Sierra Lynch
Skylar Quigley
Corona
U.S. History/Period1
June 3, 2014
Gabriel Valenzuela
On March 17, 1929 a hero was born in El Paso, Texas. He grew up in a poor, dirty neighborhood struggling with poverty, drugs, and stealing all around him. He experienced a lot of discrimination in his childhood being Hispanic. This did not stop him from being successful. In High School Gabriel Valenzuela was extremely active in sports. He spent most of his time playing football and running track. He also excelled in his academics. He moved out of his parents house at the age of 17 and headed for Los Angeles, California. He got a job as an electrical worker running wires and providing electricity to buildings. At 18, he met a woman names Gloria who stole his heart and was going to be his future wife.
They met dancing to Mambo No.5. They both loved to jitterbug and were probably the best on the dance floor. Being as love struck as he was, he later carved her name "Gloria" into the handle of his rifle later when he joined the service. While he was serving in the war, they would not allow telephone communications so the two would write letters back and forth almost everyday. Through the letters Gloria was the first the close one of the letter with "your future wife". From that point forward they knew that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.
During his time in California, Gabriel had overheard many of his friends begin to be drafted into the military. At this time he had no interest in being in he military and was hoping to avoid being drafted. Knowing that this would happen sooner or later, Gabriel went to the recruiting facility to sign up to be drafted into the Air Force. Upon his arrival to the office he discovered that he had already been drafted into the army. Gabriel was 21 years old when he was officially drafted and part of the United States Army. Gabriel and the other men of the 14th division were sent to San Francisco for basic training to be sent off to Korea. Training was a walk in the park for most of the men and Gabriel spent a lot of time goofing off with his many friends. Gabriel even slid by the 14 weeks without ever really learning to how to use his gun. The basic training was over quickly and the men's final destination was Korea and Gabriel Valenzuela was along for the ride.
Gabriel and his division were sent first to Japan for 3 days to prep for the combat in Korea. It was in these 3 days that Gabriel had to quickly learn to use his rifle, which was not so hard with such tough leaders he had. From these men, Gabriel learned how to keep neat and tidy . Being in the service made him grow to be organized, responsible, and hardworking. Based on Gabriel's experience with electrical work he was assigned Team Chief of Communications in his division. This was a worthy and respected position.
Gabriel witnessed a lot of combat during his time of service. When asked how Valenzuela made it through every day, across the world, and exposed to this horrific thing we called war he simply replied that he prayed a lot. When he was not fighting on the fight line, he recalls it being hard to stay in the city for a long period of time because they were so poor and starving that they would eat the old food that the soldiers would throw out. Most of the food was rotted and filled with maggots. He realized the real troubles in life and to stay positive he kept a small pocket bible on him at all times. He would read it in times when he needed hope and he would just read. His faith and the daily letters he received from his fiancé, Gloria, kept Gabriel hopeful and anticipating his return home.
Upon his return home to California he decided to continue with his education by going to college instead of enlisting for a second term. With the help from the GI Bill, he was able to attend a university, and further his education and career. With his college degree, Gabriel was able to get a job working for NASA installing the electrical work on numerous space shuttles. The most notable shuttle he worked on was The Challenger that was launched on January 8th, 1986, and held 7 members aboard the shuttle to conduct the first class session in space. Unfortunately, the shuttle blew up only 73 seconds after its launch and all passengers were killed.
Gabriel was thankful for being so lucky to be able to visit other countries and he thinks it’s what made the war so memorable for him. He made many friends that he still keeps in touch with today. One thing Gabriel took pride in was his ability to say no when his friends were doing something wrong and he believes that is what may have saves his life out on the battlefield. The Valenzuela name is being carried on today by his 15 grandchildren. He loves the fact that most of them are just as involved with sports as he was and he enjoys watching their games and tournaments. One interesting things about Gabriel is the way he feels about trophies. He does not think that it is fair for two people who have spent the same amount of time working towards a goal to be ranked and rewarded differently. He strongly believes in equality and freedom of speech. Mr. Valenzuela is a huge inspiration to each one of us individually and has taught us to be over all better people, to treat others with respect, and to work hard to get where we want in life. He also stressed to us how important our education is and how it will affect us in the long run. Thank you Gabriel Valenzuela.