Hispanic Americans in World War II

Hispanic American is an ethnic term used to categorize any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or any of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas.

[13] On December 7, 1941, when the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, many sailors with Hispanic surnames were among those who perished.

[14] PFC Richard I. Trujillo of the United States Marine Corps was serving aboard the battleship USS Nevada (BB-36) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

[16] In 1941, Commander Luis de Florez played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Special Devices Division of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (what would later become the NAWCTSD).

[24][25] In March 1943, Private First Class Joseph (Jose) R. Martinez, a member of General George S. Patton's Seventh Army, destroyed a German infantry unit and tank in Tunis by directing heavy artillery fire, saving his platoon from being attacked in the process.

[38] In 1945, when Kwajalein of the Marshall Islands was secured by the U.S. forces, Sergeant Fernando Bernacett from Puerto Rico was among the Marines who were sent to guard various essential military installations.

Valentin R. Fernandez was awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal for "maneuvering a Marine landing party ashore under constant Japanese attack" during the invasion of Saipan.

Louis Rua was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for "meritorious achievement at sea December 5–6, 1944, while serving aboard a U.S. Army large tug en route to the Philippines.

Gunner's Mate Second Class Joseph Tezanos was awarded a Navy & Marine Corps Medal during World War II for "...distinguished heroism while serving as a volunteer member of a boat crew engaged in rescue operations during a fire in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, T.H.

Under conditions of great personal danger from fire and explosions and with disregard of his own safety he assisted in the rescuing of approximately 42 survivors some of whom were injured and exhausted from the water and from burning ships."

[41] By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 109 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down, a patrol boat run aground by machine-gun fire, and destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks and trains.

When the war broke out, Perdomo joined the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) as an aviation cadet and was trained to fly the P-47 Thunderbolt.

Prior to World War II, traditional Hispanic cultural values expected women to be homemakers and they rarely left the home to earn an income.

After their basic training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, the Puerto Rican WAC unit (Company 6, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps) was assigned to the New York Port of Embarkation to work in military offices planning the shipment of troops around the world.

Among them was PFC Carmen García Rosado, who in 2006, authored and published a book titled "LAS WACS – Participacion de la Mujer Boricua en la Segunda Guerra Mundial" (The WACs –The Participation of the Puerto Rican Women in the Second World War), the first book to document the experiences of Puerto Rican women who participated in the war.

[68] Other Hispanic servicewomen like Contreras and Cubria served either in the WAACs, WAVES or MCWR (Marine Corps Women's Reserve); among them Lieutenant Junior Grade Maria Rodriguez-Denton.

Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she also received her primary and secondary education.

In 1945, Lozano Dumler was reassigned to the 359th Station Hospital of Ft. Read, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies, where she attended wounded soldiers who had returned from Normandy, France.

Upon the outbreak of World War II, del Valle led his regiment during the seizure and defense of Guadalcanal, providing artillery support for the 1st Marine Division.

After five weeks of fighting, del Valle ordered Company A of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines to capture Shuri Castle, a medieval fortress of the ancient Ryukyuan kings.

[73] In 1941, Commander Luis de Florez played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Special Devices Division of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (what would later become the NAWCTSD).

He led the effort to rescue five navy pilots and one enlisted gunner off Wake Island, and contributed to the sinking of two Japanese freighters and damaging a third.

Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez, USN, was a lieutenant commander who saw action aboard submarines and on various occasions weathered depth charge attacks.

[88] The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States bestowed "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in actual combat against an armed enemy force."

One notable USO entertainer was Desi Arnaz, the Cuban bandleader who starred opposite Lucille Ball in the television show I Love Lucy.

[102][103] Hispanic Americans who lived in the mainland benefited from the sudden economic boom as a result of the war, and the doors opened for many of the migrants who were searching for jobs.

Private First Class Raul Rios Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican, said that one of his drill instructors was particularly harsh on the Hispanic and black soldiers in his unit during his basic training at Fort Bragg.

[112] Private First Class Norberto Gonzalez, a Cuban-born New Yorker, experienced discrimination in his all-white battalion, where he was frequently asked about his name and place of birth, and found he was treated differently once fellow soldiers learned he was Hispanic.

In one notable case, the owner of a funeral parlor refused to allow the family of Private Felix Longoria, a soldier killed in action in the Philippines, to use his facility because "whites would not like it".

Officials in PBS announced that Burns' documentary would include additional content incorporating the Hispanic contributions to the war effort as result of public pressure.