Remembering Latino Warriors for the U.S.

By Phillippe Diederich, Voxxi

Memorial Day marks the official start of summer. Businesses go bonkers with advertising, offering sales on everything from cars to toasters. But Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, a day when we honor the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who gave their life for our country.

The holiday was originally created to remember the fallen soldiers of the Civil War, but it has gone on to become a day to remember too many dead in too many wars.

Latinos have been fighting for the U.S. since the days of the American Revolution, if you consider the Spaniard, George Farraghut, who aided the U.S. in that war while he was governor of Louisiana. Latinos, mostly of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent fought on both sides of the Civil War; most notably was the New Mexico Volunteer Infantry, which had 157 Hispanics officers and the Benavides Regiment of the Confederate units of Texas.

According to the Department of Defense, anywhere from 250 thousand to half a million Hispanics served in WWII and about 80 thousand Hispanics served in the Vietnam War; although it’s difficult to get the exact number of Latinos who fought in those wars because no one was really keeping a tally on ethnicity back then. And since soldiers of color were given non-combatant assignments in WWI and WWII, many Latinos lied about their ethnicity. One of those was Private David Bannes Barkley, of Laredo TX. When he volunteered in the army during WWI, Barkley lied about being Latino, (he had an Anglo father and a Mexican-American mother) in order to be assigned to a combat unit overseas. While in France, Pvt. Barkley volunteered to swim across the Meuse River under heavy enemy fire to spot enemy positions and drowned while swimming back. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery, but it wasn’t until 1989 that his heritage was discovered. In a ceremony celebrating Hispanic Heritage Week he was recognized as the first Hispanic to receive the Medal of Honor.

Since Barkley there have been countless Latino soldiers cited for their heroism. Soldiers like Silvestre Herrera whose Medal of Honor citation reads: “Pvt. Herrera again moved forward, disregarding the danger of exploding mines, to attack the position. He stepped on a mine and had both feet severed but, despite intense pain and unchecked loss of blood, he pinned down the enemy with accurate rifle fire…”

Latino Warriors for the U.S.

Private First Class Harold Gonsalves: “As they reached the front and a Japanese grenade fell close within the group, instantly Pfc. Gonsalves dived on the deadly missile, absorbing the exploding charge in his own body and thereby protecting the others from serious and perhaps fatal wounds.”

Private first Class Eugene Obregon: “…seizing the wounded marine’s carbine, he placed his own body as a shield in front of him and lay there firing accurately and effectively into the hostile group until he himself was fatally wounded by enemy machine gun fire.”

Sergeant First Class Louis Rocco: “Ignoring his injuries, he extracted the survivors from the burning wreckage, sustaining burns to his own body. Despite intense enemy fire, WO Rocco carried each unconscious man across approximately 20 meters of exposed terrain to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam perimeter. On each trip, his severely burned hands and broken wrist caused excruciating pain, but the lives of the unconscious crash survivors were more important than his personal discomfort, and he continued his rescue efforts. Once inside the friendly position, WO Rocco helped administer first aid to his wounded comrades until his wounds and burns caused him to collapse and lose consciousness.”

Today Latinos continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in unprecedented numbers. According to the Department of Defense, over 20,000 Latinos served in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

In 2002 the David B. Barkley Plaza in Laredo was built and named for Private Barkley. The memorial honors the 41 Hispanic soldiers who have received the Medal of Honor.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Phillippe Diederich is a freelance writer, photographer & educator. His work has appeared in the NYT, Time magazine, US News, and he has won numerous awards for his photography & writing. Born in the Dominican Republic & raised in Mexico City and Miami.