Arizona’s Men and Women in Military Service to
America in World War II: A Preliminary View
America in World War II: A Preliminary View
By Christine Marin, Ph.D.
World War II dominated every aspect of the Mexican American’s life in the 1940s. As the United
States became threatened by a foreign enemies, Mexican Americans in Arizona responded to the
call for service and duty to their country, the United States.
Corporal Ruben Limas of Phoenix distinguished himself by serving as editor of an underground
newspaper and fashioning a unique American flag to attract planes during his 3 ½ years of
Japanese internment. Attached to the 60th Coast Artillery, Limas was captured by the Japanese at
Corregidor in December, 1941. He was a POW at the Toyama camp in the Nagoya, Japan district. It
was in this camp that he conceived the idea of attracting the attention of American planes flying
over the prison in the hope that aid could be brought to a dying comrade. He decided this could be
accomplished by fashioning an American flag large enough to be seen from the air. And so came
into existence the most unique representations of the Stars and Stripes ever created. Limas first
dug out his prized bed sheet and than made a requisition to the American medical officer in charge
for a bottle of mercurochrome. When an Arkansas boy donated a pair of blue trousers the problem
of the field for the stars was solved. The flag was completed in time to be used to cover the casket
of the boy whose life the flag was designed to save. On subsequent days, the emblem was used to
attract the attention of planes. Corporal Limas won the Bronze Star, the Presidential Unit Citation
with two Oak Leaf clusters, and the Philippine Defense Ribbon.
In January, 1944, the Distinguished Service Cross was awarded posthumously to Private First Class
Gilberto C. Estrada of Nogales, for extraordinary heroism on July 11, 1943, in the Solomon Islands.
The war department citation said Estrada, an infantryman, killed two enemy machine-gunners
when they attacked his company on the Munda trail in New Georgia. And Corporal Anthony
Santestebán of Winslow won the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action against the Japanese
on New Georgia Islands. The 20-year old Marine was a member of one of the artillery batteries
which helped pound the enemy into submission on Munda and Kolombangara. The parents of Tech.
Sgt. Richard Estrada Mora of Miami received a telegram from the war department stating their son’s
tragic death. Sgt. Mora was killed in action on the Marshall Islands on February 3, 1944. Private
First Class José S. Ramos of Globe was listed as KIA in the navy department casualty list in early
February, 1944. And Lt. Manuel Treviño, Jr., of Superior had completed twenty aerial bombing
missions in the South Pacific by February 13, 1944. Lt. Treviño, awarded the Air Medal with two Oak
Leaf clusters, had seven Japanese aircraft to attest to his courage.
The casualty list of Tucson men KIA was heavy: PFC Paul J. Berumen was killed when two Flying
Fortress bombers collided in action. Sgt. Alfonso M. Hernandez was KIA in Italy, April 24, 1944.
Marine Pvt. Anibal J. Norzagary was KIA in the South Pacific; Corporal Raul P. Moraga was KIA on
July 15, 1944 in Italy. Marine PFC. Merado D. Robles was KIA on the island of Saipan on June 24,
1944.
Those from the Salt River Valley also made their sacrifices: PFC Arnold Castro was recovering in a
rehabilitation center in England early in 1945 from wounds received near Le Haye du Puits, France.
For his heroism, he was awarded the Purple Heart. And for heroic achievement in action in northern
Italy with the Fifth Army, Staff Sgt. Mauricio M. Aragón of Avondale received the Bronze Star.
Corporal Charlie A. Lugo won the Purple Heart for heroism in battle in Saipan. Also a winner of the
Purple Heart, Pvt. Manuel G. Leyvas saw fierce action as a paratrooper in the African, Sicilian,
Italian, Normandy, and Belgium campaigns. And PFC Carman Peña was awarded the Bronze Star
for heroic conduct on the field of battle. The award was made for action in Germany, where he
saved the lives of three companions under heavy enemy fire. Let’s not forget Staff Sgt. Juan
Ramirez, reported to have died of wounds April 14, 1944 in Italy, and was awarded the Bronze Star
for heroism. At the outbreak of World War II, Valdemar Cordova joined the military at the age of 17,
just two courses shy of his graduation from Phoenix Union High School. While in the service, he flew
bombing missions until he was shot down over Germany. He was captured and spent 1 ½ years as
a POW at the Stalag Luft I Berth in Germany. For his service, he was awarded the Purple Heart.
