Among Alcoser’s most lasting memories, for example, was of “bodies floating all over the water” after a midnight battle east of New Guinea. He added, “During battle we were all brothers, but on non-combat days there was discrimination on the ship.” In another instance, Air Force pilot Roberto Cardenas was shot down by the Nazis on the German side of Lake Constance. He was awarded a Purple Heart after using the water skills he honed along the beaches of San Diego to swim three miles before being rescued by a Swiss rowboat. 2 Domingo Zatarian, the son of Mexican immigrants and a native San Diegan, was one of four brothers to serve. He went to Germany and England with the infantry and later recalled, “I missed every- thing from home... steaks, refried beans, tortillas, the shore and, of course, my family.” 3 More than distant memories or lost snip- pets of history, these stories and thousands like them established the foundation for Latino veterans to demand full inclusion in the military and full access to their civil rights after the war.
(Photos courtesy of the Voces Oral History Center • The University of Texas at Austin)
Joe Alcoser U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
Robert Cardenas U.S. Air Force WWII Veteran
Domingo Zarian U.S. Navy WWII Veteran
Latino soldiers were both U.S.-born and immigrants, hailing from Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban communities across the U.S. and the Americas. Because the military was still segregated, many were assigned to white units. Others, especially Afro Latinos, were assigned to segregated units with African Americans.
Photos: Mary Casillas Salas shares her Chula Vista family’s service to our country. Six uncles and her father, Nicolaz Casillas, served in the military: Four during World War II.
“During battle we were all brothers, but on non-combat days there was discrimination on the ship.”
Latinas enlisted, too, as part of the Army’s WACS (Women Army Corps) and the Navy’s WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Service).
Proportionately, Latinos earned more Congressional Medals of Honor than their percentage of the U.S. population; more than any other non-white, ethnic group. Countless chroniclesof sacrifice demonstrate Latino efforts to prove they were as American as anyone else.
Joseph Casillas U.S. Army WWIIVeteran POW • Purple Heart, Bronze Star & Silver Star
Nicolaz Casillas U.S. Army WWIIVeteran
Ruben Casillas U.S. Army WWIIVeteran PurpIe Heart
Joe David Casillas U.S. Army WWIIVeteran
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 3 – Service To America, Struggles With America
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