DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Macario García — and friend, this one deserves every word. Macario García was born on January 2, 1920, in Villa de Castaño, Mexico, to Luciano and Josefa García. Three years later, the family made their way to Fort Bend County, Texas, to pick crops in Sugar Land.
A young boy, a new country, flat fields stretching out to the horizon. Nobody knew then what this kid was going to do. In 1942, García was drafted into the U.S.
Army to fight in World War II. He crossed an ocean. He landed in the fire.
He was wounded in action at Normandy in June 1944 — and here's the thing about Macario García — he recovered, and he rejoined his unit. Company B, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. He went back.
Then came November 1944. Grosshau, Germany. The kind of place and the kind of moment that separates a man from what he thought his limits were.
García, already wounded, went after two German machine-gun emplacements. Not one — two. He destroyed them.
He secured his company's position. Wounded. Still standing.
For what he did at Grosshau, President Harry S. Truman presented Macario García with the Congressional Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony on August 23, 1945. He also came home carrying the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart, and the Medal Mérito Militar — that last one being the Mexican equivalent of the U.S.
Medal of Honor. Two nations had looked at this man and said: him. That one.
And then — and you need to sit with this for a moment — in Texas, in September 1945, Macario García, Medal of Honor recipient, was denied service at a local restaurant because he was Hispanic. He was ultimately arrested. That is not a small thing.
That is not an aside. The marker calls it what it was: indicative of the treatment many minority veterans received following military service. García's case became highly visible in the early years of the American Civil Rights movement.
Several groups came to his aid, including LULAC — the League of United Latin American Citizens. The country that had honored him at the White House now had to reckon with what it had done to him on a Texas sidewalk. On June 25, 1947, Macario García became a U.S. citizen.
He went on to work for the Veterans Administration for twenty-five years. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major.
He died in a car accident in 1972 and is buried in the Houston National Cemetery. A Houston Army Reserve Center carries his name. A school in Sugar Land carries his name — the same Sugar Land where his family once came to pick crops.
Macario García picked something else entirely. He picked up and kept going, every single time. That's the story the marker tells, and it's one worth knowing.
What the marker says
Macario García was born on January 2, 1920, in Villa de Castaño, Mexico, to Luciano and Josefa García. The family moved to Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1923 to pick crops in Sugar Land. In 1942, Macario García was drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in World War II. He was wounded in action at Normandy in June 1944 but recovered and rejoined his unit, Company B, 1st Batallion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. In November 1944 at Grosshau, Germany, García destroyed two German machine-gun emplacements; although wounded, he secured his company's position. For his actions, García received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman in a White House ceremony on August 23, 1945. He also received other commendations, including the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart and the Medal Mérito Militar, the Mexican equivalent of the U.S. Medal of Honor. In Texas in September 1945, García was denied service at a local restaurant because he was Hispanic. He was ultimately arrested. Indicative of the treatment many minority veterans received following military service, García's case became highly visible in the early years of the American Civil Rights movement, and several groups including LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) came to his aid. On June 25, 1947, García became a U.S. citizen. He worked for the Veterans Administration for 25 years and served in the U.S. Army Reserves, attaining the rank of Command Sergeant Major. He died in a car accident in 1972 and is buried in the Houston National Cemetery. A Houston Army Reserve Center and a school is Sugar Land are also named in his honor. (2006)