Manuel Barrios Hernandez

1966 My uncle Manuel standing in the mud in front of a Vietnamese home.

San Antonio, Texas

June 2005

Laci R. Flores

Palo Alto College

History 1302 - Summer 2005

INTRODUCTION

My uncle, Manuel Barrios Hernandez was born on June 17 1945 to Luis and Alvina Barrios Hernandez in Wichita Falls, Texas. Once his family decided to move, my uncle Manuel along with his nine brothers and sisters, the family chose to reside in San Antonio. In San Antonio is where my uncle went to school, he attended and graduated from Southside High School. He then went on to complete one year of college at San Antonio College and then completed two years at the University of Texas at San Antonio. At Southside High School is where Manuel met my aunt, Adelita Rios Alaniz. Adelita is my mother's oldest sister. The two were married in a Catholic ceremony on December 2, 1967. After a few years of being married the two had their first daughter Brenda, then another daughter Bernice, then finally a son Jason was born. The two proud parents raised their children in San Antonio in a very Catholic oriented home. The family would attend mass every Sunday, but at various churches. My aunt, Adelita worked until her recent retirement for the South San Antonio School District as a secretary in the main office. My uncle on the other hand has held numerous jobs. He worked as a painter right out of high school, and then worked as a door manufacturer; he also worked in the warehouse for Handy Andy. My uncle has spent 32 years of his life in the civil services, 22 years in the Air Force Reserves. While my uncle was in the service he moved all around, he was stationed in Louisiana (Fort Polk) and Georgia for some time. While he was in the service my uncle served our country in Vietnam for one year. He talks about his experiences as being life changing and somewhat traumatizing. He also mentioned that he missed his fiance (my aunt) very much when he was away fighting in the Vietnam War. Since he is retired, my uncle enjoys gardening, playing golf, and being a grandpa.

TRANSCRIPTION

Why did you decide to join the Army?

I was drafted so I guess you can say I was forced to join the Army. There were rules, every man that was 18 years old had to register. Then their names where entered into a lottery draft. The only time they went to that lottery was when they needed more men to fight. The ones who were drafted were the ones who probably would not go to college. The college kids did not have to go, even the married men did not have to go fight, they were differed. So the poorer kids were fighting or those college students who fluncked out. Towards the end, the married guys were drafted because we needed more troops.

How old were you when you went into fight in the Vietnam War?

I was 21 years old. It was September of 66.

Do you remember where you were when you first heard about the war?

I was in high school. Southside High School.

How much did you know about the war when you went in?

I just knew what we saw on TV. I only knew the negativity of it. I remember seeing a lot of the college kids protesting the war. Everything was negative and I remember that the soldiers were hated for being in the war. I wish the kids now that are fighting are treated like heroes. And they are, but I remember seeing the way people would treat the soldiers when they came back from Vietnam. It did not hit home until it was me coming home and being treated poorly by my fellow Americans. We had to sneak back into town. People would spit at us and call us names. We were back home, but we were not welcomed. Only your family and your loved ones were the ones who welcomed you home.

What did you take with you when you left to fight in the war?

Well, I had just gotten engaged to your aunt before I left so I took a picture of her.

What did you do when you first arrived?

Well, we had to take the beach. We were in charge of the beach. Before that, one of the first things that we had to make sure of was landing safely. Well, not landing, we went by ship. I was a squad leader,I was the leader of the D-Squad so I also had to make sure that my men were all there and knew what they had to do.

What were your first thoughts as you arrived?

I was scared. I did not know if I would ever go back home or see my fiance back in the states. I think everyone was scared and asked themselves the same thing "am I going to make it home safely?" and if they were not scared they were being stupid idiots.

Did you have any special jobs when you were there in the war?

Yes, I was in charge of the D-squad and the D-squad was in charge of communication. We had to set up telephone lines so that everyone was able to communicate with one another.

Can you describe a typical day in Vietnam?

Well, I would get up, if I slept. Then I would thank God that I was alive. Then I would pray to make it through the rest of the day. I just took the days one day at a time. Nothing was typical, everything changed from day to day.

Who did you serve with in Vietnam?

Army- Communications Group. The D-squad is what we were called.

1966 manuel working with telephone line/wires.

What types of weapons did you handle?

I had a M16, .38 pistol, and a M60 machine gun.

