOULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A TIRELESS ADVOCATE OF CIVIL RIGHTS.

ON THE HOME FRONT,

A TEENAGE GIRL WOULD OVERCOME PREJUDICE

TO JOIN THE WAR EFFORT,

HELPING TO BUILD BOMBERS AND FIGHTERS--

ROSITA THE RIVETER.

AND AN ARMY SOLDIER WOULD BECOME THE FIRST MEXICAN NATIONAL

TO EARN THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR,

ONLY TO BE REFUSED SERVICE IN HIS HOME STATE.

FIGHTING A WAR OVERSEAS: WOULD TRANSFORM THE LATINO FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS BACK HOME.

[BELL TOLLING]

WHEN THE UNITED STATES ENTERED THE WAR

AFTER THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR,

A MEXICAN-AMERICAN DOCTOR COMPLETING HIS RESIDENCY

IN A NEBRASKA HOSPITAL: IMMEDIATELY VOLUNTEERED FOR SERVICE.

HIS NAME WAS HECTOR P. GARCIA.

I. Garcia: HECTOR DECIDED THIS WAS THE CALL OF THE NATION.

HE WAS GOING TO RESPOND.

HE WENT TO THE DRAFT BOARD, SAID, "I WANT TO GO IN."

AND HE TOLD THEM, "I'M A DOCTOR, A MEDICAL DOCTOR.

I'D LIKE TO BE A MEDICAL OFFICER."

IN ADDITION TO A MEDICAL DEGREE,

GARCIA HAD SPENT SEVERAL YEARS IN THE ARMY RESERVES.

Ramos: RATHER THAN THE MILITARY

REALLY LOOKING AT HIS CREDENTIALS,

WHICH ARE REALLY IMPECCABLE: AS A MEDICAL PHYSICIAN AND COLLEGE GRADUATE,

IT'S ASSUMED THAT NO MEXICAN CAN POSSIBLY HAVE THAT PEDIGREE,

AND HE IS PUT IMMEDIATELY INTO THE INFANTRY.

AAH!

GARCIA TREATED THE DECISION AS AN OVERSIGHT.

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

JUST BEFORE HE SHIPPED OUT FOR NORTH AFRICA,

THE MILITARY RECONSIDERED.

I. Garcia: THEY FINALLY CAME TO HIM AND SAID,

"ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE A MEDICAL DOCTOR?

"WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR TRAINING?

IN GUADALAJARA OR SOME SCHOOL IN MEXICO?"

HE SAID, "NO, I WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT GALVESTON.

DID MY RESIDENCY IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA."

AND AT FIRST IT WAS VERY HARD FOR THEM TO BELIEVE THAT,

BUT EVENTUALLY, THEY ACCEPTED THAT.

IN LATE 1942, GARCIA ARRIVED IN NORTH AFRICA...

AS THE BATTALION SURGEON FOR AN ENGINEERING GROUP,

BUT THIS WASN'T HIS FIRST WAR.

HE'D BEEN BORN IN LLERA, MEXICO,

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION,

A BRUTAL CONFLICT THAT TOOK A MILLION LIVES.

FLEEING THE VIOLENCE,

HIS FAMILY IMMIGRATED TO A SMALL SOUTH TEXAS TOWN, MERCEDES,

WHERE RELATIVES OWNED A DRY GOODS STORE.

ALTHOUGH LEGALLY CONSIDERED WHITE,

MEXICANS AND MEXICAN-AMERICANS WERE SEGREGATED FROM ANGLOS,

WHO HELD ALL THE POWER.

SHOOTINGS AND LYNCHINGS OF MEXICANS WERE COMMON,

ESPECIALLY IN SOUTH TEXAS.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THIS TRANSITION

WAS SO TRAUMATIC FOR THE GARCIA FAMILY

IS THAT UNLIKE MANY OF THE OTHER FAMILIES THAT CAME NORTH,

PROBABLY THE PREPONDERANCE, OBVIOUSLY,

THE GARCIA FAMILY WAS VERY ESTABLISHED.

THEY WERE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE EDUCATED.

THEY CAME INTO A SITUATION REALLY UNPREPARED FOR WHAT THEY WERE CONFRONTING--

TREMENDOUS RESISTANCE BASED: ON THEIR NATIONAL AND RACIAL IDENTITY.

THOUGH EDUCATORS BY PROFESSION,

OUTSIDE THEIR HOME, HECTOR'S PARENTS

WOULD NEVER TEACH AGAIN.

INSIDE WAS A DIFFERENT STORY.

RIGHT AFTER WORK, THE FATHER AND THE MOTHER

WOULD SIT THEM DOWN AT THE KITCHEN TABLE,

AND THEY WOULD GO OVER MATHEMATICS, HISTORY.

THEY WOULD READ TO THEM FROM THE NEWSPAPER.

Ramos: ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN,

HECTOR'S SIBLINGS, WERE EDUCATED.

THEY ALL WENT TO COLLEGE.

MOST OF THEM BECAME PHYSICIANS,

HECTOR BEING AMONG THE FIRST OF THEM TO ACHIEVE THAT.

GARCIA EARNED HIS MEDICAL DEGREE

FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT GALVESTON,

BUT WHEN HE SOUGHT A RESIDENCY IN TEXAS,

HE COULDN'T FIND A HOSPITAL THAT WOULD TAKE HIM

AND ENDED UP AT CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY IN NEBRASKA.

DESPITE THE APPARENT DISCRIMINATION,

GARCIA DIDN'T PERCEIVE IT AS SUCH.

I. Garcia: IN THE EARLY YEARS, HECTOR HAD A TENDENCY TO FEEL

IF YOU EDUCATED YOURSELF, IF YOU WERE ASSERTIVE, IF YOU WERE ARTICULATE,

PEOPLE DIDN'T DISCRIMINATE AGAINST YOU,

THAT THAT WAS MEANT FOR THE POOR, BROWNER MEXICAN-AMERICANS.

IN FACT, GARCIA WOULD FEEL HIS TIME IN THE MILITARY

WAS FREE OF PREJUDICE.

HE SERVED WITH DISTINCTION IN NORTH AFRICA AND ITALY.

BY THE WAR'S END, HE'D BE PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN,

THOUGH THAT WAS THE RANK TYPICALLY GIVEN MEDICAL DOCTORS

WHEN THEY FIRST ENTERED THE ARMY.

[MARCH PLAYING]

THE LATINOS THAT SERVED IN WORLD WAR II

WERE OVERWHELMINGLY OF MEXICAN DESCENT,

BUT OVER 65,000 PUERTO RICANS SERVED AS WELL.

Announcer: TROOPS AND THE ARTILLERY ON PARADE.

THIS TAKES US TO THE NATIONAL DEFENSE IMPORTANCE OF PUERTO RICO.

THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IS CREATING A MAGNIFICENT MILITARY STRONGHOLD.

Narrator: AS U.S. CITIZENS,

PUERTO RICANS WERE SUBJECT TO THE DRAFT.

OTHERS VOLUNTEERED OUT OF PATRIOTISM

OR HAD ENTERED THE MILITARY BEFORE THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR

AS A WAY TO ESCAPE THE DIRE EFFECTS

OF THE DEPRESSION ON PUERTO RICO.

