While becoming an "ace" pilot requires a number of finely honed skills and exceptional aeronautical ability, it is even harder to achieve this status in only one day.

Company E far exceeded the simplistic expectations of “Americanization” that marked its beginning, and its men went on to prove what it meant to be truly American. 

“No greater fighting combat team has ever deployed for battle,” General Douglas McArthur noted after the war of the 158th Infantry Regiment “Bushmasters,” which was made up predominantly of Mexican Americans and members of the Pima and Navajo tribes from Arizona.

The Longoria Affair, as it came to be known, drew national attention to the systemic discrimination that Latino Americans faced and served as a rallying point for the American GI Forum’s campaign against pervasive racism and inequality.

Second Lieutenant Rudolph B. Davila, of Spanish-Filipino descent, received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions near Artena, Italy, during World War II. 

After parachuting on Tagaytay Ridge, Manuel Pérez participated in the horrendous fighting with the Japanese in the Philippines' capital city of Manila, the scene of some of the bloodiest urban combat of the war.

For what he did on October 4, 1944, Staff Sergeant Manuel V. Mendoza garnered a special place in the history of Nazi Germany’s defeat.

Eduardo Peniche came to the United States to obtain an education and became a decorated war veteran and proud American in the process.

A single squadron of Mexican flyers completed nearly 800 sorties—individual aircraft combat missions—in the waning days of World War II.

During the war, Mexican Americans served in the military and worked on the Home Front to support their country, and when it ended, were no longer willing to accept second-class citizenship.

William Pena discusses his experiences while fighting the Germans in the Colmar Pocket in January 1945 and how he was wounded by a mine and evacuated to the United States.

The first Medal of Honor awarded to a Hispanic American in World War II was also the first awarded for actions on the North American continent since 1898.