1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, We've put together a survey for listeners of 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Medal of Honor and we want to hear from you. 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Tell us what you love about the show, what we 4 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: can improve on, or stories you think we've missed. We're 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: committed to making this show even better and you can 6 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: help to take the survey. Visit bit dot lee slash 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: h survey. That's bit dot l y slash MH survey. 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: The link is also in our show notes below. Pushkin 9 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: the Mariachi band played as John F. Kennedy and his 10 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: wife Jacqueline made their way through the cheering crowd. It 11 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: was early on a warm fall evening in nineteen sixty three, 12 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: and the ballroom at the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas 13 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: was packed with people. They were all there to cheer 14 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: their president. He was handsome as usual in a dark 15 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: blue suit, his eyes sparkling, shaking hands as he moved 16 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: towards the stage. Jackie followed close behind, elegant in a 17 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: black velvet jacket and her signature triple strand of pearls. 18 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: If there was anything more glamorous than this couple, the 19 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,559 Speaker 1: people of Houston hadn't seen it. It was November twenty 20 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: first nineteen sixty three. The next day, Kennedy would be 21 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: shot and killed in that faithful motorcade in Dallas. But 22 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: on this evening, one moment out of the last few 23 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: he had alive on Earth, he was making his way 24 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: forward through the room, following an honor guard of men, 25 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: snaking through the adoring throng of women with big hairdoes 26 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: and men with skinny ties. There was one man in 27 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,679 Speaker 1: the honor guard that everyone in that room knew, Sergeant 28 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: Maccadio Garcia, a hero of World War II, the first 29 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: Mexican citizen to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Sergeant 30 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: Garcia and the rest of the group reached the dais 31 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: at the back of the room. The mariachi band leader 32 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: shook the first lady's hand, and then the crowd and 33 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,799 Speaker 1: the musicians got quiet. Sergeant Garcia took his seat behind 34 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: the president, and JFK stepped to the microphone. 35 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, my wife and I are very proud to. 36 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: Come up to this meeting hall. You sad out the 37 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: world would change the very next day, But Maccadio Garcia 38 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: with JFK on stage that night, because he had changed 39 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: the world as well. I'm Jr. Martinez and this is 40 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: Medal of Honor Stories of Courage. The Medal of Honor 41 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: is the highest military decoration in the United States, awarded 42 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: for gallantry and bravery in combat at the risk of life, 43 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: above and beyond the call of duty. Each candidate must 44 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: be approved all the way up the chain of command, 45 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: from the supervisory officer in the field to the White House. 46 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: This show is about those heroes, what they did, what 47 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: it meant, and what their stories tell us about the 48 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: nature of courage and sacrifice. This episode is about Maccardio Garcia, 49 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: the man sitting behind JFK that night in Houston. He 50 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: came from enormous poverty, migrating to Texas with his family 51 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: as a toddler, working in the cotton fields as a child, 52 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: he stepped up when his country asked him to go 53 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: to war. He was a hero of remarkable grint. But 54 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: what happened to him between the day President Truman hung 55 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: the Medal of Honor around his neck and the moment 56 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: he stepped onto that dais behind JFK was a struggle 57 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: equal to anything he met on the battlefield. On a 58 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: core level, Macgadio's story is about what it means to 59 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: make a country your home, what we owe our country, 60 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: and what our country owes us. It's also the story 61 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: of progress, the kind of progress that outlasted any one person, 62 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: whether they're a Medal of Honor recipient or a president. 63 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: Because if there's one thing Makgadio gotta see I did, 64 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: it was to keep pushing into battle, into the hopes 65 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 1: of a better future, with relentless heroic determination to never 66 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 1: ever go back. The Hurricane Forest sits at the far 67 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: western border of Germany, straight. 