MARCOS MELENDEZ HAD MADE SOME MONEY

AS A WORKING MUSICIAN,

BUT IN 1939, HIS FATHER ENCOURAGED HIM

TO JOIN THE MILITARY FOR THE STEADY PAY.

I GREW UP IN THE ARMY.

THEY MAKE ME A MAN: WITH THE DISCIPLINE,

BETTER FOOD, GOOD MONEY.

IT'S A GOOD LIVING.

LIKE MANY ISLANDERS IN WORLD WAR II,

MELENDEZ ENDED UP IN THE 65th INFANTRY REGIMENT,

SEGREGATED BY THE ARMY TO BE ALL PUERTO RICAN.

WITH THE 65th, HE WOULD EVENTUALLY BOARD A SHIP FOR EUROPE,

HIS MUSICAL TALENT EASING TENSIONS DURING THE CROSSING.

WHEN WE-WE REACHED THE SHIP: AND WE GET THE PEOPLE IN THERE,

SO MANY PEOPLE IN THERE WANT MORALE HIGH,

SO I PLAY THE GUITAR, AND THEY HAVE FUN.

[SINGING IN SPANISH]

THE 65th WOULD SEE ACTION: IN ITALY, CENTRAL EUROPE AND GERMANY.

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE FROM PUERTO RICO,

THERE WERE FEW ALL-LATINO UNITS

IN THE U.S. MILITARY IN WORLD WAR II.

IN CONTRAST TO THE SEGREGATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS,

MOST LATINOS FOUGHT ALONGSIDE ANGLO SOLDIERS AND SAILORS,

EXPERIENCING THE SAME TERRORS AND BOREDOM,

BROTHERHOOD AND DEATH.

FOR MANY LATINOS, IT WAS THE FIRST TASTE OF FULL CITIZENSHIP,

TO BE TREATED AS EQUAL TO ANGLOS,

AND SOME WOULD CHALLENGE ANYONE

TO TAKE THAT EQUALITY AWAY AFTER THE WAR,

LIKE MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER MACARIO GARCIA.

GARCIA WAS A MEXICAN NATIONAL FROM SUGAR LAND, TEXAS,

WHERE HE WORKED AS A MIGRANT PICKING COTTON AND TENDED CATTLE.

HIS PARENTS HAD MOVED FROM MEXICO IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE.

THEY FOUND A HARSH EXISTENCE.

Bailey: IT WAS A ROUGH LIFE.

A ONE-ROOM SHACK AT BEST,

HOLES IN THE WALLS, HOLES IN THE CEILING,

BUT THEY WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE WILLING

TO MAKE IT--MAKE IT WORK,

BECAUSE THEY WANTED A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

IN JUNE 1944,

2 DAYS AFTER THE D-DAY INVASION OF EUROPE,

PRIVATE MACARIO GARCIA LANDED AT NORMANDY

AS ONE OF THE REPLACEMENTS FOR MEN LOST IN THE BLOODY FIGHTING.

THE ARMY ASSIGNED HIM TO THE 22nd INFANTRY REGIMENT,

WHICH SOON BLAZED ITS WAY ACROSS FRANCE AND BELGIUM.

FIRE!

Narrator: BUT BY THE FALL OF '44,

THE ALLIES' RAPID ADVANCE HAD GROUND TO A HALT

AT THE GERMAN BORDER AND THE HURTGEN FOREST.

[INDISTINCT]

FOR GARCIA AND THE U.S. MILITARY,

THIS WAS A NEW KIND OF FIGHTING.

THE DENSE CONIFER FOREST WITH FEW ROADS

MADE TROOP MOVEMENTS SLOW AND HARD FOUGHT.

GERMAN ARTILLERY SHELLS EXPLODED IN TREETOPS,

TURNING THEM INTO DEADLY SHARDS.

WELL-PLACED GERMAN MACHINE GUNS PRODUCED WITHERING CROSSFIRE.

ON NOVEMBER 27th, GARCIA'S BAKER COMPANY WAS PINNED DOWN

AS THEY ATTEMPTED TO TAKE A HILL OVERLOOKING THE TOWN OF GROSSHAU.

GARCIA WAS ORDERED FORWARD WITH ANOTHER SCOUT.

Bailey: WHEN MACARIO AND HIS OTHER SCOUT, J.P. EDWARDS,

START ACROSS THE OPEN AREA,

J.P.'S HIT BETWEEN THE EYES,

FALLS DEAD AT MACARIO'S FEET.

MACARIO'S HIT IN THE SHOULDER,

SPUN AROUND, KNOCKED TO THE GROUND.

GARCIA CRAWLED INTO THE UNDERBRUSH.

AS HE BEGAN TO FLANK THE SOURCE OF THE FIRE, A MACHINE-GUN NEST,

HE SURPRISED A GERMAN SOLDIER.

THEY TRADED SHOTS.

[GUNSHOTS]

GARCIA HIT IN THE FOOT, THE GERMAN KILLED.

GARCIA KEPT GOING.

HE FINALLY COMES UP ON THAT MACHINE-GUN NEST.

MACARIO SHOOTS.

ONE GERMAN CLAWS AT THE AIR AND FALLS BACKWARD,

THE OTHER DOUBLES OVER AND FALLS FORWARD.

GARCIA THREW A GRENADE TO DESTROY THE GUN

AND LATER RECALLED SEEING THE BODIES

OF THE DEAD GERMANS SHUDDER.

AND HE STARTS BACK DOWN THE HILL.

BUT JUST AS HE BEGAN HIS REPORT TO HIS COMPANY COMMANDER...

[MACHINE-GUN FIRE]

...A SECOND MACHINE GUN OPENED FIRE.

AND HE JUST TAKES OFF.

HE'S BACK ACROSS THE OPEN AREA ALONE, BACK UP THE HILL.

GARCIA LOCATED THE SECOND MACHINE-GUN NEST

AND TRIED TO DESTROY IT WITH A GRENADE,

BUT WOUNDED, HE MISSED.

HE HAS TO GET CLOSER, AND HE THROWS,

LOBS ANOTHER ONE IN THERE,

AND THIS TIME HE'S ACCURATE WITH HIS THROW.

MACARIO'S ACTIONS,

TAKING OUT 2 MACHINE-GUN NESTS SINGLEHANDEDLY,

ALLOWED 2 COMPANIES TO CHARGE THE HILL

IN A SUCCESSFUL ASSAULT.

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, HE'S A BLOODY MESS,

HE'S WOUNDED, AND YET HE'S REFUSING TO GO TO THE REAR.

HE'S REFUSING ANY HELP, BECAUSE HIS PLACE IS WITH HIS MEN.

AND THAT'S THE KIND OF MAN THAT MACARIO GARCIA WAS.

GARCIA WOULD SPEND 2 MONTHS IN ARMY HOSPITALS

RECOVERING FROM HIS WOUNDS.

REPORTS OF HIS HEROISM: HAD ALREADY STARTED UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.

