Garza / Military Service, Part Two
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But anyway, while I was there to apply for radio operator [?] at [?] I got assigned to an aircraft carrier. I mean not an air craft carrier, an aircraft squadron that flew in the old pbs, the airplanes that landed on the water. Wonder, cause I remember during the Korean War was monitoring the submarines, who were then coming from the Gulf of Mexico to deliver support to [?] who were then [?] government and then I was flying [?] pbs and monitoring the locations of the submarines [?] to the government saw the monitoring of that activity. From Trinidad, we were stationed we moved to Panama and this was certain until the end of my military service. Interviewer-"When you were in the military, did you noticed any kind of discrimination, racial tensions in the marine service?" Mr. Garza-In the service? Interviewer- "mm mm" Mr. Garza- Well, not that much cause like I said I was pretty much a positive individual and I really teamed up with some of the service man that were around a positive-oriented and we became a team and there were some difficult nation to face, but it didn't face me because I overcame it. There was one individual that wanted to pick a fight for me and he [?] when he [?] me I confronted him and he backed off, lol. See, during my time in boot camp in the Great Lakes, I went out for several extra curricular activities to qualify for leave. I had a choice of either going to Chicago or Milwaukee and I would run out for everything. I went out for boxing and rope climbing and all that. So, I pretty much held out my own and them knowing that I had been a golden gloves boxer. They would challenge me, but they wouldn't confront me strongly, lol. Interviewer-"Do you remember what he said to you, that he was trying to confront you, but..." Mr. Garza-Um, I don't really remember, I think the one incident that I remember being labeled the Mexican when I was in college and went to see this movie with Rock Hudson. Interviewer-"Giant" Mr. Garza-Uh? Interviewer-"Giant." Mr. Garza-Yea, well [?] to watch a movie and these two college students that were there, saw me and line and he said some sort of comment and when I turned around to face him, he faced the other way, lol, but seeing that movie was what experience to see what Texan were Hispanics and what Texan were [?] Have you see Giant? Interviewer-"Mm mm, yes" [?], Mr. Garza- Well, I really enjoyed that and, of course, I was Hispanic [?], what is it, Edward Amos. Interviewer-"Edward James Amos" Mr. Garza-[?] the one about education. "college prep". Mr. Garza-But, anyway, I really borrow on some of those movies to conveyed in my friends that don't accept what we went through, [?] it was written by [?] Interviewer-"The movies name is Stand and Deliver" Mr. Garza-Stand and Deliver, yea [?] didn't care for much, but that one really, really impressed me....
Interview | Interview with Trini Garza |
Subjects | Discrimination or Segregation › Discrimination or Segregation in Stores |
Education › Higher Education | |
Military › Korean War | |
Military › Better Race Relations in the Military | |
Military › Military Bases and Posts | |
Tags | Hudson, Rock |
Giant (1956) | |
Stand and Deliver (1988) | |
Olmos, Edward James | |
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Interview date | 2015-06-11 |
Interview source | CRBB Summer 2015 |
Interviewees | Garza, Trini |
Interviewers | Bynum, Katherine |
Locations | Jacksonville, FL |
Panama | |
Duration | 00:05:23 |
Citation | "Military Service, Part Two," from Trini Garza oral history interview with Katherine Bynum, June 11, 2015, Dallas, TX, Civil Rights in Black and Brown Interview Database, https://crbb.tcu.edu/clips/1427/military-service-part-two, accessed October 11, 2025 |