Erasure

Every now and then, Hispanics/Latinos are reminded that we, for the most part, remain invisible and anonymous to Anglos.

Apparently Ken Burns has put together another one of his documentaries and it will have the usual subtext – America is a White and Black society. He did this in Jazz and basically neglected how Latin music influenced jazz by reintroducing American Blacks to African rhythms. Baseball was again this White and Black motif with Latinos getting the short shrift and now to absolutely no ones surprise a WWII documentary in which Latinos are never mentioned just like he did when he covered the Civil War.

One needs to only look at the list of Hispanics who were awarded the Medal of Honor in the Second World War to wonder what is the matter with Ken Burns. What is particularly grotesque about this documentary is that it is scheduled to begin airing on the 16th of September on PBS, i.e., the start of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Here is the WWII list [those names with an asterisk are for the men awarded the medal posthumously:

Lucian Adams

Staff Sergeant, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: St. Die, France, October 1944. Entered Service and Place of Birth: Port Arthur, Texas

Rudolph B. Davila

First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company H, 7th Infantry, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Artena, Italy, 28 May, 1944. Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif. Date and Place of birth: 27 April 1916, El Paso, TX. Davila was of Hispanic-Filipino descent and the only person of Filipino ancestry to receive the medal for his actions in the war in Europe.

Marcario Garcia

Staff Sergeant, Company B, 22d Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Near Grosshau, Germany, November 27, 1944. Entered Service at: Sugar Land, Texas. Place of Birth: Villa de Castano, Mexico. Garcia was the first Mexican Medal of Honor recipient.

Harold Gonsalves*

Private First Class, 4th Battalion, 15th Marines, 6th Marine Division, United States Marine Corps Reserve, Place and Date of Action: Ryūkyū Chain, Okinawa, April 15, 1945. Place of Birth: Alameda, California.

David M. Gonzalez*

Private First Class, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32 Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, April 25, 1945 Entered Service and Place of Birth: Pacoima, California.

Silvestre S. Herrera

Private First Class, Company E, 142d Infantry, 36th Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Near Mertzwiller, France, March 15, 1945. Entered service at: Phoenix, Arizona. Place of Birth: Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico. He is the only living person authorized to wear the Medal of Honor and Mexico's equivalent "Premier Merito Militar" (Order of Military Merit).

Jose M. Lopez

Sergeant, 2d Infantry Division, United States Army. Entered Service: Brownsville, Texas. Place and Date of Action: Near Krinkelt, Belgium, December 17, 1944. Place of Birth: Mission, Texas.

Joe P. Martinez*

Private, Company K, 32d Infantry, 7th Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Attu, Aleutians, May 26, 1943. Entered service at: Ault, Colorado, Place of Birth: Taos, New Mexico. He was the first Hispanic-American recipient who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for combat heroism on American soil during World War II.

Manuel Perez Jr.*

Private First Class, Company A 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Fort William McKinley, Luzon, Philippine Islands, February 13, 1945. Entered service at Chicago, Illinois. Born: 3 March 1923. Place of Birth: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Cleto L. Rodriguez

WTechnical, Company B, 148th Infantry, 37th Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Paco Railroad Station, Manila, Philippine Islands, February 9, 1945. Entered Service: San Antonio, Texas, Place of Birth: San Marcos, Texas.

Alejandro R. Ruiz

Private First Class, 165th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Okinawa, April 28, 1945. Entered Service at: Carlsbad, New Mexico. Place of Birth: Loving, New Mexico.

Jose F. Valdez*

Private First Class, Company B, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division, United States Army. Entered Service at: Pleasant Grove, Utah. Place and Date of Action: Rosenkrantz, France, January 25, 1945. Place of Birth: Governador, New Mexico.

Ysmael R. Villegas*

Staff Sergeant, Company F, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division, United States Army. Place and Date of Action: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, March 20, 1945. Place of Birth: Casa Blanca, California.

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