[BAND PLAYING MARCH]

EVEN BEFORE MOST MEN HAD SEEN BATTLE,

THE WAR EFFORT CHANGED THE LIFE OF LATINOS ON THE HOME FRONT.

CALLING MILLIONS TO MILITARY SERVICE

CREATED MASSIVE LABOR SHORTAGES.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

BROUGHT RURAL MEXICANS ACROSS THE BORDER

IN A GUEST WORKER BRACERO PROGRAM.

IN THE CITIES,

THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING DEFENSE INDUSTRIES

IGNORED TRADITION AND ACTIVELY SOUGHT WOMEN AND MINORITIES.

FOR INSTANCE YOU SEE IN THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY IN LOS ANGELES,

DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT PUTS OUT HUGE BILLBOARDS IN SPANISH,

ESSENTIALLY SAYING, "WE HAVE JOBS AND WE WANT MEXICANS TO APPLY."

THIS IS A TREMENDOUS SHIFT.

A YOUNG TEENAGER, CARMEN GURROLA,

QUIT A JOB IN A SEWING FACTORY

TO WORK AT A GOODYEAR PLANT: MANUFACTURING RUBBERIZED GAS TANKS

FOR FIGHTERS AND BOMBERS.

HER JOB REQUIRED CLIMBING INSIDE THE TANK

AFTER IT HAD COOLED.

Gurrola: JUST LIKE GETTING INSIDE OF A COFFIN.

MY FACE WAS TOTALLY BLACK FROM THE RUBBER.

OF COURSE I HAD A BANDANNA, COVERALLS.

I-I DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A GIRL.

[LAUGHS]

YOU FELT PROUD THAT YOU WERE DOING SOMETHING

FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE COUNTRY.

AND I THOUGHT EVEN IF I DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH VERY WELL, DOESN'T MATTER.

I DID THE JOB.

ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS,

THE WAR EFFORT PUSHED TOGETHER ETHNIC GROUPS

WITH LITTLE PRIOR CONTACT,

INCLUDING LATINOS AND ANGLOS.

Escobedo: IN SOME CASES, THIS PROVIDES FOR BRIDGING

OF THOSE MORE TRADITIONAL ETHNIC AND RACIAL GAPS.

ON THE OTHER HAND, IT PROVIDES A LOT OF CONFLICT.

IN LOS ANGELES, THAT CONFLICT WOULD FIND ITS FOCUS

IN A NEW STYLE OF DRESS POPULAR AMONG YOUNG LATINOS--

THE ZOOT SUIT.

Villalobos: I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS STYLE CAME FROM,

BUT WE ALL JUST TOOK TO IT.

WE'D GET OUR PAYCHECK ON FRIDAY, AND THEN SATURDAY

WE'D GET GUSSIED UP AS BEST WE COULD, GO DANCING.

THE GIRLS SEEMED TO LIKE IT A LITTLE BETTER

WHEN I DRESS THIS WAY.

WE ALSO DEVELOPED OUR SLANG.

"HEY, CARNAL--" YOU KNOW, BROTHER.

"HEY, CARNAL, COMO TE VAS?"

HOW'S IT GOING?

[SPEAKS SPANISH]

NICE COAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

AND THERE'S QUITE A FEW THAT ARE--I DON'T WANT TO SAY--

REPEAT IN FRONT OF THE LADIES HERE, YOU KNOW?

THE ZOOT SUIT HAD AN ASSOCIATION

WITH BARRIO GANG MEMBERS KNOWN AS PACHUCOS,

ADDING AN AIR OF CRIMINALITY TO THE "DRAPES,"

THOUGH, LIKE THE BLACK LEATHER JACKET OF THE '50s,

SOME KIDS WORE IT JUST TO BE HIP.

WHILE THE ZOOT SUIT BECAME ITS SYMBOL,

THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF TENSIONS

BETWEEN ANGLOS AND LATINOS IN LOS ANGELES

WAS A HUGE NEW NAVY ARMORY FOR INDUCTION AND TRAINING

BUILT JUST BEFORE THE WAR: IN A TRADITIONALLY MEXICAN PART OF THE CITY.

THE TRIP FROM THE ARMORY TO THE BARS AND RED LIGHT DISTRICT DOWNTOWN

RAN RIGHT THROUGH A MEXICAN NEIGHBORHOOD,

LEADING TO CHARGES OF HARASSMENT FROM BOTH SIDES.

WHITE SERVICEMEN COMPLAINED: OF VERBAL ABUSE AND PHYSICAL ATTACKS

BY ZOOT SUITERS.

BUT LOCAL MEXICAN-AMERICAN YOUTH ALSO FELT BESIEGED.

THE SAILORS USED TO COME IN IN BUNCHES, DRUNK,

COME FROM DOWNTOWN AND PASS THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET TO THEIR BASE,

AND THEY WOULD SOMETIMES THINK

THAT OUR GIRLFRIENDS WERE PROSTITUTES

AND PROPOSITION THE GIRLS.

BY LATE SPRING 1943,

CONFRONTATIONS HAD BECOME A DAILY OCCURRENCE.

THEN, ON THE EVENING OF JUNE 4th,

THOSE SEETHING TENSIONS EXPLODED

IN WHAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE ZOOT SUIT RIOTS.

ABOUT 200 WHITE SAILORS AND MARINES ARMED

WITH STICKS AND BATS: TOOK TO THE STREETS, SEEKING REVENGE

FOR RECENT SCUFFLES.

ANYONE WEARING A ZOOT SUIT BECAME THE TARGET,

EVEN THOSE AS YOUNG AS 12.

MEXICAN-AMERICANS WERE BEATEN

ALONG WITH THOSE THAT TRIED TO STOP THE ATTACKERS

AND STRIPPED OF THEIR CLOTHES.

THE SERVICEMEN HALTED STREETCARS AND ENTERED BARS

IN SEARCH OF ZOOT SUITERS.

7-YEAR-OLD SAL CASTRO WAS IN A DOWNTOWN MOVIE THEATER.

THEY TURNED ON THE LIGHTS,

AND A BUNCH OF SAILORS WENT INTO THE THEATER

LOOKING FOR MEXICAN KIDS, THEN THEY YANKED THEM OUT

AND THEY STARTED TAKING OFF THEIR PANTS OR CUTTING THEIR TROUSERS,

AND THE WORST PART IS I SAID, "WELL, THEY'RE GOING TO STOP THIS.

THE COPS ARE COMING, AND THEY'RE GOING TO STOP IT."

HELL NO.

THE COPS STOOD THERE LAUGHING.

FOR 3 NIGHTS,

SERVICEMEN FREELY ROAMED THE STREETS

OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS, DOWNTOWN,

AND OTHER PARTS OF L.A.

IN TRUCKS AND HIRED TAXIS,

BEATING LATINOS ALONG WITH SOME AFRICAN-AMERICANS

AND AMERICAN FILIPINOS.

SO ANY TIME YOU WENT SOMEPLACE,

YOU EITHER-- IF SAW A TRUCK COMING WITH A BUNCH OF SAILORS,

YOU'D JUST DUCK, HIDE.

