Today is the day set aside by the U.S. government to recognize those who lived and died in military service for the U.S. Despite my strong opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the countless smaller undeclared wars all over the world, that doesn’t mean there is no love from me for those who have chosen the military life. They include members of my own familia, primas and tios who have fought for the United States and they represent a growing number of young men and women of color who look to the armed forces as a way to survive and move forward with their lives. Pero as today’s editorial from el Diario/la Prensa points out, the role of Latinos in the U.S. military is nothing new, it’s just that people have failed to recognize it.

As many as 750,000 Latinos and Latinas served in the armed forces during World War II, according to the U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project. During the Korean War, the 65th Infantry of Puerto Rico won the praise of legendary military commanders such as General Douglas MacArthur. Yet, in the telling of U.S. history, Latino soldiers have received little mention.

Y porque? Is it because that if the history books were to acknowledge the role of Latinos then the U.S. would have to start acknowledging Latinos as humans as part of its’ policy including passing or hell even getting started on comprehensive immigration reform?

According to a report from the Immigration Policy Center, as of June of this year there are about 114,600 people in the armed forces that were born outside of the United States. This makes up approximately 8 percent. Most of them, 81 percent are naturalized citizens. 13 percent are not citizens.

Here are some examples of Latinos and their role in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Latinas with the Women’s Army Corps and in general war effort

We learned during the recent judicial hearings that Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s mother Celina was a member of this Corps during World War II.

The 65th Infantry

More than 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the Korean War, the bulk of them with this unit. Despite showing great heroism, no member of the 65th has ever been awarded a Medal of Honor. In Korea, the 65th was also subjected to the largest mass courts-martial that has yet to be fully acknowledged as a consequence of the Army’s bad and unfair policies.

El Escuadrón 201

Nicknamed the “Aztec Eagles,” this Mexican fighter squadron was attached to a unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. In 1945, the squadron aided the Allied effort during the liberation of Luzon in the Philippines.

I haven’t and don’t know if I can reconcile the role that Latinos have played and continue to play in what I think are imperialistic wars throughout the globe. However, I think of my beloved tio, a member of the 65th infanteria in the Korean War, and I think of my little primita who has been to Iraq more than once.

Via / El Diario La Prensa