Twenty-two Arizona soldiers were killed in the European and Southwest Pacific battlefields in early
1945. Among those KIA in the European area were Staff Sgt. Fernando Belis, Tucson; PFC Ernesto
Miguel, Yuma; PFC Hilario Padilla, Phoenix; PFC Ramón G. Ruiz, Clifton. Killed in the Southwest
Pacific were: Staff Sgt. Robert Gonzales, Nogales; Tech. Sgt. Hilario M. Gutierrez, Phoenix; PFC
Trinidad A. Gutierrez, St. Johns; and PFC Francis D. Zavala, Yuma.
So that men could be released for service overseas, many Mexican American women provided the
supportive services needed to continue the war effort. For example, PFC Carmen Martinez of
Phoenix served with the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. She was on duty as a typist and
filing clerk in the message center at the Marine barracks in Quantico, Virginia. And Privates Maria C.
Espinosa and Anita H. Garcia also enlisted in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve from Phoenix.
Private Dolores Alice Ozuna of Globe served with the stenographic unit at an Army airfield. Rose F.
Varela of Phoenix enlisted with the Waves. Mary Lou Mazón served in the Rapid City Army Air Base
in South Dakota in 1942. Sgt. Josie Orñelas served with the WACs in 1943. Maria D. Armijo of
McNary trained with the Army Corp at Fort Des Moines with a Wave unit. In 1945, Sgt. Vicenta R.
Torres, stationed in Italy as a WAC, had the duty of directing mail from Italy to American fighting
men stationed overseas. And in Phoenix, Pvt. Carmen C. Contreras became the 750th Arizona
woman to join the Army. And Cpt. Matilde Yanez of Phoenix served as chief nurse in a combat zone
hospital on the island of Luzon.
Born in Mexico to Valentίn Almanza and Felicitas Fierro Herrera and orphaned as a toddler, Silvestre
Herrera was raised in El Paso, Texas by a loving uncle and aunt, Librado and Gertrudis Santana. As
a young man, Herrera became a farm worker, and joined his family in the agricultural fields of
Texas. Already married to Ramona Hidalgo Guerrera, with three children, and another child on the
way, Herrera received his U.S. Army draft notice in 1944. His uncle reminded him that he was not a
United States citizen and was not obligated to join the military. But Herrera felt it was his duty to
fight and defend his adopted country, the United States. The Army sent him to Alabama for infantry
training. On March 15, 1945, near Mertzwiller, France, his squad was pinned down by enemy
German machine gun fire. Private First Class Herrera stood up and charged with the bayonet fixed
on his M-1 rifle. He tipped over one machine gun and captured eight German soldiers. The squad
advanced through a mine field toward another, better fortified machine-gun emplacement. Herrera
stepped on an anti-personnel mine, and both his feet were blown off. He was evacuated to
Bushnell General Hospital in Utah to receive medical care. On August 23, 1945, PFC Silvestre
Herrera was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in a special military ceremony by President
Harry S. Truman. He also received his United States citizenship upon his return to his Mexicano
community in Phoenix. Herrera was honored for his bravery with a proclamation by Governor Sidney
P. Osborn designating August 25, 1945 as “Sylvestre Herrera Day”. It didn’t matter that Herrera’s
first name was misspelled on the proclamation, however. What mattered is that he was recognized
by the citizens of the State of Arizona for his selfless act of courage and sacrifices at a time when
his country needed him the most.
The Governor and other important officials were at the Union Station in Phoenix to greet the train
bringing Herrera back home. He was the guest of honor at a patriotic parade down Central Avenue
that morning and he sat on top of the back of a brand new red convertible so the crowd could see
him pass by along the route. The parade stopped in front of the Republic and Gazette Building on
Central. A platform was draped with red, white and blue bunting. The people cheered for the
governor. They clapped for the mayor and Governor Osborn shouted “On behalf of the people of
Arizona, I’m proud and happy to welcome you home, Sergeant Herrera!” Anthropologist Beatrice
Griffith reports in her seminal study of Mexican Americans, American Me, published by Houghton
Mifflin in 1948, that “just a few days before, it had been necessary for the Governor to take action
to have removed from business establishments signs which said ‘NO MEXICAN TRADE WANTED!”
Mexican American men and women proved their American loyalties and bravery in wartime. Their
deaths, medals, citations, awards and unquestionable patriotism attest to their achievements and
contributions to the nation’s efforts in World War II.
States became threatened by a foreign enemies, Mexican Americans in Arizona responded to the
call for service and duty to their country, the United States.