Villalobos: IT WAS HORRIBLE, BELIEVE ME.

VERY UN-AMERICAN.

IRONICALLY MANY OF THOSE VICTIMIZED IN THE ZOOT SUIT RIOTS

HAD BROTHERS AND FRIENDS IN THE MILITARY

OR WOULD END UP SERVING THEMSELVES.

A TARGET OF RIOTING SERVICEMEN,

RUDY LOPEZ WOULD JOIN THE MERCHANT MARINES,

THEN 2 YEARS LATER, THE ARMY.

THEY USED TO ASK ME, MY FRIENDS, "WERE YOU A PACHUCO?"

I SAID, "WELL, I USED TO WEAR THE PANTS,"

I SAID, "BUT I WASN'T A PACHUCO."

ON JUNE 13th, 1944,

THE U.S. NAVY BEGAN BOMBARDING THE ISLAND OF SAIPAN

IN THE JAPANESE-HELD MARIANA ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC.

THEY WERE SOFTENING UP JAPANESE DEFENSES

FOR AN INVASION.

AFTER 2 DAYS OF SHELLING,

8,000 MARINES HIT THE WESTERN BEACHES.

AMONG THEM WAS PRIVATE FIRST CLASS GUY GABALDON,

A MEXICAN-AMERICAN FROM CALIFORNIA

ABOUT TO ENTER HIS FIRST BATTLE OF THE WAR.

IT WAS 8: 45 IN THE MORNING THAT WE HIT THE BEACH.

IT WAS HOT AND HEAVY AND FURIOUS,

BULLETS HITTING THE SAND ALL AROUND YOU.

[MEN SHOUT]

I SAW A BODY--AND MARINE-- MARINES HAD JUST BEEN HIT--

AND I-I FROZE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I WASN'T SCARED.

I FROZE, AND IT WASN'T FEAR.

IT WAS--I SAID, "WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

I SHOULD BE BACK IN L.A. AT THE BOWLING ALLEY."

BORN IN 1926, GUY GABALDON GREW UP IN EAST LOS ANGELES,

THEN A DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOOD: OF MEXICAN, JAPANESE, JEWISH AND ARMENIAN FAMILIES.

HE WAS A STREET-SMART KID WHO TENDED TO GET INTO TROUBLE.

YOU'RE SCRAPPY, PUGNACIOUS, AND EVEN BEFORE YOUR TEENS,

WHEN YOUR GANG GETS INTO A FIGHT,

YOU ALWAYS PICK THE BIGGEST FELLA TO TACKLE YOURSELF.

ONCE, AFTER YOU HAVE YOUR NOSE BROKEN IN A FIGHT,

YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL TO HAVE IT FIXED,

AND WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT YOU CAME OUT OF THE HOSPITAL?

IT WAS BROKEN AGAIN.

YOU GOT INTO ANOTHER FIGHT AND GOT IT BROKEN ALL OVER AGAIN.

GABALDON'S BRAVADO MASKED A DEEP CURIOSITY

ABOUT THE WORLD.

IN SCHOOL HE GREW CLOSE TO SOME OF HIS JAPANESE CLASSMATES

AND THEIR FAMILIES.

BUT THAT CAME TO AN END: IN THE MONTHS FOLLOWING PEARL HARBOR,

WHEN THE U.S. GOVERNMENT INTERNED OVER 100,000 JAPANESE,

MORE THAN HALF OF THEM U.S. CITIZENS.

WITH HIS FRIENDS INTERNED,

GUY CELEBRATED HIS 17th BIRTHDAY BY JOINING THE MARINES.

THOUGH TOO SHORT AND HAVING A PERFORATED EARDRUM,

HE TALKED HIS WAY IN, CLAIMING TO BE FLUENT IN JAPANESE.

IN TRUTH, HE HAD ONLY PICKED UP A LITTLE.

BUT IT LED TO A JOB AS A SCOUT FOR AN INTELLIGENCE UNIT

DURING THE ATTACK ON SAIPAN.

THE DAY AFTER THE INVASION,

WHILE OTHERS SET UP AN OBSERVATION POST,

HE SLIPPED OUT BEYOND THE FRONT LINES TO THE NORTH.

I TOOK OFF ON MY OWN: AND WENT INTO JAPANESE TERRITORY,

AND I CAME BACK WITH A COUPLE OF PRISONERS,

AND MY COMMANDING OFFICER, CAPTAIN JOHN SCHWABE--

HE'S ONE HELL OF A NICE GUY--

HE SAYS, "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN.

YOU'RE NOT A PRIMA DONNA.

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WORK ON YOUR OWN."

I SAYS, "YES, SIR.

VERY GOOD, SIR,"

AND THAT NIGHT, I FILLED MY POCKETS WITH AMMUNITION

AND I WENT BACK TO THE JAPANESE TERRITORY.

ON HIS OWN, GABALDON CAPTURED A DOZEN MORE JAPANESE SOLDIERS.

SO I RETURNED TO THE AMERICAN LINES

WITH A WHOLE MESS OF JAPANESE PRISONERS,

AND HE SAYS, "WELL, WHAT THE HELL.

"LET THE LITTLE KID GO.

LET THE LITTLE JERK GO.

HE'S GETTING THE RESULTS."

SO I WENT ON MY OWN.

I CHOSE WHERE AND WHEN AND HOW

I WAS GOING TO FIGHT THE JAPANESE.

THE AMERICAN INVASION GRADUALLY PUSHED NORTH,

WITH THE JAPANESE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF VOLCANIC CAVES

TO HIDE DURING THE DAY AND ATTACK AT NIGHT.

APPROACHING THOSE CAVES BECAME A GABALDON SPECIALTY.

I'D SNEAK UP AND GET TO THE SIDE OF THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE

AND TOSS A FRAG GRENADE IN AND KILL A BUNCH OF THEM.

AND SOMETIMES ONE GUY WOULD COME OUT.

I'D HAVE MY CARBINE RIGHT ON HIM AND I'D SAY,

"I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU.

TELL YOUR BUDDIES TO COME ON OUT.

"I ASSURE YOU, WE'RE-WE'RE NOT GOING TO HARM YOU.

"IF YOU DON'T," I SAID, "I GOT A BUNCH OF MARINES

BEHIND ALL THOSE TREES THERE."

I HAD NO ONE.

I WAS ALONE.

I SAID, "YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE."

AND, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD WORK.

I CONNED THEM INTO SURRENDERING.

GABALDON RACKED UP MORE AND MORE CAPTURED SOLDIERS.

THE REMAINING JAPANESE WERE GROWING DESPERATE,

CUT OFF ON THE ISLAND FROM ALL MILITARY SUPPORT.

IN EARLY JULY, THEY TRIED A FINAL BANZAI ATTACK,

THE LARGEST OF THE WAR,

AND IT FAILED.

THE SURVIVING JAPANESE, PUSHED ALL THE WAY NORTH,

OCCUPIED CAVES IN THE CLIFFS ALONG THE SHORE.

RIGHT THERE AT THE CLIFFS, I TOOK A COUPLE OF PRISONERS

AND SENT ONE DOWN TO GET SOME MORE,

AND A FEW WOULD COME UP-- 10, 15, 20--

AND I SAID, "OH, MY GOD.

WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END?"

BEFORE I KNEW IT, IN 4 HOURS, I HAD 800 PRISONERS.

2 MARINES SAW ME.

COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY WERE SEEING,

THAT HERE WAS THIS ONE MARINE

WALKING BACK AND FORTH AMONG ALL THE JAPANESE,

AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL WAS HAPPENING.

SO THEN THEY FINALLY CAME DOWN.

I SAID, "GET YOUR ASS ON BACK AND GET SOME HELP,"

I SAID, "IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE THEY TURN ON ME."

GUY GABALDON WOULD BE CREDITED

WITH BRINGING IN OVER 800 PRISONERS THAT DAY,

AN UNMATCHED FEAT FOR A SINGLE SOLDIER

IN U.S. MILITARY HISTORY.

I'M 77 YEARS OLD, AND I LOOK BACK AND I SAY, "DID THIS REALLY HAPPEN?"

HIS WARTIME CAREER CAME TO AN END JUST WEEKS LATER

WITH A MACHINE-GUN WOUND TO HIS ARM AND HAND.

ALL TOLD ON SAIPAN, HE'D KILLED 33 ENEMY SOLDIERS

AND CAPTURED OVER 1500.

Announcer: HERE IS THE WAY IT WAS!

Narrator: 16 YEARS LATER, THOSE REMARKABLE EXPLOITS

WERE TURNED INTO A MOVIE--: "HELL TO ETERNITY."

Announcer: THE AMAZING TRUE STORY OF GUY GABALDON,

THE MARINE WHO CAPTURED MORE THAN 1,000 ENEMY PRISONERS SINGLEHANDED.

AT 5'4", GABALDON WAS PLAYED

BY A 6-FOOT ANGLO, JEFFREY HUNTER.

THAT HE WAS LATINO NEVER MADE IT ONTO THE SCREEN...

...SADLY, A METAPHOR FOR THE WAY MANY AMERICANS

WOULD SOON FORGET THE ROLE OF LATINOS IN WORLD WAR II.

THERE WAS NAVY SAILOR HECTOR ACEDO,

WHO SURVIVED THE TORPEDOING OF HIS SHIP

OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA.

AND THERE WAS JOSE ZARAGOZA OF THE COAST GUARD.

HE SPENT 15 MONTHS ON A LONELY ATOLL IN THE PACIFIC

SENDING OUT NAVIGATION SIGNALS TO SHIPS.

THERE WAS PEDRO DEL VALLE,

THE FIRST PUERTO RICAN TO REACH THE RANK OF MAJOR GENERAL

WHEN HE TOOK COMMAND OF THE 1st MARINE DIVISION

IN OCTOBER 1944.

AND CARMEN CONTRERAS-BOZAK: OF THE WOMEN'S ARMY AUXILIARY CORPS, THE WAACS.

SHE'D SHIP OUT FOR ALGIERS TO WORK A TELETYPE,

TRANSMITTING ENCODED MESSAGES TO THE BATTLEFIELD.

AND THEN THERE WAS PRIVATE JOE P. MARTINEZ,

KILLED LEADING A SUCCESSFUL CHARGE

AGAINST A KEY JAPANESE DEFENSIVE POSITION

WHEN THE ALLIES RETOOK THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS.

POSTHUMOUSLY, MARTINEZ WOULD BE AWARDED

THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR.

BY THE WAR'S END,

10 OTHER LATINOS WOULD EARN ONE AS WELL,

IN PROPORTION, MORE THAN ANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP,

EXEMPLARY SERVICE THAT MANY HOPED WOULD END

THE DISCRIMINATION LATINOS FACED BACK HOME.

M.C.

Garcia: MEXICAN-AMERICANS HAD A SECOND CLASS STATUS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY,

BUT ALSO, MEXICAN-AMERICANS BELIEVE IN THE UNITED STATES SO MUCH

THAT THEY VOLUNTEER IN RECORD NUMBERS

AND SERVE IN RECORD NUMBERS,

AND THERE IS AN EXPECTATION ON THEIR RETURN

THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR SERVICE,

BECAUSE THEY HAVE RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY,

THAT THE COUNTRY WILL WELCOME THEM,

THAT THEY WILL ACKNOWLEDGE: THAT, YES, YOU ARE FULL-FLEDGED MEMBERS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY,

AND IT DOESN'T EXACTLY WORK OUT THAT WAY.

WHEN THE LONG WAR FINALLY CAME TO AN END IN 1945,

ONE RETURNING VETERAN SAID, "MEXICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS

"SHED AT LEAST A QUARTER OF THE BLOOD SPILLED AT BATAAN.

"WHAT THEY WANT NOW IS A DECENT JOB, A DECENT HOME,

AND A CHANCE TO LIVE PEACEFULLY IN THE COMMUNITY."

ON AUGUST 23rd, 1945 IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,

MACARIO GARCIA BECAME THE FIRST MEXICAN NATIONAL

TO RECEIVE A CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

FOR HIS ACTIONS IN THE HURTGEN FOREST.

TRUMAN IS BEAMING AS HE PUTS THE MEDAL AROUND MACARIO'S NECK.

HE SAID, ".I WOULD RATHERHAVE ONE OF THESE

THAN BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

"/

MACARIO RETURNED TO THE HOUSTON AREA

TO A HERO'S WELCOME.

Olivas: HE WAS A ROCK STAR.

HE WAS IN THE PAPERS, HE WAS ON THE RADIO,

AND-AND HE WAS A-- HE WAS A GENUINE HERO.

Bailey: BUT HE RETURNED TO TEXAS.

TEXAS HADN'T CHANGED.

IT WAS STILL DEEP IN ITS MIRE OF CASTE SYSTEM.

JUST 2 1/2 WEEKS AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMAN

HAD PLACED THE MEDAL OF HONOR AROUND HIS NECK,

MACARIO GARCIA ENTERED A RESTAURANT IN RICHMOND, TEXAS,

NEAR HIS HOME IN SUGAR LAND, THE OASIS CAFE.

WELL, THE OASIS CAFE WAS AT THAT TIME

THE ONLY NIGHTSPOT IN RICHMOND.

THERE WERE SOME OTHER PLACES ACROSS THE TRACKS

THAT CATERED TO SOME OF THE MINORITIES,

BUT IT WAS--THIS WAS THE ONLY WHITE ESTABLISHMENT IN RICHMOND.

IT WAS QUITE WELL KNOWN AS A PLACE NOT HOSPITABLE TO MEXICANS.

THERE WAS NEVER ANY EVIDENCE THAT THEY PUT

THE "NO MEXICANOS NI PERROS" SIGN IN THE WINDOW,

BUT MEXICANS DIDN'T GO THERE.

WE HAD VERY FEW BLACKS OR MEXICAN-AMERICANS

COME IN AND ASK FOR SERVICE: BECAUSE WE DIDN'T CATER TO THEIR NEEDS.

WE DIDN'T HAVE THEIR KIND OF MUSIC.

WE DIDN'T HAVE THEIR KIND OF FOOD.