1966 Manuel sitting down with all of his weapons.

What was it like being away from your family? Did you still communicate with them in any way?

It was lonely. When I was drafted, it was the first time I had ever really been away from home. I would send letters home but the letters only said "Hello, I'm fine, no worry." They had no description of what was going on. We were told not to add certain things in our letters. But I also did not want to worry anyone so my letters were just enough to let them know I was OK.

Did you know anyone who was there with you? Were you the only one from San Antonio?

I was the only one from San Antonio in the D-squad. Well, I was the only one from San Antonio in the whole company.

Did you make a lot of friends there while serving?

Yes, I met people who were Native American, they were in my squad. I met people from California, New York, The Hills, Kentucky, The Dakotas, Georgia, there were people from all over the country.

Was there anything special that you and your friends did? Sing songs together? Pray?

We trusted each other and believed in each other. But we avoided becoming real good friends because it would hurt to lose them. I never got real close to them. It could have been as was like "today they are here and tomorrow they weren't" it would have been worse for me.

How did you deal with the war?

My faith in God. I put my life in God's hands and asked him to guide me one day at a time. I could also never get careless. That was a bad mistake that many guys made and I could not afford to do that.

How did you value your family and life when you got back from the war?

Well, my life meant more to me, I enjoyed it more because I knew how fast it could have ended. When I came back my family and my loved ones meant more to me also because there were times that I did not know if I was going to see them again. They were more special to me when I got back. Life is something that you are given and it's something that you should enjoy.

What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear "Vietnam?"

The wasted lives because we did not accomplish anything. Lives were distroyed even though they came back. They were never the same. A lot of them could not mentally cope with it and those would turn to drugs and drinking.

What do you often hear/see about the war that is not true?

Some movies are OK. Some are just Hollywood. And war is ugly, there is nothing pretty. Innocent people die. It's not pretty. I never wish it on anyone to have to go through the war experience.

Were you related to anyone else who fought in this war or any other wars?

My Mom's brother fought in WWII.

Is there anything I can learn or anyone else can learn based on your war experience?

We should try to do everything possible before war. Diplomacy should be taken to the limit before going to war. War is costly. Some wars never settled anything but they are costly. In reality, the ones who put you under was are not the ones fighting. And nowadays the young women are fighting right along side to the men. War is affecting men and women.

The Hernandez Family 2004 At their daughter's graduation

ANALYSIS

I learned a lot about how war can change your life. I can only imagine going to serve your country and then coming home to it and not being welcomed. That must have been a horrible feeling for the troops who were coming back from Vietnam. I did not realize how much this war impacted my uncle. There were a few times during the interview process that he said "I do not want to answer that" and I know it is because these times were hard on him. He even told me, that is a part of my past that I really do not want to recall. I know more about the war now but I feel that I do not know too much history about it as far as why we actually went to war in the first place to post any further comments about it. I do not think there are drawbacks from doing these oral history projects. To me, there are only benefits because we are all being educated by people who actually lived through these war times and know what they are like firsthand. I think these oral history projects are a great way to learn about our past and even make it somewhat real for us today. Listening to these various oral history projects has made me grateful to those who have served or who had loved ones who were serving that they had to support.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Handbook of Texas Online Copyright © The Texas State Historical Association. The Handbook of Texas Online is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at University of Texas at Austin. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/ Last Updated: May 13, 2005.

Main Page for San Antonio College. San Antonio College is where my uncle recieved 1 year of education from and this is the homepage for those are interested. http://www.accd.edu/sac/sacmain/sac.htm/ Last updated 6/21/05.

UTSA Homepage The University of Texas at San Antonio is also where my uncle recieved some of his education. He attended UTSA for 2 years. This is also the homepage for this particular school. © The University of Texas at San Antonio. 6900 N. Loop 1604 West—San Antonio, TX 78249—(210) 458-4011

The Air Force Reserves Homepage This is the Air Force reserves hompage where the basic information reguarding the reserves is located. My uncle was a part of the Air Force Reserves for 22 years. © Commonwealth of Australia 2004

Basic history of Fort Polk This website contains a little history of Fort Polk which is an army base located in Louisiana. Copyright © 2000-2005 GlobalSecurity.org All rights reserved. Site maintained by: John Pike Page last modified: 26-04-2005 23:12:59 Zulu

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