Last night we slept within the land called the Nueces Strip, that being South of the Nueces River. It is appropriate that at the point of highest physical exhaustion, that in order to cross this most historic of Texas rivers, that it is our internal spirit that will carry us across.
Most Texans may forget that the lands South of the Nueces river were not won due to the battles at the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. The Nueces river was widely viewed as the boundary that divided the newly liberated Texas and Mexico. Twelve years later in 1848 it was the Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that brought the disputed territory into United States.
Just as rapidly did the United States desire the territory did it neglect the people who inhabited it. Painful moments of my people, the people of Deep South Texas,are recorded by history and this river.
In 1848, in the last days of World War II, Felix Longoria was killed. What followed is a peephole in time as to the treatment of some of the inhabitants of South Texas. As the Handbook of Texas describes it:
"His body was shipped home for burial in the Three Rivers cemetery, where the "Mexican" section was separated by barbed wire. The director of the funeral home would not allow the use of the chapel because of alleged disturbances at previous Mexican-American services and because "the whites would not like it." Longoria's widow and her sister discussed the refusal with Dr. Hector Garcia, the founder of the American G. I. Forum. He, in turn, contacted the funeral director and received the same refusal and rationale. On January 11, 1949, Garcia called a meeting of the Corpus Christi Forum, which he had organized as the first G. I. Forum chapter in March 1948; he also sent many telegrams and letters to Texas congressmen. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson responded immediately with support and an offer to arrange the burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The funeral took place on February 16, 1949, at the Arlington National Cemetery; with the Longoria family were Senator Johnson and a personal representative of the president of the United States."
The pain of that moment and many other moments, recorded in history books, are still close to the surface. A recent attempt by Congressman Doggett to name the Three Rivers Post Office after Felix Longoria was met with furious reaction by some of the members of the community.
Today we cross this river of history and may pause to remember Felix Longoria at the post office which the current administration prevents from carrying his name. Today, Hispanic-American and Anglo-American veterans from the Nueces Strip, which we now proudly call Texas, continue our journey in search of the earned honor and respect for all veterans who proudly served their country.
May we all learn the lessons of history and fight to minimize man's inhumanity to man.
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