An estimated 400,000 Mexican Americans served in the US armed forces during the war, and compared to other ethnic and racial groups in the United States, Mexican Americans served in disproportionately high numbers in frontline combat positions. Garcías’s experiences highlight the many ways that Mexican Americans experienced World War II and the immediate post-war period. The case was repeatedly postponed, and the charges were finally dropped in 1946. His case was well publicized, and LULAC and the Comité Patriótico Mexicano (Mexican Patriotic Committee) raised funds for his legal defense. García commented that “if he was good enough to fight in the war he was good enough for a cup of coffee.” A fight broke out, and the owner and a patron beat García with a baseball bat. On the way to the celebration García entered the Oasis Café when, as the story goes, the waitress told García that they do not serve Mexicans. In fact, the local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) organized a party in his honor at the nearby Richmond City Hall. Only after his company advanced did García agree to medical treatment. Although wounded during the attack, García crawled to the machine-gun nests, destroyed them, and captured four German soldiers. García singlehandedly attacked German machine-gun emplacements that were hindering his company’s advance. The month before, President Harry Truman presented García with the Medal of Honor for his actions on Novemnear Grosshau, Germany. In September 1945, Macario García returned to Sugar Land, Texas after serving as a sergeant in the US Army during World War II. Translated it says, “We need your help.” The Spanish speaking Uncle Sam made frequent appearances in Spanish-language newspapers, war bond drives, and Mexican-American organizational newsletters like Alianza Alliance. Photo courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society, Tucson, Arizona. Top Image: The familiar Uncle Sam drawing urges Spanish speakers to support the war.
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