68 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,839 Speaker 3: From the German folk tales of the brothers Grim. 69 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: It was November of nineteen forty four. The fairytale Forest 70 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: was now a battlefield, a. 71 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 3: Name that would come to symbolize the long drawn, heartbreak 72 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 3: and despair of war as surely as its fairy tale 73 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 3: counterparts had enshrined the nightmares of childhood. 74 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: The men of the twenty second Infantry Regiment of the 75 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: US Army had one mission at the Hurricane Forest, to 76 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: fight their way through it, pushing deeper into Nazi territory. 77 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: It would be some of the most difficult terrain of 78 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: the entire European theater of the war, and some of 79 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: the hardest fighting in that forest would fall to a 80 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: young soldier in Company B of that regiment, Macadio. Gotta 81 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 1: see you. Maccadio had been born in Via de Castaignos, Mexico, 82 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: in the state of Coruila, just a handful of hours 83 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: from the Texas border, but he spent almost all his 84 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: life until now, of course, in Sugarland, Texas, a ranching 85 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: and farming community outside of Houston. He had never seen 86 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: anything like the Hurrican Forest. For one thing, the conifer 87 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: trees were so tall and tightly clustered that it felt 88 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: like twilight even during the middle of the day. The 89 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: very few roads that existed in the forest were laden 90 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: with mines, so tanks and other vehicles couldn't use them. 91 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: That meant that the American gis had to travel mostly 92 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: by foot, carrying whatever they needed. And the weather was 93 00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: just awful, soaking the soldiers in a near constant makes 94 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,840 Speaker 1: of snow, sleet, and rain. 95 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 3: The winter became as vicious an enemy as any lurking 96 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 3: behind the trees in the Hurricane Forest. It was more 97 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 3: where battle tactics lost their meeting, where gains were still 98 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:14,679 Speaker 3: measured in yards and feet. 99 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: In them, the Germans had plotted every acre of the forest, 100 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: so they knew exactly where to fire their artillery, and 101 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: when a shell hit it wasn't just the steel shrapnel 102 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: that rained down on the gis, the trees themselves exploded, 103 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: creating lethal burst of splinters and wood, along with falling 104 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: trunks that were big enough to crush a man. Macadio 105 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: was in one of the bleakest scenarios imaginable, and he 106 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: was fighting on behalf of a country where he wasn't 107 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: actually a citizen. He was still a a Mexican citizen, 108 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: but in the eyes of the US Army he was American, 109 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: and I think in his own eyes too. Macgaudio was 110 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: twenty four, just about five foot four, with thick, dark 111 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: hair and high cheekbones. He had a contagious grin, but 112 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: while small in size, he had quickly proved himself to 113 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: be an intrepid soldier with amazing grit and determination. He'd 114 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: been wounded on June nineteenth in France and refused to 115 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: be evacuated to the hospital, insisting on staying with his unit. 116 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 1: For that, he was awarded his first purple Heart. Then 117 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: in September he was awarded a bronze Star after he 118 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:50,319 Speaker 1: snuck into German territory on a scouting mission, staying for 119 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 1: three hours, risking discovery and death every minute he was there. 120 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: Then he received another Bronze Star after he crept up 121 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: to an enemy machine gun. Nest cut the phone line 122 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: and took the German gunner prisoner. Macgadiel had the reputation 123 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 1: of being completely fearless, always pushing the boundaries as close 124 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: to the enemy as he could get. He and the 125 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:26,439 Speaker 1: army were fighting their way east through France to Belgium, 126 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: through Belgium to Germany. This newsreel from the time sums 127 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: it up. 128 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 4: It was slugging and slogging showed much grabbing enough when 129 00:09:39,679 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 4: you could. 