SO WE JUST DIDN'T SEE ANY OF THEM.

BUT MACARIO HAS DECIDED THAT IT'S TIME

FOR HIM TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT,

AND HE WANTS TO GO THERE TO HAVE IT.

THOUGH THE CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD BE DISPUTED,

ONE FACT EVERYONE AGREED UPON-- GARCIA WAS REFUSED SERVICE.

THE OWNER'S SON, TIRED OUT FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE THAT AFTERNOON,

WAS ASLEEP IN THE APARTMENT OVER THE CAFE.

ABOUT 11: 00, I HEARD GLASS BREAKING DOWNSTAIRS THAT WOKE ME UP,

AND I PUT ON MY CLOTHES AS QUICK AS I COULD

AND RAN DOWNSTAIRS TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON.

AND THE FIRST THING I SAW WAS A SERVICEMAN,

MEXICAN-AMERICAN SERVICEMAN IN UNIFORM,

AND HE WAS THROWING THINGS AT THE MIRRORED WALL.

MACARIO PICKS UP SALT SHAKERS...

SUGAR BOWLS... AND KETCHUP BOTTLES...

ANYTHING THAT CAME TO HAND.

WINDOWS BEGIN TO BREAK AND ALL KINDS OF GLASS.

A FIGHT BROKE OUT.

GARCIA WAS ARRESTED AND EVENTUALLY CHARGED.

IN HIS DEFENSE, HE ACCUSED THE OASIS OWNERS

OF REFUSING TO SERVE HIM BECAUSE OF HIS RACE.

HERE'S A MAN WHO'S FOUGHT AND SHED HIS BLOOD,

A MAN WHO RECEIVED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR,

AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

LOUIS PAYTON'S MOTHER GAVE A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT.

SHE TOLD ME LATER THAT HE HAD COME IN

AND WAS OBVIOUSLY DRUNK AND BELLIGERENT,

AND SHE WOULDN'T SERVE HIM.

THE INCIDENT WAS PICKED UP BY THE NATIONAL NEWS,

WITH MANY BELIEVING MACARIO'S ACCOUNT.

AND THERE WERE OTHER SIMILAR CONFRONTATIONS.

YET THE FACT REMAINED THAT DENYING MEXICAN-AMERICANS SERVICE IN A RESTAURANT

WASN'T ILLEGAL AND HAPPENED SO OFTEN IT WASN'T EVEN NEWSWORTHY.

BUT AFTER WORLD WAR II,

THEIR STATUS AS VETERANS STARTED TO CHANGE THAT PERCEPTION.

IN THE END, WHAT MATTERED MOST

WAS THE QUESTION THE INCIDENT RAISED.

HOW COULD A COUNTRY THAT FELT AN ENORMOUS DEBT TOWARDS ITS VETERANS

TREAT SOME AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS?

BY 1946, DR. HECTOR GARCIA HAD RETURNED TO CIVILIAN LIFE.

AT AGE 32, WORLDLY AND WELL EDUCATED,

GARCIA HAD MANY PATHS AVAILABLE TO HIM,

BUT HE CHOSE TO RETURN TO SOUTH TEXAS.

AT HIS SIDE WAS A YOUNG WOMAN HE'D MET

WHILE STATIONED IN ITALY, WANDA FUSILLO.

I. Garcia: SHE CAME FROM AN ARISTOCRATIC FAMILY.

SHE'S BEAUTIFUL, SHE'S ARTICULATE,

SHE'S VERY WELL EDUCATED, AND TYPICAL OF HECTOR,

HE DECIDES THAT THAT'S THE WOMAN HE WANTS TO MARRY.

SHE ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE WAS A SPANIARD

AND WOULD NOT KNOW THAT HE WAS MEXICAN-AMERICAN, SHE SAID,

UNTIL SHE CAME WITH HIM BACK TO CORPUS.

HECTOR AND WANDA SETTLED IN CORPUS CHRISTI,

A COASTAL CITY IN SOUTH TEXAS.

GARCIA STARTED UP HIS PRACTICE

AND SOON HAD A STEADY STREAM OF PATIENTS,

INCLUDING SEVERAL MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

MANY LIVED IN THE BARRIO, ONE OF THE POOREST IN THE STATE.

ONCE PAPA GOT ON HIS FEET: AND HE STARTED TREATING THESE PATIENTS IN THE BARRIO,

HE GOT TO SEE ALL OF THIS POVERTY FIRSTHAND.

THERE WERE, LIKE, FAMILIES OF 5 OR 6 PEOPLE

LIVING IN ONE-ROOM SHACKS.

THE BOARDS WERE SEPARATED.

THERE WERE NO FOUNDATIONS.

THERE WERE DIRT FLOORS.

THEY HAD NO SANITARY FACILITIES, NO RUNNING WATER.

THEY DIED OF MOSTLY TUBERCULOSIS.

THE INFANTS DIED OF DYSENTERY.

IT WAS JUST A BLEAK WAY OF LIFE.

AS A BOY GROWING UP IN MERCEDES,

GARCIA HAD KNOWN RURAL POVERTY,

AND HE HAD SEEN IT AND DISEASE IN WORN-TORN AFRICA AND EUROPE,

BUT THE URBAN POVERTY OF CORPUS CHRISTI

DISTURBED HIM EVEN MORE.

THIS LITTLE BOY BEGGED MY FATHER TO GO WITH HIM TO HIS HOUSE.

AND WHEN MY FATHER GOT THERE,

THE MOTHER HAD BURST HER LUNG FROM TUBERCULOSIS,

AND THERE WAS BLOOD ALL OVER THE 4 OR 5 CHILDREN IN BED WITH HER.

SO OF COURSE THEY GOT TUBERCULOSIS.

AND MY FATHER ASKED THE HUSBAND,

"WHY DIDN'T YOU COME AND GET ME?"

AND THE HUSBAND SAYS, "WE JUST COULDN'T AFFORD IT."

Announcer: THE G.I.

BILL OF RIGHTS.

Narrator: HECTOR ENCOUNTERED

MORE AND MORE STRUGGLING MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS

AT A TIME WHEN UNPRECEDENTED BENEFITS FOR VETERANS

WERE RESHAPING THE COUNTRY.

Man: JUST WHO GETS THE BENEFITS OF THIS BILL?

Announcer: ANY VETERAN, MALE OR FEMALE,

WITH MORE THAN 3 MONTHS' ACTIVE SERVICE

WHO HASN'T BEEN DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED.

Narrator: THE SERVICEMEN'S READJUSTMENT ACT OF 1944,

THE G.I.

BILL,

INCLUDED LOW-COST MORTGAGES THAT MOVED MILLIONS

FROM URBAN APARTMENTS TO SUBURBAN HOMES

AND EDUCATIONAL LOANS WHICH PUT OVER 2 MILLION VETERANS

INTO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

AND ANOTHER 6 MILLION INTO TRAINING PROGRAMS.

BUT THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS

GARCIA WAS SEEING IN HIS PRACTICE

HAD TROUBLE GETTING THESE AND OTHER BENEFITS

THEY'D EARNED THROUGH THEIR SERVICE.

AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF THESE STORIES,

HE STARTS TO PUT 2 AND 2 TOGETHER,

AND HE REALIZES THIS IS NOT INCIDENTAL

TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE INDIVIDUALS.

THIS IS SYSTEMATIC.

THIS IS A PROBLEM: THAT IS A LARGELY INSTITUTIONALIZED PROBLEM

THAT SEEMS TO TARGET MEXICAN-AMERICAN VETERANS, AND THIS INFURIATED HIM.

WHEN HECTOR GOT CHARGED ABOUT SOMETHING, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, GAME ON.

GARCIA BEGAN HOLDING MEETINGS

FOR VETERANS TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS.

BY MARCH OF 1948, THEY HAD BECOME THE FOUNDATION

OF A NEW MEXICAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATION,

THE AMERICAN G.I.

FORUM.

I. Garcia: THE IDEA WAS THIS IS A VETERANS' ORGANIZATION,

BUT IN HECTOR'S MIND, HE SAW ALL MEXICAN-AMERICANS

AS EITHER BEING VETERANS OR VETERANS BY PROXY,

BECAUSE THE WIFE THAT WAS SUPPORTIVE OF A MAN,

THE PARENTS WHO HAD RAISED A YOUNG MAN

WILLING TO DIE FOR HIS COUNTRY

WERE AS MUCH A PART OF THIS VETERANS AND MILITARY CULTURE.

AND SO EVERYBODY IN THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

BECOMES A VETERAN.

THIS INCIPIENT GROWTH OF VETERANS' ACTIVISM BEGINS TO-TO FLOURISH,

AND IN THE EARLY PART OF 1948, IT SIMPLY BLOWS UP.

THE CATALYST WAS THE CONTROVERSY

SURROUNDING THE BURIAL OF PRIVATE FELIX Z. LONGORIA, JR.,

KILLED IN ACTION IN THE PHILIPPINES.

IN 1948, AFTER HIS REMAINS FINALLY MADE IT BACK TO THE STATES,

HIS WIDOW BEATRICE TRIED TO MAKE FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

IN HIS HOMETOWN OF THREE RIVERS, TEXAS.

THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR REFUSED BECAUSE LONGORIA WAS A MEXICAN,

LATER TELLING A REPORTER, "THE WHITES WOULDN'T LIKE IT."

WORD OF THE REFUSAL REACHED HECTOR GARCIA,

AND HE SPRANG INTO ACTION,

CALLING NEWSPAPERS AND SENDING TELEGRAMS TO ELECTED OFFICIALS

FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,

EVEN PRESIDENT TRUMAN.

Ramos: THE STORY IS PUBLISHED.

THIS BECOMES A HUGE, HUGE CONTROVERSY.

GARCIA CALLED TOGETHER MEMBERS OF THE G.I.

FORUM: TO PLAN A PROTEST.

OVER 1,000 PEOPLE FILLED AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

IN CORPUS CHRISTI.

IN THE COURSE OF THE MEETING,

HECTOR RECEIVES A TELEGRAM FROM LYNDON JOHNSON,

WHO IS A NEWLY ELECTED SENATOR FROM TEXAS,

AND JOHNSON, ACTUALLY, AS A VETERAN HIMSELF,

WAS OUTRAGED AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES

AND VERY, VERY SYMPATHETIC TO HECTOR'S CONCERNS.

Announcer: A TEXAS WAR HERO REFUSED BURIAL IN HIS HOME TOWN

BECAUSE OF HIS MEXICAN ORIGIN

IS LAID TO REST AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

WITH AMERICA'S MOST HONORED DEAD.

Narrator: THE LONGORIA AFFAIR CHANGED HECTOR GARCIA'S LIFE.

IT LED TO A CLOSE BUT AT TIMES CONTENTIOUS FRIENDSHIP

WITH LYNDON JOHNSON,

GIVING THE DOCTOR UNUSUAL ACCESS

TO A WASHINGTON POWERBROKER AND FUTURE PRESIDENT.

IT ALSO PERMANENTLY CHANGED THE FOCUS

OF THE AMERICAN G.I.

FORUM: FROM VETERANS' RIGHTS TO CIVIL RIGHTS,

WITH HECTOR GARCIA LEADING THE WAY.

I. Garcia: WHEN HE'S PULLED INTO THE WHOLE ARENA

OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN REFORM,

HECTOR FINDS HIS CALL.

HE REALIZES THAT HE'S BEEN PREPARED FROM QUITE YOUNG.

HE BEGINS TO REMEMBER THAT WHEN THEY USED TO TRAVEL,

THEY WOULD STAY IN THE CAR.

THEY COULDN'T FIND HOTELS.

FATHER WOULD NOT TALK ABOUT IT AND SAY, "THIS IS RACISM,"

BUT THEY ALL KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

THE LONGORIA AFFAIR BRINGS TO HECTOR

ALL OF THESE EXPERIENCES.

HECTOR GARCIA WOULD QUICKLY BECOME THE MOST PROMINENT

MEXICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER OF HIS ERA.

UNDER HIS DIRECTION, THE AMERICAN G.I.

FORUM: WOULD GROW ACROSS TEXAS AND THE SOUTHWEST,

CHALLENGING SEGREGATION IN ITS MANY FORMS,

FROM DISPARITIES IN HEALTH SERVICES

TO SEGREGATION IN SCHOOLS: TO THE POLL TAXES THAT KEPT MEXICAN-AMERICANS

AND OTHER MINORITIES FROM VOTING.

UNTIL THOSE TAXES WERE OUTLAWED IN THE MID-1960s,

THE G.I.

FORUM HELD BEAUTY PAGEANTS,

WHERE THE WINNER WAS THE GIRL WHO RAISED THE MOST MONEY

TO PAY THE TAXES SO OTHERS COULD VOTE.

I. Garcia: IN HECTOR'S MIND, WHATEVER PROGRESS

THAT THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY WOULD ENGAGE IN

WOULD BE BY BECOMING MORE AMERICAN,

BY UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM, BY VOTING,

BY GOING INTO THE MILITARY, BY GETTING A GOOD EDUCATION.

HECTOR WANTED TO MAKE THIS BRIDGE--

BRING IN AMERICAN SOCIETY INTO THE BARRIO

AND BRING THE BARRIO INTO AMERICAN SOCIETY.

GARCIA WANTED MEXICAN-AMERICANS TO FOLLOW THE SAME PATH

AS OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS WHO HAD OVERCOME PREJUDICE

TO BECOME PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE UNITED STATES,

SUCH AS THE IRISH AND THE ITALIANS,

BUT HE ALSO PERCEIVED A DIRECT THREAT TO HIS PLANS--

A GROWING NUMBER OF MEXICANS: ILLEGALLY CROSSING THE BORDER IN SEARCH OF WORK.

AT THE CONSTANT RISK OF DEPORTATION,

UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS WERE EASILY EXPLOITED,

FORCED TO WORK LONG HOURS: AND TO LIVE IN DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS.

AS A DOCTOR, HECTOR GARCIA

HAD SEEN THOSE CONDITIONS FIRSTHAND IN SOUTH TEXAS

AND BELIEVED THEM INHUMANE AND UN-AMERICAN.

HE ALSO THOUGHT THE SEEMINGLY ENDLESS SUPPLY OF CHEAP LABOR

HURT MEXICAN-AMERICANS BY DRIVING DOWN WAGES,

FORCING WHOLE FAMILIES TO SEASONALLY MIGRATE NORTH

IN SEARCH OF BETTER PAY.

HIS SOLUTION WAS TO TAKE A STRONG STANCE

AGAINST THE HIRING OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS,

DRAWING A CLEAR DISTINCTION: BETWEEN MEXICAN AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN LABOR.

HE SAW ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS A REAL THREAT

TO THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY'S ABILITY TO STAY AT HOME,

GET EDUCATED, GET STABLE JOBS,

PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS AND BECOME AMERICAN.

BUT IN PUSHING FOR A RESTRICTION OF THE BORDER,

HECTOR AND THE AMERICAN G.I.

FORUM,

THEY WERE AT TIMES REPEATING THE STEREOTYPES

THAT AMERICANS HAD OF MEXICANS,

AND, IN FACT, IN THE ONE SPONSORED PAMPHLET,

"WHAT PRICE WETBACKS?"

WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY ONE OF HIS MOST LOYAL FRIENDS,

IT IS FULL OF STEREOTYPES: AND COMMENTS THAT WOULD MAKE ANYBODY CRINGE.

IN 1954, THE FORUM THREW ITS SUPPORT

BEHIND A QUASI-MILITARY SEARCH AND SEIZURE

OF ILLEGAL WORKERS CONDUCTED BY THE U.S. BORDER PATROL,

OPERATION WETBACK.

WITH ITS LATE-NIGHT RAIDS,

ITS DEPORTATION OF PEOPLE PULLED OFF THE STREETS,

AND THE BREAK-UP OF FAMILIES BASED ON CITIZENSHIP,

OPERATION WETBACK BROUGHT IMMEDIATE PROTESTS

FROM THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY,

ENOUGH TO CHANGE HECTOR GARCIA'S MIND.

I. Garcia: AND IT IS AT THAT MOMENT

WHERE YOU SEE HECTOR SHIFT HIS VIEWS.

THAT IS SUCH A PAINFUL ORDEAL

FOR THE MEXICAN AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY

THAT NOW YOU DON'T SEE MEXICAN-AMERICAN OR LATINO LEADERS

PROMOTING ANY KIND OF DEPORTATION CAMPAIGN.

AS IT TURNED OUT,

OPERATION WETBACK HAD LITTLE LASTING EFFECT.

DEPRESSED WAGES IN AGRICULTURAL WORK IN TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA

AND A GROWING U.S. ECONOMY

LED MANY MEXICAN-AMERICANS TO MOVE OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST,

AND WHERE MEXICAN-AMERICANS WENT,

THE AMERICAN G.I.

FORUM SOON FOLLOWED.

WITH PUERTO RICAN VETERANS IN THE NORTHEAST ALSO JOINING UP,

BY THE END OF THE 1950s,

THERE WERE MORE THAN 30 CHAPTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

FOR HECTOR GARCIA, THIS NETWORK PROVIDED THE LEVERAGE HE NEEDED

TO CHANGE THE LIVES OF LATINOS EVERYWHERE

THROUGH THE POWER OF THE BALLOT BOX.

Ramos: THIS IS THE ENDGAME THAT HECTOR GARCIA REALLY WAS AFTER.

UNTIL LATINOS, MEXICAN-AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR,

BECOME A NATIONAL POLITICAL FORCE

THAT CAN MAKE OR BREAK A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,

WE WILL ALWAYS BE A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY.

GARCIA'S TIMING WAS PERFECT.

THE 1960 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE WAS GOING TO BE CLOSE,

AND CANDIDATE JOHN KENNEDY HAD CHOSEN AN OLD FRIEND OF HECTOR'S

TO BE HIS RUNNING MATE, LYNDON JOHNSON.

LYNDON JOHNSON IS GOING TO DELIVER THE STATE OF TEXAS

AND OTHER STATES THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHWEST

BECAUSE OF HIS UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE

OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITIES,

AND HECTOR GARCIA IS HIS MAN TO GET THAT JOB DONE.

RATHER THAN POLITICIZE THE FORUM,

GARCIA CREATED A NEW ASSOCIATION,

THE VIVA KENNEDY CLUBS.

THEY HELD RALLIES, FUNDRAISERS AND VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES,

ALL TO ROLL OUT THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN VOTE

ON ELECTION DAY.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

AND AS IT TURNED OUT, EVERY VOTE COUNTED.

KENNEDY WON BY LESS THAN 1% OF THE POPULAR VOTE,

WITH MANY STATES CAPTURED BY VERY SMALL MARGINS.

IT WAS NOT LOST ON HECTOR: THAT THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION OWED SOMETHING VERY DIRECTLY

TO THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR THAT VICTORY.

HECTOR GARCIA WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY NEVER CAME THROUGH

WITH THE INITIATIVES AND APPOINTMENTS

GARCIA FELT MEXICAN-AMERICANS HAD EARNED.

BUT KENNEDY'S SUCCESSOR, LYNDON JOHNSON, DID.

HE APPOINTED MORE MEXICAN-AMERICANS

TO POSITIONS IN GOVERNMENT THAN ANY PRESIDENT BEFORE

AND HE PASSED LANDMARK LEGISLATION

MAKING ILLEGAL THE FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

HECTOR GARCIA HAD BATTLED FOR YEARS,

FROM SEGREGATION IN RESTAURANTS AND SCHOOLS

TO POLL TAXES.

WHILE MANY SAW THE NEW LAWS ONLY IN THE CONTEXT

OF THE BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT,

WHEN JOHNSON ADDRESSED CONGRESS,

HE INVOKED HIS OWN EXPERIENCE AS A TEACHER

IN A SMALL MEXICAN-AMERICAN SCHOOL IN TEXAS.

Johnson: MY STUDENTS WERE POOR

AND THEY KNEW EVEN IN THEIR YOUTH THE PAIN OF PREJUDICE.

THEY NEVER SEEMED TO KNOW WHY PEOPLE DISLIKED THEM,

BUT THEY KNEW IT WAS SO, BECAUSE I SAW IT IN THEIR EYES.

I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I MIGHT HAVE THE CHANCE

TO HELP THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THOSE STUDENTS

AND TO HELP PEOPLE LIKE THEM ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY.

BUT NOW I DO HAVE THAT CHANCE,

AND I'LL LET YOU IN ON A SECRET.

I MEAN TO USE IT.

[APPLAUSE]

Narrator: 20 YEARS AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR II,

THE CITIZENSHIP LATINOS HAD FOUGHT AND DIED FOR

HAD FINALLY ARRIVED,

BUT THE STRUGGLE FOR TRUE EQUALITY

WAS JUST BEGINNING.

Announcer: STILL TO COME ON "LATINO AMERICA CREATE A VIDEO TO SHARE

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