Corporal Ruben Limas of Phoenix distinguished himself by serving as editor of an underground
newspaper and fashioning a unique American flag to attract planes during his 3 ½ years of
Japanese internment. Attached to the 60th Coast Artillery, Limas was captured by the Japanese at
Corregidor in December, 1941. He was a POW at the Toyama camp in the Nagoya, Japan district. It
was in this camp that he conceived the idea of attracting the attention of American planes flying
over the prison in the hope that aid could be brought to a dying comrade. He decided this could be
accomplished by fashioning an American flag large enough to be seen from the air. And so came
into existence the most unique representations of the Stars and Stripes ever created. Limas first
dug out his prized bed sheet and than made a requisition to the American medical officer in charge
for a bottle of mercurochrome. When an Arkansas boy donated a pair of blue trousers the problem
of the field for the stars was solved. The flag was completed in time to be used to cover the casket
of the boy whose life the flag was designed to save. On subsequent days, the emblem was used to
attract the attention of planes. Corporal Limas won the Bronze Star, the Presidential Unit Citation
with two Oak Leaf clusters, and the Philippine Defense Ribbon.
In January, 1944, the Distinguished Service Cross was awarded posthumously to Private First Class
Gilberto C. Estrada of Nogales, for extraordinary heroism on July 11, 1943, in the Solomon Islands.
The war department citation said Estrada, an infantryman, killed two enemy machine-gunners
when they attacked his company on the Munda trail in New Georgia. And Corporal Anthony
Santestebán of Winslow won the Purple Heart for wounds suffered in action against the Japanese
on New Georgia Islands. The 20-year old Marine was a member of one of the artillery batteries
which helped pound the enemy into submission on Munda and Kolombangara. The parents of Tech.
Sgt. Richard Estrada Mora of Miami received a telegram from the war department stating their son’s
tragic death. Sgt. Mora was killed in action on the Marshall Islands on February 3, 1944. Private
First Class José S. Ramos of Globe was listed as KIA in the navy department casualty list in early
February, 1944. And Lt. Manuel Treviño, Jr., of Superior had completed twenty aerial bombing
missions in the South Pacific by February 13, 1944. Lt. Treviño, awarded the Air Medal with two Oak
Leaf clusters, had seven Japanese aircraft to attest to his courage.
The casualty list of Tucson men KIA was heavy: PFC Paul J. Berumen was killed when two Flying
Fortress bombers collided in action. Sgt. Alfonso M. Hernandez was KIA in Italy, April 24, 1944.
Marine Pvt. Anibal J. Norzagary was KIA in the South Pacific; Corporal Raul P. Moraga was KIA on
July 15, 1944 in Italy. Marine PFC. Merado D. Robles was KIA on the island of Saipan on June 24,
1944.
Those from the Salt River Valley also made their sacrifices: PFC Arnold Castro was recovering in a
rehabilitation center in England early in 1945 from wounds received near Le Haye du Puits, France.
For his heroism, he was awarded the Purple Heart. And for heroic achievement in action in northern
Italy with the Fifth Army, Staff Sgt. Mauricio M. Aragón of Avondale received the Bronze Star.
Corporal Charlie A. Lugo won the Purple Heart for heroism in battle in Saipan. Also a winner of the
Purple Heart, Pvt. Manuel G. Leyvas saw fierce action as a paratrooper in the African, Sicilian,
Italian, Normandy, and Belgium campaigns. And PFC Carman Peña was awarded the Bronze Star
for heroic conduct on the field of battle. The award was made for action in Germany, where he
saved the lives of three companions under heavy enemy fire. Let’s not forget Staff Sgt. Juan
Ramirez, reported to have died of wounds April 14, 1944 in Italy, and was awarded the Bronze Star
for heroism. At the outbreak of World War II, Valdemar Cordova joined the military at the age of 17,
just two courses shy of his graduation from Phoenix Union High School. While in the service, he flew
bombing missions until he was shot down over Germany. He was captured and spent 1 ½ years as
a POW at the Stalag Luft I Berth in Germany. For his service, he was awarded the Purple Heart.
Twenty-two Arizona soldiers were killed in the European and Southwest Pacific battlefields in early
1945. Among those KIA in the European area were Staff Sgt. Fernando Belis, Tucson; PFC Ernesto
Miguel, Yuma; PFC Hilario Padilla, Phoenix; PFC Ramón G. Ruiz, Clifton. Killed in the Southwest
Pacific were: Staff Sgt. Robert Gonzales, Nogales; Tech. Sgt. Hilario M. Gutierrez, Phoenix; PFC
Trinidad A. Gutierrez, St. Johns; and PFC Francis D. Zavala, Yuma.