130 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 1: Hyped. 131 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:46,439 Speaker 4: It was a hell of a way to see France, 132 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:48,440 Speaker 4: but we sure covered ground. 133 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: The Nazis were in retreat and winning the war felt 134 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: like it was within the Allies grasp, But Hitler had 135 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: ordered his army to hold the line at the Hurtkin Forest. 136 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,320 Speaker 1: So now Makadio and the rest of the twenty second 137 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: were facing a situation where the enemy was dug in, 138 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: hiding behind trees, and where every foot of ground came 139 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: at a high cost. In fact, the twenty second infantry 140 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: would ultimately suffer more than twenty seven hundred casualties, eighty 141 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: five percent of its normal complement of soldiers. All that 142 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: loss to take six thousand yards of forest and a 143 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: single village. That village was called Grosshouse, but village doesn't 144 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: do it justice. It was a heavily defended strong point 145 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:48,640 Speaker 1: filled with waiting enemy soldiers. By November twenty seventh, the 146 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: infantry had been trying to take the village four days, 147 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: getting beaten back mercilessly each time. Now it was Makkadio's 148 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 1: company's turn to try to move forward and retake that ground. 149 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: He and the other hundred some odd men and Company 150 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: B knew what they were facing, artillery, machine guns on 151 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: the high ground and an enemy that had been ordered 152 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: to not give an inch. Actually, the situation was even 153 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: worse than it had been in the days before, because 154 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: the Germans knew exactly what was coming. Company B could 155 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 1: barely make any headway. One platoon went forward and seventeen 156 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: of the eighteen men were killed or wounded. The next 157 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: platoon suffered a similar fate. By now Company B was 158 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: reduced to only thirty five men. Yet when it was 159 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,840 Speaker 1: time for Maccadio's platoon to enter the battle. He volunteered 160 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: to go first, as he later said, quote, I was 161 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: acting squad leader and I just as soon do it 162 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: as asked somebody else to. He and another soldier, Charles Edwards, 163 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: headed towards the woods around the village. They had gotten 164 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: within twenty yards when all of a sudden, a machine 165 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: gun on a hill in front of them started firing. 166 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: They were pinned down. Mcgadil looked to his side and 167 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,839 Speaker 1: saw Edwards get hit by a bullet in the head. 168 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: He died instantly, and then mccadil was shot as well, 169 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 1: right in the shoulder. The pain must have been excruciating, 170 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: but mccatiol refused to go back to safety to be 171 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: evacuated for medical help. Instead, he crawled forward alone up 172 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: the hill and through the brush, inch by painful inch. 173 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: He reached a spot near the enemy's machine gun nest 174 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: and surprised a German soldier. Maccadio opened fire. The German 175 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: did too. A bullet hit mcgadio in the foot, but 176 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: he shot the German dead. Macgadio had taken two bullets. 177 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 1: Now it didn't stop him. He kept moving forward toward 178 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: the machine gun nest. That had shot down edwards. As 179 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: he later said, quote, I did not know the wound 180 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 1: was that serious. I was numb, I think, And besides, 181 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: we were moving forward and it was not the time 182 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: to stop. Mcgadiel got close to the machine gun nest 183 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 1: and then he took out a grenade, pulled the pin 184 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:41,840 Speaker 1: and hurled it at the gunners. It exploded, destroying the gun. 185 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: Three Germans came running out. Mcgadio aimed his rifle and 186 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: killed those men as well. One enemy position taken out. 187 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: Then mcgadio started back down the hill towards his company. 188 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: He reached safety, but right as he began to report 189 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: to his company commander, a second machine gun open fire. 190 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: Without a moment of hesitation, macgadio turned around and raced 191 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:16,439 Speaker 1: towards the shots back up the hill, not thinking about 192 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: his own safety. Just about holding the line, he stormed 193 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: the enemy position, grenade in hand. He had bullets in 194 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: his foot and shoulder. He was exhausted, he was also enraged. 