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

In 1999, Maggie Rivas-Rodríguez spearheaded the establishment of the U.S. Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project at the University of Texas at Austin. Since its inception the collection has resulted in the publication of Mexican Americans & World War II (University of Texas Press, 2005) and A Legacy Greater than Words: Stories of U.S. Latinos and Latinas of the World War II Generation (University of Texas Press, 2006), both edited by Rivas-Rodríguez. These anthologies examine the lives of enlisted men, the continual discrimination the Latino community endured despite demonstrations of patriotism, and the impact the war had on Latinas. Building on the themes of identity, discrimination, and gender found in the previously two published works, Beyond the Latino World War II Hero: The Social and Political Legacy of a Generation, edited by Rivas-Rodríguez and Emilio Zamora, further explore these issues, as well as new themes such as posttraumatic stress disorder, the role Mexican nationals played during the war, and the significance of religion for Latino soldiers.

Although all the essays in Beyond the Latino World War II Hero are noteworthy and further the awareness and understanding of the Latino/a experience, the contributions by Rivas-Rodríguez, Silvia Álvarez Curelo, Joanne Rao Sánchez, and Brenda Sendejo deserve special mention. In "Embracing the Ether: The Use of Radio by the Latino World War II Generation," Rivas-Rodríguez examines the bilingual use of radio to demonstrate the acculturation of Latinos. School assimilationist policies, such as the one adopted by Texas in 1918, punished Latino students for speaking Spanish. By the 1940s speaking a language other than English was deemed un-American. Despite the pressure to assimilate, Latinos did not renounce their mother tongue. They listened to both English and Spanish-language radio stations, thus creating a bicultural identity rooted in bilingualism. By analyzing the impact radio had on the construction of a Mexican American persona, Rivas-Rodríguez adds a unique dimension to the study of identity.

Expanding on the issue of identity, Joanne Rao Sánchez and Brenda Sendejo tackle how the war changed Latinas. Sánchez explores the various methods Latinas used to challenge social norms. For example, employment in war-related industries fostered in Latinas a growing sense of independence and self-sufficiency which led them to question familial traditions. Sánchez's research also demonstrates that Latinas, similar to black women, encountered not only sexism but also racism in places of employment. While Sánchez's essay provides a broad account of the Latina experience, Sendejo offers a profile of three Texas women who fought for acceptance in hostile environments. Furthermore, Sendejo traces the influence these women had on the generations of women that followed.

Althoough the majority of contributions in Beyond the Latino World War II Hero focus on the Mexican and Mexican American experience, Álvarez Curelo's essay, "The Color of War: Puerto Rican Soldiers and Discrimination during World War II," shows how draft boards attempted to whiten the war by rejecting racially mixed Puerto Ricans or segregating them along with blacks into service units. Using racist-scientific terminology, government agencies questioned the intelligence and language skills of Puerto Ricans. The inclusion of "The Color of War" illustrates that the Latino experience extends beyond the Mexican American community, encompassing a broader population.

Beyond the Latino World War II Hero is an extraordinary book that documents the impact the war had on Latino communities and exposes the conditions Latino/ as encountered in the postwar era. This anthology shows the importance of the Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project and demonstrates the work that still needs to be done to fully understand and appreciate the trials and tribulations of World War II generation...