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| Affiliation | Nonpartisan |
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| Name | Hector P. Garcia |
| Address |
, Texas , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
January 17, 1914
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| Died | July 26, 1996
(82 years)
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| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Juan Croniqueur
Oct 01, 2022 10:12pm |
| Tags |
Hispanic - Army -
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| Info | Dr. Hector P. Garcia, whose legacy was Education and Freedom, is an American hero who fought for equality and fair treatment for all Americans. One of his most profound statements became the American GI Forum’s motto, “Education is our freedom and freedom should be everybody’s business.”
Dr. Garcia, a veteran of WWII was born in Llera, Tamaulipas, in 1914. His family moved to Mercedes, Texas, when he was young. He attended the University of Texas and became a physician.
Garcia served in the Army, first as a combat soldier, earning a Bronze Star and six battle stars, later served as a combat doctor in World War II. Garcia settled in Corpus Christi with his wife Wanda.
He founded the American G.I. Forum in 1948 to help Hispanic soldiers with their GI Bill Benefits after returning home from World War II. Garcia and the American GI Forum gained national recognition when he secured full military burial honors in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. for Pvt. Felix Longoria of Three Rivers, Texas. Longoria, a Hispanic who was killed in the Philippines during the last days of World War II, was turned away from a local funeral home and segregated cemetery.
Garcia, adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter served as the first Hispanic on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He also served as an ambassador to the United Nations and represented the United States at many state events throughout South and Central America. He received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1984 from President Ronald Reagan. He died in July 26, 1996.
Dr. Garcia inspired many of our present and past representatives from south Texas to run and get elected to the State Legislature. He was a role model that inspired many Americans and will now have a day in Texas to be remembered and honored every year.
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