195 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: He threw the grenade and it hit its mark. He 196 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: killed three more enemy soldiers and destroyed the gun in 197 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 1: the blast, and he captured four Germans too. As mcgadio 198 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: came back down the hill toward Company B. The other 199 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: Gis cheered and screamed. His boot was filled with blood. 200 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,320 Speaker 1: His shoulder must have been searing with pain. He was 201 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: a mess, but he still refused medical help. He wanted 202 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: to stay with his men to fight by their side. 203 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: Because Macgadio had cleared those machine gun nests, two more 204 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: companies from the twenty second were able to charge up 205 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: the hill and take it. The cost had been high, 206 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,479 Speaker 1: but the men of the twenty second had finally made progress. 207 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: Margadio had held the line. Margadio spent almost six weeks 208 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: recovering from his wounds in England, but the moment he 209 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: was well enough to go, he asked to be returned 210 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: to the front line. But by that point it was 211 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: clear that the Allies would defeat the Nazis soon enough. 212 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: Macgadio was rotated back to the US in March of 213 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five. That April, General George Patten signed off 214 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,720 Speaker 1: on his recommendation for the Medal of Honor, noting Macgadio's 215 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: quote courageous leadership and supreme devotion to duty. Macgadio couldn't 216 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: wait to get home to Sugarland. Texas. He had sent 217 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 1: every penny of his pay back to his family. He 218 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: knew how much they needed it. He was one of 219 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: ten children. The entire family were farm laborers, as was 220 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: true for most rural households like theirs, The kids were 221 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: expected to start working in the cotton fields as soon 222 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: as they reached school age. So a medal of honor ceremony, 223 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: something that placed them and their son in the national spotlight, 224 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: was never something they'd expected. His friend se Hernandez remembers. 225 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 3: It, well, they didn't, not worrying English, and they were 226 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 3: some question in their minds. 227 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 5: Where they could even dress about the White House. So 228 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:15,399 Speaker 5: Caro Gazia the older brothers went in their place. 229 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: He took his brother Carlos to the White House as 230 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 1: his date. Then it was back to Texas and more events. 231 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: On September sixth, mcgaudio greeted reporters and various Houston dignitaries 232 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 1: at a reception in his honor, but he was more 233 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,880 Speaker 1: than an hour late, racing into the festivities breathless and 234 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: soaking wet, he had to hitchhike all the way from 235 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 1: sugar Land. He apologized and said, quote, I'm a country boy, 236 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: you know the star treatment had to have been overwhelming. 237 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: Mcgaudia was now the first Mexican citizen to be held 238 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: up as a perfect example of American courage. But I 239 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: think Macgadio must have already considered himself fully American. He 240 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: lived in Texas since he was three, and in the war, 241 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:15,160 Speaker 1: in the army, Mexican born soldiers like Macatio were treated 242 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: as equal to white ones. They weren't segregated. More than 243 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: half a million men of Mexican ancestry had joined the 244 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 1: ranks of the services during World War II, and of those, 245 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:37,919 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand, including Makatio, were actually Mexican citizens. At the 246 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: start of the war, Mexico had agreed that the United 247 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: States military was allowed to draft Mexican nationals to serve 248 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: in the armed forces. In nineteen forty, Congress required that 249 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: foreign born people who declared their intention to become citizens 250 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: would be subject to military service. Mexicans could file a 251 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,240 Speaker 1: form of exemption, but if they did register for the draft, 252 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: it would secure them US residents and ensure them US 253 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:11,159 Speaker 1: citizenship after they completed their military service. Putting themselves in 254 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,160 Speaker 1: harms way