Capt. Carlos Diaz • US Air Force

Never in my lifetime would I have imagined that after leaving Puerto Rico, I was going to be in the forefront of the war on terrorism and be able to provide comfort to those who lost everything they had after the 2004 tsunami in the Pacific.

Now that I think about it, I probably thought about serving my country. I remember the stories of many veterans who would sit and chat with my grandfather about their experiences during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, while he waited for his medical appointment at a veterans hospital.

Like my story, there are another 200,000 stories of sacrifice and courage like the ones I heard at that hospital a long time ago. Those stories are being written in Spanish and English, they sound like salsa merengue and mariachis; they taste like pozole, plantains and enchiladas; they all feel and smell like freedom.

Thousands of Hispanic Americans have given their lives to defend our way of life and have paved the way for me and other Hispanic-American servicemembers and civilians who have followed their example.

To the ones who went before us and opened doors to people like me, and to the country that has accepted our cultures and given us our way of life -- Gracias!

Resource:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123028159