Duncan Tonatiuh - Soldier for Equality: Jose de la Luz Saenz and the Great War

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Table of Contents

Guide

Greaser!

Luz (

looz

) ran toward the boy and tackled him to

the ground. Luz had had enough.

Ya basta!

Why did they

call him names? Why were those kids mean to him just

because his family had come from Mexico?

Seor Senz was not happy that his son, Jos de la Luz, had been in a

fight again, but he understood his frustration. He too was not always treated

with respect. Luzs abuela had come to the United States more than twenty-five

years ago. Luz and his brothers and sisters were born here. The family was as

American as the kids who tormented him!

Luz knew that people of Mexican origin worked hard just like everyone

else. They worked in offices, in schools, in the fields, on railroad tracks, and in

mines. But many people in Texaswhere Luz was bornmistreated them. Tejano

children were forced to attend separate and inferior schools. Businesses had

signs that said NO MEXICANS ALLOWED .

Luz, I dont want you to fight, said his father, but dont let anyone make

you feel ashamed. You should always be proud of who you are, mijo .

Luz never forgot what his father said. His

teachers and family friends also encouraged him

to feel proud of his roots. He graduated from high

school in Alice, Texas, in 1905. He then attended a

school to become a teacher.

Luz knew that knowledge was a weapon that helped

you defend yourself against those who were mean to you and

ignored your rights. He wanted to make sure kids understood

this too.

Luz married Mara Petra Esparza and they started a

family. At a school near San Antonio, he taught kids in the

morning and adults who did not know how to read at night.

His students were of Mexican descent like him. Luz enjoyed

teaching them, but he felt frustrated too. His school was

a small shack. The school the white children attended was

larger and nicer. No es justo. It was not right. Will things ever

change? Is there anything I can do? thought Luz.

One day, in the middle of the school year, Luz did not show

up to class. He had volunteered to join the army. In 1914 much of

Europe was at war. Great Britain, France, Russia, and the other

Allied countries were fighting against Germany and the Central

Powers. In April 1917 the United States joined the Allies. It was to

be called the Great War, or World War I.

After saying goodbye to his family, on February 25, 1918, Luz

arrived at Camp Travis, a military facility where thousands of men

from Texas and Oklahoma trained to become soldiers. Luz joined

the army because he believed it was his duty to serve his country. He

wanted to demonstrate that Mexican Americans loved America and

would give their lives fighting for it.

After they see the sacrifices we are

willing to make, the people who mistreat us will start treating us fairly

con igualdad y justicia.

While he was at training camp, Luz met Americans

of different backgrounds. He met Native Americans from

Oklahoma. They also faced discrimination and hoped for a better

future after they fought in the war. Luz was excited when he met

other Mexican American soldiers. He made many friends but

became especially close to Eulogio Gmez and Eduardo Barrera.

Luz was happy to be training. He got along with most of

his fellow soldiers regardless of their backgrounds. But he had

negative experiences too. The worst was when an officer called

him greaser in front of others and laughed. This army will

fight against tyrannical rulers and injustice in Europe, he thought.

How is it possible that some officers here can be so unfair to their own

countrymen?

On June 6, 1918, after more than three months of training, Luz and the other

soldiers from the 360th Regiment of the 90th Division of the US Army began their

journey to the war. They traveled on a train to New York City, where they boarded

the ship Olympic and headed to Europe.

The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was not easy. The soldiers were tightly

packed belowdecks. They slept in hammocks next to one another. Luz often felt

seasick. At night he thought of Mara Petra and their children at home and wrote

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