THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: RICARDO ROMO ON DR. HECTOR GARCÍA, A TRUE HERO FOR LATINO VETERANS, A MOMENT IN TIME THE MEN OF “E” COMPANY, SERGIO HERNANDEZ ON THE COST OF MEMORIAL DAY AND ADOLFO HARPO CELAYA ON SURVIVING THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS VIDEOS 1,2, AND 3.
We begin this Memorial Day weekend with Ricardo Romo’s Tejano Report chronicling the contributions to recognition of Latino Veterans by Dr. Hector García. Apart from being one of the many Latinos who contributed to the massive World War Two war effort, when Dr. Hector García learned that Felix Longoria, a decorated World War Two hero, was denied burial in the cemetery of his home town, García went to assure that Longoria got his proper burial enlisting the help of Lyndon Baines Johnson and securing Longoria’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The story of Felix Longoria has been chronicled by filmmaker John Valadez in the documentary The Longoria Affair. But García was not done, he went on to created the American GI Forum to help other Latino veterans. Be sure to check out Romo’s tribute.
Also on this Memorial Day we post a Moment in Time photograph of the Men of Company E, the World at Two company made up of Mexican Americans from Texas who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country when 2/3rds of the company of 300 men were killed on the same night in 1944.
Also recognizing World War Two heroism on this Memorial Day is the story of Adolfo “Harpo” Celaya and how he survived the torpedoing of the U.S.S. Indianapolis in 1945. This is a truly harrowing story. The USS Indianapolis was on a secret mission to deliver the atomic bomb that would end the war when it was torpedoed by the Japanese. Because of the secret nature, it took days for news of the sinking of the ship to get to officials. Of the 900 en that initially survived the explosion, only 300 survived five days in shark infested waters. In this three part video Harpo Celaya recounts what happened.
And last but not least cartoonist Sergio Hernández reminds us of the true cost of Memorial Day.
We salute our veteranos on this Memorial Day.
Tia Tenopia