for America was a risk that many were 255 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: willing to take in exchange for full acceptance as citizens 256 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 1: in the United States, and the risks were high. Of 257 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: the fifteen thousand Mexican nationals who joined the armed forces 258 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: in the war, one thousand, four hundred and ninety two 259 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: died or were injured, taken prisoner, or disappeared. After that 260 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:40,640 Speaker 1: kind of sacrifice, Mexican veterans like Macadio returned home, assuming 261 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: that the United States would see them the way they 262 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:49,119 Speaker 1: felt inside, as full fledged Americans. But Texas wasn't the 263 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: Army ernest Idea, a fellow Mexican American Army vet remembers 264 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: going from the service back to South Texas. 265 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 5: When I came back, we were considered second class citizens, 266 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 5: even though we had spent not only our lives, but 267 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,119 Speaker 5: four years of our lives in the Armies fighting for 268 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:10,119 Speaker 5: the people back home. 269 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 1: Mcgadil's little brother, Loupe Gotticia, was only two when mcgadil 270 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,719 Speaker 1: returned from the war, but he remembers how segregated it 271 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: was in Texas, not only then but for years, and 272 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,160 Speaker 1: discrimination wasn't illegal either. It was common to see signs 273 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: saying no dogs, no Negroes, no Mexicans. 274 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 6: And that era Hispanics and Blacks were not allowed eating 275 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 6: here in restaurants, the whites always had priority. 276 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: It was not easy. 277 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 6: That always went on for a long time. 278 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: Mcgadio had just come off of one of the most 279 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: exhilarating moments of his life, meeting the President of the 280 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: United States being honored for his bravery. He was about 281 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,960 Speaker 1: to collide headlong with one of the realities of the 282 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: country he'd returned to. Late on the night of September tenth, 283 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, just four days after that event with 284 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: the Houston dignitaries, mcgadio and a friend got off the 285 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,879 Speaker 1: bus from Fort Hood in Richmond, Texas. There was a 286 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: low slung restaurant there on the side of the highway. 287 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: The words chicken Dinners were spelled out in big block 288 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,640 Speaker 1: letters along the building side. It was called the Oasis Cafe. 289 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 1: Mcgaudio wanted a cup of coffee, maybe something to eat. 290 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 1: There weren't many places opened that late on a Monday night, 291 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: but the Oasis Cafe was still serving. Mcgaudio's friend told him, Hey, 292 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: let's not go in there. The friend knew the Oasis 293 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: didn't welcome Mexican Americans, but according to his brother. Mcgaudio thought, 294 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: how can they turn me down. I'm wearing my uniform 295 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,879 Speaker 1: and the medal of honor. He pushed opened the door 296 00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:09,880 Speaker 1: and walked in. 297 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,160 Speaker 6: Says he had the nation's highest award in the Congression 298 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 6: of Metlajuana. He figured that a cup of coffee wouldn't 299 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 6: be that much trouble, but they refused to serve him, 300 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 6: regardless of his decorations. 301 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: Here's Ernest again. 302 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 5: The restaurant has said, I don't give a dan what 303 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 5: he's wearing. He's a Mexican and I will not serve him. 304 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: For the record, the woman who owned the restaurant insisted 305 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,199 Speaker 1: that mcgadiol was drunk and belligerent and that's why he 306 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: was denied service. Her son, Lou Payton, was there that night. 307 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: He was only seventeen at the time. He missed the 308 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: initial exchange between his mother and Magadio, but he doesn't 309 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:56,480 Speaker 1: deny that the Oasis Cafe wasn't quote for Mexican Americans. 310 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 7: We had very few blacks or Mexican argons come in 311 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 7: and ask for service because we didn't cater to their needs. 