Luis N. Ruiz
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Luis N. Ruiz was born to Carmen Narvaez and Luis Ruiz on December 30, 1930 in
Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He is one of three brothers and two sisters.
Luis recalls growing up in his native town of Rio Piedras along with his parents whom lived a life filled with economic challenges. His father was a chauffeur and
his mom was a hard-working woman who washed and ironed clothes for other people to help with the daily necessities of home. Due to the hardships, as a ninth grader, Luis decided to leave school at the age of 15. At that early age, his main goal was to help his mother financially. He recalls his first job as a candy salesboy
in the streets of his town. As Luis got older he got his first legal job in a government's agricultural field where he was content. In 1951, at age 21, Luis was a single man being recruited into the U.S. Army where he was to fight for the country in the
Korean War during 1950 to 1953. Luis never thought the events
that would happen next were to change his life forever. After his service in the Korean War, Luis was stationed in San Antonio, Texas and later received honorable discharge from the U.S. Army. It was in San Antonio where Luis met his wife Consuelo A. Ruiz. Luis and Consuelo married by the Justice of the Peace on November 9th, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois where Consuelo was temporarily residing. After marrying, Luis and Consuelo moved back to Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Luis then held several different jobs
to include the American Red Cross and photography where he worked as a negative retoucher. In 1974, Luis and Consuelo decided to move back to San Antonio, Texas and have been living here ever since with their two daughters and one son. Luis and Consuelo joined Iglesia Bethel where they exchanged marriage vows about eight years ago along with other couples from their church. Luis now enjoys everyday life with his wife, his three children and five grandchildren as a retiree from the U.S. Army.
What was your occupation?
What did you know about the war and the events occurring back in 1950?
Yes. I knew what was going on....the North Korean communists wanted to take South Korea to be just one nation, a communist nation. The U.S. was fighting in the Korean War to not allow North Korea from taking over South Korea.
How were you informed of you recruitment into the U.S. Army?
The mail would not reach our part of town so we would have to go to another part of town to pick up our mail from where my grandfather was living. He was an old man and could not deliver the mail to us... so I forgot to pick up the mail and in that mail were two letters telling me that I was being recruited. One day, I was working in the field when an officer in charge of those enlistments came to my work, took me to his office and said "We have been sending you letters because we want to recruit you to the Army". So I did, they gave me a couple of days to get ready.
How did you take the news?
Who were you leaving behind in Rio Piedras?
Where and for how long did you train for the war?
Describe a typical day in Puerto Rico at the age of 21 years old.
At age 21 I was working. I would go to work in the morning and after work I'd go home and do some chores, rest, and wait until the following day to go work again.
I was working in an agricultural field where plant experiments were done. My job was to take care of the plants... like watering them and getting them ready for the
people who did the experiments.
Well, I was surprised....but I told them yes I am going to get ready for the Army. I was more than ready.
I was leaving behind...my mother and my sister.
I did my basic training for six months in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
Describe a typical day of training?
We would wake up at six o'clock in the morning....that was hard let me tell you...we would eat breakfast and then do exercises and then we would go to the field and practice shooting with every gun available all day. At night we would rest unless told otherwise.
How were you transferred to Korea?
We were transferred in a ship named "The Landfill." It was a very old ship and we would have a lot of problems inside the ship. We went from Puerto Rico, all the way to Japan then to South Korea. All the way in the same ship.
What was the morale of the people in that crew?
We were mainly very young people and did not know much about the war. We were O.K. like there was no danger...while in the ship, we would play all kinds of games. We were happy.
Where did you sleep and eat?
We would sleep in bunkbeds and sandsacks. Most of the time when at the rear line we were able to get hot meals but when we were fighting in the front line...it was very different...
they would feed us small cans of food...warm or not we'd eat it... all the time was the same, during the day or the night so I guess we were all hungry all the time...
Did you like the food?
Well...it was O.K...
When not in combat, what would you do?
When we were at the rear line...we would make coffee or go fishing but we were always busy so it's not like we could stay behind the front line all day or night...for we were always
on call. The rear line was a clear space of land where we were able to do chores, practice and so on...
How many months did you serve?
I was supposed to help out for one year but at six months or so I got wounded. I was down at the top of the hill and I was brought down to the first aid cave and then transferred to the hospital.
Where were you treated for you injuries?
I was transferred to a hospital in Japan where they were trying to save my leg...One day when I woke up, I touched down my leg and noticed it was missing...the doctor then said
"we tried our best to save your leg...(he was a little bit down, Luis noticed)...but we had to amputate". Everyone there was kind and I was very well taken care of there...they put a leg prosthesis in place.
How was life for you after the Korean War?
Well...at the beginning it was a too hard...when I was a young man before I entered the Army I was in gang in our barrio named "Korea" and a couple of friends were writing to me
at the hospital and telling me to take it easy...you know...one of them wrote to me and said we are going to kick you out of the gang because you cannot run anymore...(Luis laughs)
Puerto Rico has beautiful beaches...I loved to go to the beach and having a
leg prosthesis would make me joke with people about it and I didn't have a problem...Life for me was different...I couldn't do things as before but I was fine.
What happened next?
I was stationed in San Antonio, Texas. Then received honorable discharge from the Army.
Do you share your history with your grandchildren?
These young people are now very different...they don't ask me much about it.
Do you feel the government took care of you after your service in the war?
Oh yes! They took good care of me.....
How did the Army change your life?
Well...life was hard for me after the Army but I just tried to have a good time myself... (off recording)
(I've heard of people that I knew were also in the Korean War and their lives have been greatly affected by it. Memories still hunt them and make them act as if they were still in the battlefield...At the beginning it was similar for me but as the years went by it got easier for me).
Thanks to God I was able to get accustomed to it...
In doing this oral history project, I learned how history can come alive through the experiences lived by people I actually know and see on a frequent basis. Luis made it clear that being part of the Korean War was not an easy challenge to overcome but his positive outlook on life got him through the hard times due to his injury during battle. Luis's primary language was Spanish and he mentioned to me that he had to make an extra effort to learn the English language during his military training. I learned Luis is a very strong minded person that is not afraid to face challenges even when they come unexpectedly. And when they come, he's willing to make the best of them. I learned about the Korean War, why and when the United States was part of it. But most important, I was able to see through someone else's memories the hardships of war and the sacrifice our soldiers make on a daily basis for the sake of freedom. The benefits of learning through oral history are being able to grasp history experienced by people from our own generation and the fact that every student knows someone with a different history to tell. History books are great with information such as dates and order of events but I believe history should be a combination of both, books and lived history.
Korean War. This site gives full coverage of facts relating to the Korean War during 1950 to 1953.
Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. This site gives historical and geographical information of Vega Baja, the place where Luis's military training facility was located.
Leg Prosthesis. This site shows the different types of leg prosthesis available and all pertinent information regarding artificial limbs.
Frontline. a site which shows what a front line is while at war.