Latinos in Military From the Term Paper

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For instance, the September 1917 celebration of Mexican Independence, was marketed as a Red Cross fundraising event, and the celebration of Cinco De Mayo was postponed for the duration of the War. (Mac Donald 150).

During World War II, the ranks of Latinos in the U.S. Armed Forces swelled to more than 400,000, a higher percentage than any other minority. Puerto Ricans had the second largest number of wartime casualties after the Hawaiians (Rodgriguez 40). There were approximately 65,000 Puerto Rican troops, including 200 who served in the Women's Army Corps. Discrimination continued in this war, as well. The Department of Defense classified non-black Hispanics as Caucasians and black or dark skinned Hispanics as African-Americans, as a result official statistics recognizing Hispanic contributions in World War II are not available. Do to the lack of documentation, Hispanics' contributions are rarely found in history books.

During WWII, Mexican-Americans had the highest percentage of Congressional Medal of Honor winners of any minority. One of the most serious incidents of discrimination occurred in the Zoot-Suit Riots of Los Angeles. The incident received its name from the type of clothing, known as a "zoot suit," worn by many young Mexican-Americans of the early 1940s.

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In the summer of 1943, a dispute between a Mexican-American and an Anglo erupted into widespread rioting. Anglo members of the armed forces were soon joined by civilians in a spree of attacking and beating Mexican-Americans wherever they were found (Samora and Simon 16).

Through Korea and Vietnam, Latinos continued their strong military tradition. The 65th Regimental Combat Team from Puerto Rico, known as the Borinqueneers, distinguished itself in several Korean major campaigns. Currently, there are more than 85,000 Hispanic-Americans on active duty, representing approximately 7% of all active duty personnel. Latinos represent over 6.2% of the Army, 8.1% of the Navy, 11% of the Marine Corps, and 4.4% of the Air Force, numbers that should continue to increase as all three branches of the Armed Forces step up their recruitment of minorities and Latinos. Although over 35 million Americans identify as Hispanic, making them the country's largest ethnic minority, Latinos have been underrepresented in the all-volunteer armed forces, especially among officers. In addition, despite the traditionally masculine culture of the military and of Hispanics, the Hispanic share of military women has been increasing faster than their male counterparts (Hispanics.....

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