So that men could be released for service overseas, many Mexican American women provided the
supportive services needed to continue the war effort. For example, PFC Carmen Martinez of
Phoenix served with the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. She was on duty as a typist and
filing clerk in the message center at the Marine barracks in Quantico, Virginia. And Privates Maria C.
Espinosa and Anita H. Garcia also enlisted in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve from Phoenix.
Private Dolores Alice Ozuna of Globe served with the stenographic unit at an Army airfield. Rose F.
Varela of Phoenix enlisted with the Waves. Mary Lou Mazón served in the Rapid City Army Air Base
in South Dakota in 1942. Sgt. Josie Orñelas served with the WACs in 1943. Maria D. Armijo of
McNary trained with the Army Corp at Fort Des Moines with a Wave unit. In 1945, Sgt. Vicenta R.
Torres, stationed in Italy as a WAC, had the duty of directing mail from Italy to American fighting
men stationed overseas. And in Phoenix, Pvt. Carmen C. Contreras became the 750th Arizona
woman to join the Army. And Cpt. Matilde Yanez of Phoenix served as chief nurse in a combat zone
hospital on the island of Luzon.
Born in Mexico to Valentίn Almanza and Felicitas Fierro Herrera and orphaned as a toddler, Silvestre
Herrera was raised in El Paso, Texas by a loving uncle and aunt, Librado and Gertrudis Santana. As
a young man, Herrera became a farm worker, and joined his family in the agricultural fields of
Texas. Already married to Ramona Hidalgo Guerrera, with three children, and another child on the
way, Herrera received his U.S. Army draft notice in 1944. His uncle reminded him that he was not a
United States citizen and was not obligated to join the military. But Herrera felt it was his duty to
fight and defend his adopted country, the United States. The Army sent him to Alabama for infantry
training. On March 15, 1945, near Mertzwiller, France, his squad was pinned down by enemy
German machine gun fire. Private First Class Herrera stood up and charged with the bayonet fixed
on his M-1 rifle. He tipped over one machine gun and captured eight German soldiers. The squad
advanced through a mine field toward another, better fortified machine-gun emplacement. Herrera
stepped on an anti-personnel mine, and both his feet were blown off. He was evacuated to
Bushnell General Hospital in Utah to receive medical care. On August 23, 1945, PFC Silvestre
Herrera was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in a special military ceremony by President
Harry S. Truman. He also received his United States citizenship upon his return to his Mexicano
community in Phoenix. Herrera was honored for his bravery with a proclamation by Governor Sidney
P. Osborn designating August 25, 1945 as “Sylvestre Herrera Day”. It didn’t matter that Herrera’s
first name was misspelled on the proclamation, however. What mattered is that he was recognized
by the citizens of the State of Arizona for his selfless act of courage and sacrifices at a time when
his country needed him the most.
The Governor and other important officials were at the Union Station in Phoenix to greet the train
bringing Herrera back home. He was the guest of honor at a patriotic parade down Central Avenue
that morning and he sat on top of the back of a brand new red convertible so the crowd could see
him pass by along the route. The parade stopped in front of the Republic and Gazette Building on
Central. A platform was draped with red, white and blue bunting. The people cheered for the
governor. They clapped for the mayor and Governor Osborn shouted “On behalf of the people of
Arizona, I’m proud and happy to welcome you home, Sergeant Herrera!” Anthropologist Beatrice
Griffith reports in her seminal study of Mexican Americans, American Me, published by Houghton
Mifflin in 1948, that “just a few days before, it had been necessary for the Governor to take action
to have removed from business establishments signs which said ‘NO MEXICAN TRADE WANTED!”
Mexican American men and women proved their American loyalties and bravery in wartime. Their
deaths, medals, citations, awards and unquestionable patriotism attest to their achievements and
contributions to the nation’s efforts in World War II.
| Photographs: Chicano Research Collection, Hayden Library |
Dr. Christine Marin Curator/Archivist and Historian of the
Chicano Research Collection, Department of Archives andd
Special Collections, Hayden Library, Arizona State University
E-mail: Christine.Marin@asu.edu
Chicano Research Collection, Department of Archives andd
Special Collections, Hayden Library, Arizona State University
E-mail: Christine.Marin@asu.edu
| ADVERTISEMENT |
Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in Phoenix, Arizona
|
| HISTORY IS ABOUT TO CHANGE Grassroots Journalism |
