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CommentsLatinos Who Serve Awards 2008
Governor Napolitano, Mayor Gordon and Supervisor Wilcox recognized Latino veterans.
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History was made, tears were shed, and the memories of those who served in the military were recounted as Latino Perspectives Magazine held its inaugural Honoring Latinos Who Serve Awards.
The event, Nov. 14 in downtown Phoenix, drew 300 people including such dignitaries as Gov. Janet Napolitano, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Maricopa County Board of Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox.
But the real heroes were the honorees themselves: Dr. Pete R. Dimas and Phoenix American Legion Post 41.
Dimas, a veteran of the Vietnam War, produced and wrote the script for the documentary Los Veteranos of World War II: A Mission for Social Change in Central Arizona. Post 41 was credited with helping Latino veterans challenge discrimination and segregation once they returned home from the battlefield.
The event got off to a rousing and historic start. Gov. Napolitano announced that Brigadier Gen. Hugo E. Salazar was the new adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard, replacing Gen. David P. Rataczak, who is retiring. Salazar, who has served in the guard for the past 17 years – most recently as assistant adjutant general – is the first Latino to hold the post as adjutant general.
Napolitano stated the event encompassed what she had envisioned in the planning of the Raul H. Castro Institute.
Interwoven in the program were scenes from Dimas’ documentary Los Veteranos. One poignant moment came when an interview with deceased Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Silvestre Herrera was shown.
In a skirmish with Nazi soldiers near the village of Mertzwiller close to the German border, Herrera lost both feet and part of one leg after stepping on a landmine and landing on another. Seated at one of the tables was the widow of one of Post 41’s co-founders and former commanders, Ray Martinez.
As the clip finished, Martinez’s widow held back tears as she recalled, “He (Silvestre) was such a good dancer as a young man. Qué lástima.”
Reader Comments:
It is sad that Major Gen. Hugo E. Salazar was chosen for this position due to the fact that he is corrupting Arizona's Military. Major Gen. Hugo E. Salazar has come into this position with an agenda of creating puppets instead of leaders. He abuses his rank and title to get what he wants and cares for no one but himself. Let us remember, we reap what we sow.