DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. World War II. Hundreds of thousands of Latino and Latina Americans put on the uniform and shipped out to fight for a freedom that, when they came home, didn't always extend to them.
They returned with hope. They returned with idealism. And they returned to entrenched prejudice.
Now, one of those veterans was a Texas-raised doctor named Hector Perez Garcia. Decorated. Served in the U.S.
Army Medical Corps in Europe. Came home and went to work treating servicemen for the Veterans Administration in Corpus Christi. And it was right there — in the middle of doing that work — that Dr.
Garcia personally encountered the discrimination being leveled against Mexican Americans. He saw it up close. And he vowed to do something about it.
So here's what doing something looked like. On March 26, 1948, approximately 700 Mexican American veterans gathered at the Mirabeau B. Lamar Elementary School auditorium in Corpus Christi.
Seven hundred people walking through those doors with a shared purpose. And when they walked out, they had organized The American G.I. Forum.
From the start, this was about more than a meeting — the membership went on to form a women's auxiliary and a Junior G.I. Forum, because the entire family was part of the concept from the beginning. But the moment that took the Forum from Corpus Christi to the national consciousness — that came in 1949, and it came wrapped in grief.
Private Felix Longoria had served during the war. He was killed in action in the Pacific. When the military repatriated his remains to Three Rivers, in Live Oak County, his widow sought the use of a local funeral home's chapel for the wake.
The funeral home denied her. Let that land for a second. A man who died in service to his country.
His widow. A chapel for a wake. Denied.
Dr. Garcia agreed to intercede on behalf of the family. What followed became known as the Longoria Affair, and it established the American G.I.
Forum as a key Latino civil rights advocate before the whole country was watching. Founded to guarantee benefits for Mexican American veterans returning to Texas and to help protect their rights, the Forum grew into a national leader in education, voting, and civil rights advocacy. Today it continues to champion civil rights and provide Latinos with education, employment, and housing assistance.
Seven hundred veterans walked into a school auditorium one March night in 1948. What they built is still standing.
What the marker says
World War II provided Latino and Latina Americans with opportunities to fight for freedom around the world. Hundreds of thousands served in the U.S. Armed Forces, returning with hope and renewed idealism but often facing entrenched prejudice. While treating servicemen for the Veterans Administration in Corpus Christi, Texas-raised Dr. Hector Perez Garcia personally encountered discrimination against Mexican Americans. A decorated veteran who served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Europe, Garcia vowed to improve conditions for the Mexican American community and its veterans. On March 26, 1948, approximately 700 Mexican American veterans met at the Mirabeau B. Lamar Elementary School auditorium and organized The American G.I. Forum. Later, the membership formed a women's auxiliary and a Junior G.I. Forum, reinforcing emphasis on the involvement of the entire family as an important concept in the group. A 1949 event raised the American G.I. Forum into the national consciousness. Private Felix Longoria served during the war and was killed in action in the Pacific. When the military repatriated his remains to Three Rivers (Live Oak Co.), a local funeral home denied his widow the use of its chapel for the wake. Dr. Garcia agreed to intercede on behalf of the family, and the "Longoria Affair" established the American G.I. Forum as a key Latino civil rights advocate. Founded to guarantee benefits for Mexican American veterans returning to Texas and help protect their rights, the organization grew to become a national leader in education, voting, and civil rights advocacy. Today, the forum continues to champion civil rights and provide Latinos with education, employment and housing assistance. Texas in World War II - 2008