312 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 7: We didn't have their kind of music, we didn't have 313 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 7: their kind of. 314 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:16,720 Speaker 1: Food, which let's be honest, doesn't sound particularly welcoming. Whatever 315 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: the truth that mcgatiel was told to leave because of 316 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,439 Speaker 1: his ethnicity, or because he was drunk, or both, the 317 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:33,879 Speaker 1: oasis exploded in violence. Punches were thrown, glasses broken, salt 318 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: and pepper shakers, ketchup bottles. Everything suddenly seemed to be 319 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: flying through the air. From outside, mcgaudiol's friend could hear 320 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 1: the shattering and the yelling. He caught glimpses of the 321 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: commotion through the long line of windows that stretched across 322 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,159 Speaker 1: the front of the cafe, pouring their light onto the 323 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 1: darkened parking lot where he stood. 324 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 5: These guys tore up the brushroom. 325 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: Mcgadil had walked through bullets in the and force, only 326 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: now to be held down on the counter of the 327 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: oasis and hit by a baseball bat. And then he 328 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: was dragged outside into the night and the police were 329 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: called to arrest him. 330 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 6: He was taken into the Counta Dale and held there 331 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:25,959 Speaker 6: until some higher army authorities came and had him released again. 332 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: Denying Mexican American service wasn't illegal. In fact, it was 333 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: so common that the newspapers didn't even pick up the story. Initially, 334 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: The editors of one local paper said they didn't want 335 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: to cover the story because they didn't want to embarrass 336 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: a war hero. But possibly this kind of thing was 337 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: just so unremarkable that it didn't merit the paper and ink. 338 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: But mcgadio was not just another person. He was a 339 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:00,119 Speaker 1: Medal of Honor recipient, a person to whom extraordinary thing 340 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:06,119 Speaker 1: had happened and were about to happen again. A local 341 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: lawyer and activist named John J. Herrera found out about 342 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: mcgaudio's situation. He surely recognized a perfect test case to 343 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: fight back against anti Mexican discrimination, so he took on 344 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:24,439 Speaker 1: mcgaudio's cause. The first thing Henda did was call the press. 345 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:29,439 Speaker 1: Pretty soon the national columnist Walter Winchell picked up the story. 346 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: If you never heard of Walter Winchell, he was the 347 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:37,679 Speaker 1: voice of the country. Everyone listened to Winchell, and now 348 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: you're about to heads up. He gets some of the 349 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 1: details wrong, but he gets the feeling exactly right. 350 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 8: Attention to Mistermissige the United States, an American soldier recently 351 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 8: decorated with the Congressional Medal of Honor by the President 352 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,120 Speaker 8: of the United States, was terribly beaten with a baseball 353 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 8: back in Sugarland, Texas. This hero, who fought for our 354 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 8: country and won the highest award our people can get 355 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 8: to any man, is named Sergeant Marcio Gotia, a Mexican. 356 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 8: The elected attack took place at a soft drink pala 357 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,640 Speaker 8: where Sargeant Gosha try to buy a soft drink. He 358 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 8: was refused service although he was wearing the United States 359 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:24,159 Speaker 8: uniform at the time. When Sergeant Gosha protested, the beating 360 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,680 Speaker 8: with the baseball bat followed. 361 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: And now here is the part that made the local 362 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,959 Speaker 1: politicians of Fort Ben County, Texas and the rest of 363 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,360 Speaker 1: America perk up their ears. 364 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 8: The persons responsible for this disgraceful assault could hardly be Texans, 365 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 8: and Texas has too many sons wearing the Congressional Medal 366 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 8: of Honor to permit any homegrown fascist to spatter it 367 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 8: with any hero's blood. 368 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: But things only got worse from Macadio because the ensuing 369 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:02,359 Speaker 1: press was absolutely terrible both of Fort Ben and Suddenly 370 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: those local politicians needed to put the heat on someone 371 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:10,239 Speaker 1: other than themselves. And that is why in October of 372 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, after returning home from Washington, where he 373 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: received his honorable discharge from the Army. Macgadio was formerly 374 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: charged with criminal assault and battery. Almost instantly, the case 375 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: became a rallying point for Mexican Americans in Texas and beyond. 376 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: Herea was involved with the League of the United Latin 377 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 1: American Citizens or LULAC, at that point, the largest Latino 378 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: civil rights organization in the country. He started raising money 379 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: for mcgadio's defense and using what happened at the Oasis 380 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: to bring attention to the discrimination against Latinos and Texas. 381 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: People all over the country sent money to support the defense. 382 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: The prosecutors of Fort Benn County refused to back down. 383 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,080 Speaker 1: The trial went forward, but it had to be postponed 384 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,720 Speaker 1: again and again because the venues weren't big enough to 385 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:14,199 Speaker 1: accommodate all the media who wanted to attend. In the 386 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 1: midst of this legal wrangling, maccadio flew to Mexico City 387 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 1: to receive the Medito Militare, the top honor from military 388 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: service in Mexico. At the ceremony, Manuel Avila Camacho, the 389 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:34,920 Speaker 1: President of Mexico, proudly announced that quote soldiers of Mexican 390 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: origin are the best fighters in the world. The addition 391 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: of one more medal to macgadio's chest brought the case 392 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: another round of publicity, and then in June, supposedly because 393 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: Harry Truman himself stepped in on maccadio's behalf, his case 394 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 1: got a new lead defense attorney, James Alred, the former 395 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: governor of Texas, and soon enough the charges against mcgadio 396 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: were finally dropped. Once again, mcgadio had held the line 397 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: and prevailed. Mcgadio gotta seea became a US citizen on 398 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:34,880 Speaker 1: June twenty fifth, nineteen forty seven. Mcgadil went to work 399 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 1: for the Veterans Administration. He made up for the lack 400 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,480 Speaker 1: of education he had as a child. He went back 401 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: to school, He got married, he had three kids, and 402 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: he kept fighting for others, pressing for progress and fairness 403 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 1: and change, helping veterans in their families. Not cashing in 404 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: on his heroism, mcgadill always insisted that he hadn't done 405 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: anything the extraordinary on the battlefield. He had just been 406 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:10,240 Speaker 1: in the right place, in the right time, with the 407 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: right people watching. As the years rolled on, the world 408 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:20,160 Speaker 1: became a bit more progressive. John F. Kennedy was elected 409 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:24,160 Speaker 1: on a wave of support for civil rights, including for Latinos. 410 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: In fact, it was LULAK, the same organization that had 411 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: rallied behind macgadio's case, that helped get the Latino vote 412 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: for Kennedy, which brings us, of course, to that night 413 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: before Kennedy died. The evening of November twenty first, nineteen 414 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 1: sixty three, JFK was on a multi day tour of Texas, 415 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: and the second it was clear that he would visit Houston, 416 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,239 Speaker 1: John J. Herrera started working to get the president to 417 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: a LULAC event. The effort paid off, although they were 418 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 1: told not to advert highs his appearance. Lu Luck was 419 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: informed that the President would drop by the event as 420 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 1: a way to thank them for their past support and 421 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 1: rally them for the upcoming election. And when he showed up, 422 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: there was maccadio. 423 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 6: JFK came to the Lulah convention and he was greeted 424 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,240 Speaker 6: at the door by my brother, Sergeant. 425 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: Said mccadill, led the honor guard and sat on the 426 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,360 Speaker 1: stage behind the President as he spoke to the crowd. 427 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,920 Speaker 9: The United States is not only good names, which we 428 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 9: were in the thirties, but also friends and associates in 429 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 9: a great effort to build in this hemisphere an alliance 430 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 9: for progress, an effort to prove that in this hemisphere, 431 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 9: from top. 432 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 2: To bottom, in all of the countries, whether they be 433 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 2: Latin or North American, that there is a common commitment 434 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 2: to freedom, to equality of opportunity, to a transfer all. 435 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: Then his wife Jackie spoke in Spanish to the sound 436 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: of cheers. So it's sat the armenta. 437 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 4: Contall monta de la nobil study. 438 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:24,760 Speaker 1: The whole presidential visit only lasted fifteen minutes, but to 439 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 1: the people in that room it felt monumental, the start 440 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: of something better. And then the next day, Dallas, this official. 441 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 10: Mount, the president is dead. Women here in shock, some 442 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:46,840 Speaker 10: sainted secret servicemen standing by the emergency room, tears stripping 443 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 10: down their face. There's only one word to describe the 444 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 10: picture here, and that's breathed, and much of it. 445 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,719 Speaker 1: Anyone alive that day felt the gravity of that moment, 446 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: the sadnesses, the sense that a man who had done 447 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,120 Speaker 1: his level best to lead the country forward had been 448 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: cut down in his prime. But that's why I keep 449 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: thinking about what it means that JFK was with Maccatio 450 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,680 Speaker 1: the night before. It's a reminder that change and progress 451 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,040 Speaker 1: aren't the work of one man or one moment, but 452 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:25,760 Speaker 1: of a steady constant pushing, holding the line, edging it forward. 453 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:32,680 Speaker 1: If you can accepting the sacrifice. Macgadio Gottacia died in 454 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:37,000 Speaker 1: a car crash in nineteen seventy two. He was only 455 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: fifty two years old. The funeral went on for two days, 456 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:49,320 Speaker 1: thousands of people attended, and eventually mcgatio's name was enshrined 457 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: in Texas. A road was named after him in Houston, 458 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:59,440 Speaker 1: plus two schools and an army reserve center. And the 459 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 1: years before for his death, Makadiel had continued his work 460 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:07,240 Speaker 1: supporting the military. He traveled to Vietnam in nineteen sixty 461 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 1: eight to talk to the troops. He was interviewed in 462 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 1: the paper saying quote, I was a Mexican citizen, but 463 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:16,640 Speaker 1: I lived in this country, and I said that if 464 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,799 Speaker 1: the country called me, I would not refuse. I didn't 465 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:22,560 Speaker 1: want to go and fight and take a chance of 466 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:26,560 Speaker 1: getting killed. Nobody does. But a man has a more 467 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 1: responsibility to fight for his country or a country that 468 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: is good to him. Of course, this country wasn't always 469 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: good to him, but he saw it for what it 470 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,319 Speaker 1: could be not just for what it was. 471 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 6: He fought the war in two fronts, in the battlefield 472 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 6: against the Nazi Germans and here at home in the 473 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:54,440 Speaker 6: domestic front against the discrimination. Or he was victorious in both. 474 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:58,880 Speaker 6: If it not been were that medal that President Truman 475 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:03,719 Speaker 6: awarded him his role as a civil rights activist, would 476 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 6: I had no merit at tall. 477 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:12,040 Speaker 1: It's true, the Medal of Honor gave Macgadio the confidence 478 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,640 Speaker 1: to walk into the Oasis cafe and asked to be served. 479 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,480 Speaker 1: It gave him the platform for the public fight against discrimination. 480 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:25,760 Speaker 1: It gave him his place in history. But what made 481 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:30,280 Speaker 1: him a hero was his ability to make progress against 482 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:35,600 Speaker 1: the Germans, against segregation, or as he once put it, 483 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,240 Speaker 1: he was moving forward and it was not the time 484 00:35:40,560 --> 00:36:03,200 Speaker 1: to stop. Medal of Honor Stories of Courage is written 485 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,880 Speaker 1: by Meredith Rollins and produced by Meredith Rollins, Jess Shane, 486 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:11,360 Speaker 1: and Suzanne Gabber. Our editor is Ben Nadav Hoffrey. Sound 487 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 1: design and additional music by Jake Gorsky. Our executive producer 488 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:20,200 Speaker 1: is Constanza Gallardo. Fact checking by Arthur Gomperts. Original music 489 00:36:20,239 --> 00:36:23,719 Speaker 1: by Eric Phillips. Special thanks to the Congressional Medal of 490 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:28,279 Speaker 1: Honor Society, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 491 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:33,880 Speaker 1: the Houston History Research Center, Houston Oral History Project, TCU, 492 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:39,040 Speaker 1: MARYKLZ Burnett Library, and w E TA. We also want 493 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,120 Speaker 1: to hear from you. Send us your personal stories of 494 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:46,000 Speaker 1: courage or highlight someone else's bravery. You might hear your 495 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: stories on future episodes of Medal of Honor or see 496 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,480 Speaker 1: them on our social channels. All you have to do 497 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 1: is email us at Medal of Honor at Pushkin dot FM. 498 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:03,239 Speaker 1: I'm your host, JR. Martinez The tot Asad ad