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No Longer Missing in Action — The Saga of Latinos and the Vietnam War
From Draft NOtices, October-December 2015
— Isidro D. Ortiz, Ph.D.
Roberto Mendez LCPL-E — Marine Corps-Regular . . . Casualty was on Oct 27, 1968
This is part of the inscription on the Vietnam Memorial Wall for my childhood friend. Although I have never forgotten his death, I was reminded of his passing by the 45th anniversary of the largest protest against the war by Chicanos on August 29, 1970. The event was known as the Chicano Moratorium. It occurred in East Los Angeles, California, bringing together nearly 30,000 Chicanos in protest of the war. I was not at the Moratorium; however, combined with Roberto’s death, the protest further catalyzed my decision to become a conscientious objector.
The death of Roberto and those of many other Chicanos, the protest, and my decision to become a conscientious objector are small pieces of a chapter in the Vietnam War story that has been omitted in most discussions of the war. So when some hear for the first time the elements of this chapter, they ask basic questions, such as: How many Chicanos and other Latinos participated in the military during the war? Why did Chicanos protest the war? How were Chicanos and other Latinos affected by the war? How many died in the war?