Mexican Americans and Military Service

Mexican Americans and others of Hispanic descent have a long history of service in the US military dating back to the Revolutionary War. This includes service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard during every past armed conflict, including major engagements such as the US Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield, the War Against Terrorism, and beyond. The Mexican Americans who served often did so with distinction and made many pivotal contributions on and off the battlefield. Mexican Americans and people from other Hispanic backgrounds continue to play an important role in the US military today. In 2021, Mexican American and other Hispanic individuals accounted for 16 percent of all active-duty military personnel, continuing their ancestors’ honorable tradition of service and commitment to their country.

Background

Service in the US military has long been a point of pride among Mexican Americans and other Americans of Hispanic descent. The historical precedent for this long-running phenomenon is closely tied to the desire of Mexican Americans and Latinos to prove their worth as citizens and earn equal treatment in American society.

For Mexican Americans in particular, the unique motivation to engage in military service can be traced back to when many Mexicans suddenly found themselves living in American territory at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in 1848. Most of these newly christened Mexican Americans quickly switched their allegiance to the United States and were eager to prove their loyalty to their new country. Many turned to military service as a way to do that.

Over time, Mexican Americans and other Hispanic Americans also came to view military service as a potential pathway to first-class citizenship. As ethnic minorities and people of color, Hispanic Americans were frequently marginalized and denied many of the rights and freedoms that other American citizens enjoyed. For many who found themselves in this position, supporting America’s military endeavors and serving in the armed forces was a way to prove their loyalty and perhaps earn a higher social status. In this way, military service also functioned as a vehicle for both cultural assimilation and economic advancement. By serving in the military for some length of time, Hispanic Americans could hope to move away from the margins of society and build better lives for themselves in the mainstream. While this was particularly true for men who served, many Hispanic American women also pursued military careers in hopes of likewise aiding their own societal advancement.

Hispanic American interest in military service was and is also influenced by the pride felt by the families of those from Hispanic communities who serve. This all contributes to a strong belief in the importance of military service in Mexican American and other Hispanic American communities that still inspires many young people from those communities to enlist.

Overview

Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and other people of Hispanic descent have been an integral part of the US military since the country’s earliest days. During the Revolutionary War, Mexican troops and a cadre of Hispanic American, Spanish, and Caribbean soldiers played a critical role in preventing British invasions along the southern coasts. Similarly, Hispanic Americans from New Orleans under the command of General Andrew Jackson protected the mouth of the Mississippi during the War of 1812.

Mexican Americans and other Hispanic soldiers fought on both sides of the US Civil War, with some supporting the Confederacy and others remaining loyal to the Union. While some were integrated directly into the regular Army or volunteer units, others served in separate units that were almost exclusively Hispanic. Perhaps the most important contribution by Mexican Americans during the Civil War came from the Nuevo Mexicanos of New Mexico who successfully thwarted Confederate efforts to seize control of the Southwest.

During the Spanish-American War in 1898, thousands of Hispanic volunteers, including many Mexican Americans from the Southwest, contributed to the United States’ quick victory. Notably, Mexican Americans and other Hispanic Americans comprised a large contingent of the 1st US Volunteer Calvary, better known as the famous Rough Riders.

Hispanic Americans, including Mexican Americans, contributed significantly to the United States’ military operations during World War I and World War II as well. Approximately two hundred thousand Hispanic Americans fought in World War I, while as many as five hundred thousand Hispanic Americans fought in World War II. During the latter conflict, the Arizona National Guard’s 158th Infantry “Bushmaster” Regiment, which was largely composed of Hispanic Americans, distinguished itself as one of the US forces’ most successful units.

Hispanic American soldiers played a critical role in the Korean War in the early 1950s, primarily because of the Army’s 65th Infantry Regiment. Also known as “The Borinqueneers,” this all-Hispanic unit fought in every major campaign of the conflict. One Mexican American veteran of the Korean War, Richard E. Cavazos, later became the Army’s first Hispanic four-star general.

While more than eighty thousand Hispanic Americans served in the Vietnam War, that conflict also proved divisive in some Mexican American and other Spanish-speaking communities. Many supporters of the Chicano movement protested the Vietnam War on the grounds that a disproportionately large number of Mexican Americans were being killed in action. This opposition culminated in the 1970 Chicano Moratorium, an East Los Angeles anti-war protest that ended in violence.

In 1990 and 1991, an estimated twenty-thousand Hispanic American troops participated in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield in the Persian Gulf. Many more also later served during later campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan that were part of the broader War on Terrorism that took place between the 2000s and 2020s.

Mexican Americans and other Hispanic Americans have served with distinction during times of peace as well. One notable figure who served off the battlefield was Louis Caldera. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican immigrant parents in 1956, Caldera graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1978 and was assigned to active duty at Fort Dix and other locations before later going on to serve as secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2001.

Bibliography

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