Beyond the Latino World War II Hero: The Social and Political Legacy of a Generation

Acknowledgments

Numerous persons have assumed varied roles and responsibilities in the production of this book. The Latinos/as who left a legacy of service and sacrifice under the difficult circumstances of the World War II period deserve recognition .Theirsingularexperiencesprovidethebasisforourinterpretationofthe larger Latino historical record, as well as that of World War II and its impact onU.S.society.TheLatinomenandwomenwhohavesharedtheirmemories, as well as the researchers who have interviewed them and created valuable oral narratives, have been especially important in recovering and preserving thishistoricalrecord.ResearchprogramsliketheU.S.Latino&LatinaWorld WarIIOralHistoryProjectattheUniversityofTexasatAustinhaveservedas focal points in recalling this memory and recovering the record. The book would not have been possible without the considerable support of members of the College of Communication’s Tech Team, who dub tapes for us and help with equipment needs, as well as troubleshoot in myriad ways. The School of Journalism staff at the University of Texas at Austin, particularly Janice Brandon and Sonia Reyes-Krempin, has always been supportive . We are especially indebted to the dedicated work of bibliographers, researchers, and archivists associated with the U.S. Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project. Marc Hamel, the project’s photographer, was instrumental in adding the special touches to the photographs to prepare acknowledgments A CKNOWLEDGMENTS· xii · them for publication. Raquel Garza, project manager, helped in various aspects of the processing of the manuscript. We are also grateful to the blind reviewer who offered helpful suggestions to an early draft of the manuscript. Rosemary Wetherold, a freelance copy editor, also gave our manuscript the meticulous attention that it needed. We especially wish to thank the contributors to the anthology. They invested time and energy that exceeded the usual demands that editors place on such authors. The scholars were especially helpful in agreeing to participate in the planning of the publication. The scholarly meetings that brought them together involved discussions on the theory and practice of oral history , the conceptualization of Latino history during the war years, and the importance and use of oral narratives generated by the U.S. Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project. The shared research findings and views provided the authors a valuable frame of reference as they prepared the final drafts of their essays. Their decision to make generous use of oral narratives enriched their work with firsthand accounts and interpretations that one does not often see in the writing of history. We would be remiss if we did not thank the sponsors of the 12 September 2004 symposium in Washington, D.C., that served as a foundation for this book. They included the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Communication ; American Airlines; Univision Communications Inc.; Pew Hispanic Center; the Ernesto Galarza Applied Research Center, University of California, Riverside; Coors Brewing Company; the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Mexican American Studies; and the University of New Mexico’s Center for Regional Studies. We are also mindful that the University of Texas at Brownsville’s College of Liberal Arts provided equipment and time to videographer Juan Aguilar of UTB’s Media Services. Mr. Aguilar videotaped our 2004 symposium at the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, Naval Heritage Center Theatre. The success of the symposium was largely due to the staff of the Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project, including Yazmín Lazcano (then project manager), Valentino Mauricio (photographer), Rajesh Reddy (technical assistance), Laura Querubin (administrative help), Kristian D. Stewart (then database manager and administrative assistance), and Brenda Sendejo (indexing and transcribing supervisor). Kelly Tarleton also deserves recognition for the graphic design that appeared on the cover of the symposium’s program. Melissa DiPiero-D’Sa, the project graphic designer, was instrumental in producing the program for the symposium. A CKNOWLEDGMENTS· xiii · Lastly, but most importantly, we thank our respective spouses, Gil Rodríguez and Angela Valenzuela, and our children, Ramón and Agustín Rodríguez and Clara and Luz Zamora. We are fortunate that they believe in the importance of our work, not only for our families and Latinos/as, but for the country’s understanding of itself. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK B E Y O N D T H E L A T I N O W O R L D W A R I I H E R O THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ...