Selected Interview Segments: Sarah Moreno Posas
Sarah Moreno Posas,
Sister-In-Law of Felix Longoria
Copyright 2007 South Texas Public Broadcasting System, INC.
Q: What were some of the obvious signs of discrimination you and your sister noticed growing up in Three Rivers?
A: What was obvious about, discrimination in Three Rivers was, we were not allowed to go to the first floor in the movies. We had to go upstairs. There were restaurants that did not allow Hispanics. And, my older sisters worked, cleaning houses for the Anglo people and, I remember one instance where one of the ladies that my sister worked for cleaning the house one day saw me and she said, "Oh, here. Take this to Beatrice." And it was 15 cents, 15 cents for cleaning her house the whole day. And, things like that that to me sounded so unjust. As young as I was, I knew it wasn't right.
Q: What did your father do for a living?
A: My father worked for the railroad and he was a foreman. They did repairs of the railroad tracks, and one-day his engine where he transported his workers to the sites was caught by a train and damaged, demolished. And so he was dismissed and so there was nothing else to do in Three Rivers so he decided to buy a truck and, uh, go to different places to work. And so he took some people, migrants, and just kind of followed the crops.
And I remember one time that we went somewhere in West Texas, it being so cold... at the time and I remember sleeping in-in barns. They had no housing for the workers. So we slept wherever we could find a place. And, after a few months, after them finishing the work around there, we started back home and it was also very, very cold. I remember we were all riding in the back of the truck. And it was late at night and we were quite a distance from getting home, so my mother insisted that we stop and rent a place to sleep and rest and get out of the cold. Well, my dad stopped at the first town that we came to, and he approached a little motel and asked if they had a place for us and he said, they told him that they didn't allow Mexicans. And so he came and got on the truck and just continued on, and drove on until we got home in the early hours of the morning, and in the freezing rain and cold and that... really hurt. (Begins to cry) Oh, that... that's painful, even after so many years... when I remember those times it hurts.
Q: I'd like you to discuss the incident dealing with your brother-in-law and your sister. Maybe you can just kind of paint a little biographical picture of Felix Longoria,, his family and what he was doing before he was drafted.
A: Well, Felix Longoria was a young husband and father, a very wonderful son-in-law to my parents. When he was around our home he helped my parents fix anything that needed fixing and he was a very caring and loving young man. I loved him dearly and-- so they moved to Corpus Christi from Three Rivers because, as I say, there was nothing that he could make a living to support his wife and child. So he moved to the big city and he got a job as a truck driver. And it was a short while later that he was called to, serve his country. And, so he very willing left, went to basic training for about six months and, I think, he came to visit one time. And, then he left, to California and from there he was shipped to the Pacific, to the Philippine Islands. And that was the last time that we, saw him, because the next thing that happened was, we-- my sister was notified that he died in action just a month after he had, left the United States.
Q: Would you tell us the story of the actual incident regarding Dr. Garcia and his participation in this incident which begins when you overhear the conversation between your sister and your parents?.
A: Right after the end of the World War, my sister was notified that he had died in action, and to wait for further instructions whenever his body would be returned for burial. So it wasn't until 1948, the bodies of the soldiers were being returned to the United States for burial to their families. So my sister received notice that, she needed to make arrangements at a funeral home, local funeral home, to receive the body when it arrived. And so she, took a trip by bus to Three Rivers, which is just about an hour and half from Corpus Christi, and she went and approached the funeral home, and have his body returned there for a wake and for service. Well, to her dismay the owner said, "I'm sorry, but the whites would object... because Mexicans are not served here." And, so my sister came home and when she was sharing that with my parents, she was very frustrated because she didn't know what to do next. She was kind of confused. And, I overheard her telling my parents that.
Q: Was she willing to accept this?
A: Well, she really was confused as to what to do next. And when I overheard her sharing that, and about not knowing what to do next, I immediately walked up and I said, "Well, would you like to, call someone that can probably do something about it?" And so she said, "Yes." Because the first thought that came to me was calling Dr. Hector Garcia. So she said, "Yeah, uh, would you-- can you call?" And so I got on the phone immediately and that's all it took, a call to Dr. Hector Garcia.
He called the right people and, so, consequently the whole world-- in a weeks time, my sister was receiving, correspondence from all over the United States and even outside the United States, condemning, the situation. And offers of places where he could be given a decent burial. And one of those offers was from the then Senator Lyndon Johnson who offered to have him buried anywhere that the widow wished, including the Arlington National Cemetery.
Q: Now, your family didn't have the resources, financially, to be able to go to Washington, D.C.. Can you tell me about the effort and what took place in order to ensure that the family members could go?
A: Yes, that's another thing, that Dr. Garcia saw to it that the family would be able to attend the funeral. And so, they passed the hat around at that meeting and then they opened it to, anyone that wished to send donations for the, family members to attend the funeral in Washington. And so, it was overwhelming, everybody, all the family-- His family was able to attend the funeral, his mother and sister and brothers. And, Senator Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird were there at the funeral along with a representative that, President Truman-- General Vaughan was his name. He came to represent the President. I remember there was a military band playing and I remember very well one of the numbers that was played was "Onward Christian Soldiers", which reminds me of that funeral all the time that I hear it.
Q: How did things change for you after this incident?
A: I got involved-- right after the funeral, I got more involved in the, Ladies Auxiliary of the G. I. Forum because I realized that so much work needed to be done. And, I joined along with other members, in going all over Texas to organize new chapters of the G. I. Forum. And, I also participated in going and urging people to buy their voters registration because they had to buy it.
Q: You did tell us about visiting Dr. Garcia in the hospital in his last days. And I know that's tough to talk about, but I wondered if you could just share with us a little bit about getting to see him again in those final days.
A: Yes, I visited Dr. Garcia when he was in his last days on this earth. He suffered with cancer, and I had the opportunity to visit him just a couple of days before he died. And I went in and hugged him and I told him how much I loved him, and how much my family was grateful to him for all that he had done for us and how much I respected him. And that was good feeling and I felt sad that a legend that was about to leave us on this earth. But, I know that he heard me. He was a man that made a difference to so many people.
And even today, I feel challenged every time I turn around, when I hear racist remarks and, people being indifferent, intolerant towards other people of different colors. And I have learned to speak out in a loving way, and let people know that that is not right. So, I remember Dr. Garcia, every time that a situation comes up and I speak up. I can feel his presence. I feel that he's my angel.