Hector Garcia Research Paper

Hector P. Garcia
Hector Garcia was born January 17, 1914 in Llera, Tamaulipas, Mexico. His father, a college professor, Jose Garcia, and his mother, a school teacher, Faustina Perez Garcia were threatened by the Mexican Revolution. In response of having seven children in the middle of a war for independence the family decided to flee. The Garcias legally settled in Mercedes, Texas. At first the family had to satisfy their daily needs by manual labor. Jose later joins his brothers in the dry goods business for their compensation. Throughout the children’s lives, it was instilled in them to always strive for a proper education. These teachings had a return in all of the children receiving a degree in medicine (Rozeff). From fighting Mexican American
Obviously it was appreciated after acquiring a total of six battle stars and a bronze star. No matter the color of his skin, his accomplishments were universally accepted. After going above and beyond in foreign lands, Hector finally returned home. Seeing his fellow Mexican American veterans struggling because of their government rejecting them, Hector decided to revise these problems. He helped these people when they needed it the most. “Judge James deAnda recalled accompanying the doctor to an abandoned railroad boxcar to treat a dying grandfather. ‘He took care of the man, and we would go in other homes that were just about as humble,’ deAnda said. ‘The people obviously had no means of paying or even getting to his office. He would see all these people and administer to them. They had just absolute faith in the
To further step towards ending segregation, Garcia organized the American G.I. Forum. This group was aimed towards Hispanic veterans’ civil rights (Taylor). This forum was first assembled in a elementary school classroom on March 26, 1948. This led to have chapters in forty cities. Within months the discrimination of Mexican American veteran who was gunned down by a Japanese sniper reached national attention. Felix Longoria, a private in the U.S. military, was refused the right to be buried in his hometown of Three Rivers, Texas. The funeral director refused to proceed with the service due to the color of his skin. Dr. Garcia caught word and appealed for redress of the situation. Sen. Johnson offered the widow for the man to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia with full military honors