Wiser With Age

Tag: World War II

  • Nation’s oldest park ranger plays pivotal role in national park

    Nation’s oldest park ranger plays pivotal role in national park


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Betty Reid Soskin (Courtesy National Park Service)

    At nearly 95, Betty Reid Soskin has lived a remarkable life, but her adventures are not over.

    During World War II, when Soskin was 20, she worked as a file clerk for Boilermakers Union A-36, a Jim Crow segregated union. In 1945, she and her first husband, founded Reid Records, a small record store specializing in Gospel music. In the 1960’s she enjoyed writing songs and performing them at college campuses during the Civil Rights Movement. In the late 1970’s she became a community activist and started serving as a field representative for California State Assemblywoman Dion Aroner and Loni Hancock.

    It was through this civic work, which led Soskin to become involved in the planning of a park to honor the active role of women during World War II, a role she knew of first-hand. For the past decade, she has been working in that very park – Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park – located in her hometown of Richmond, California.

    “I didn’t become a ranger until I was 85,†says Soskin, who is considered the most senior park ranger in the entire U.S. “I think most of what moves me is the park that I’m involved with is part of my living history. I’m a primary source.â€

    Soskin works five hours a day, five days a week, in the park’s Visitor Center.

    “I work at the desk answering phones…On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, I screen one of our nine films and then do a commentary,†she says. “On Wednesdays and Fridays, I work on writing, answering mail, catching up with my e-mail, and am involved in planning meetings with the rest of the staff.â€

    She’s proud that she played such an active role in the development of Rosie the Riveter National Park, and gets to continually do so every week.

    “I get to add the history of African American women,†says Soskin. “The park wasn’t meant to celebrate that part of history…History that’s not in the history books.â€

    She says the first people were who were hired to work in the World War II effort were men too old to fight, then single white women, then when that pool was exhausted, they hired married white women, then black men.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Betty, at 20, in 1942. (Photo by Emmanuel F. Joseph)

    “Then in 1944-45, they began to train black women to be welders,†recalls Soskin. “I was working in a segregated union hall making 5×5 change of address cards for people who were constantly moving.â€

    She says her history was very different from that of Rosie the Riveter – a cultural icon representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom worked in the shipyards and factories making war supplies.

    “I get to trace that history for people,†says Soskin, about her work. “It was a case of being involved in one of the most dynamic histories in our time…and I can make it come alive for people.â€

    Her favorite moment in history took place on January 20, 2009.

    “I was a seated guest at the Capitol, and I had a picture of my great grandmother – who had been a slave – in my pocket, and the first black President was being inaugurated. I don’t think she could’ve imagined that happen in the world she lived in. I don’t think she could think that could happen. We are living in such a fast changing world. It’s absolutely unbelievable.† 

    As far as the current elections and race relations, she says we didn’t come so far in one piece.

    “A lot of us got stuck,†says Soskin. “When I was a young woman, my father was a craftsman, and  my grandfather was an engineer. We lost in everything in the 1927 floods in New Orleans, and my father lost his status in that world.â€

    It was not possible for him to be a craftsman in the west coast, so he started working on the railroad – he worked in the sandwich car.

    “He was a very proud man, and I think being on that level must have been very, very hard for him,†says Soskin.  

    She continues to say that she feels that every event in her life was leading to the place she is now.

    “I seem to be using everything I’ve ever learned, now, in this context,†says Soskin. “It’s an amazing place in life. I’m still an evolving person, still now. If I were to choose a favorite period, I think it would be the last 10 years.â€

    During the last 10 years, she’s worn her uniform proudly.  

    “I enjoy wearing my uniform, because I’ve seen little girls look up at me and wonder,†says Soskin. “It does give the silent message that this could be a career option that they might not have thought of.â€

    The piece of advice she would have liked to have given her younger self:

    “Don’t get hung up on the answers. It’s the questions that lead you through life,†she says. “Answers have always been temporary for me. As I aged, if I found an answer, I knew they would never last – they developed into new questions. No one lifetime can encompass all those answers. That is still where I am.â€

  • Cooking With Granny: Russian stuffed peppers

    Cooking With Granny: Russian stuffed peppers


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Caroline with Russian granny Nina Iskin.

    As grandma Nina Iskin teaches us how to make stuffed peppers, we also learn her war-torn tale – how she came to survive the Siege of Leningrad during World War II, the deadliest siege in military history, and eventually immigrate to New York City with the help of former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President George Bush. Watch below!

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.Caroline Shin is a multimedia journalist based in NYC. Recently, she launched “Cooking With Granny†– a Web series in which grandmas teach how to cook traditional dishes from their cultures while simultaneously sharing their funny, sad and surprising experiences with immigration and multiculturalism in a world that’s very different from today’s. Shin was previously a video editor at New York Magazine and holds an M.A. from Columbia Journalism School.

  • On 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act, a veteran remembers discrimination in US

    On 50th anniversary of Civil Rights Act, a veteran remembers discrimination in US


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Ernest Eguia in uniform during World War II. (Courtesy LULAC)

    After living through the Great Depression of the 1930’s, Ernest Eguia went from fighting in Normandy during World War II to fighting for the civil rights of Latinos when he returned home to Texas in 1945.

    Fifty years ago, this week, of President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Eguia remembers what the U.S. was like before this law made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

    “In 1946, I heard that a World War II veteran that was a recipient of the Medal of Honor had been denied service in a hamburger joint because he was a quote, unquote, Mexican,†recalls Eguia.  “[That veteran], Marcario Garcia, sued the owner of the restaurant. When I found out about it, I joined LULAC…We raised a little over $6,000 for Marcario, and he bought a house for his mother. That’s why I joined.â€

    League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is an organization which was founded in 1929 to advance civil rights and educational attainment of Hispanics in the U.S. When Eguia returned to Houston after his active four year military duty, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant and receiving the Bronze Star for his heroic efforts, he became  a successful salesman and store manager, but perhaps most importantly, he played a very active role in combating discrimination of Hispanics in his American hometown.

    After the Marcario incident, Eguia says LULAC’s Houston Council #60 grew to more than 200 members. The organization needed large numbers to fight the amount of discrimination that was happening.

    At that time in history, Eguia explains discrimination against Latinos was rampant in the U.S.

    “I remember going to a church here in Houston. I was in LULAC already, and they asked me to go ask the pastor in the Catholic Church if we could rent a dance hall for a fundraiser,†remembers Eguia. “Would you believe that a Catholic priest told me to go to a Mexican church? That was in 1947 – somewhere around there.â€

    Eguia, whose father was from Mexico and his mother from Texas, also recalls separate drinking fountains in downtown Houston that had signs for “colored,†“whites†and “Mexicans.â€

    “I remember one time they would not allow a Jewish man to register in a hotel,†says Eguia.

    Something else Eguia, and his fellow veterans, noticed upon returning to Houston was finding out there were no police officers or firemen who were Hispanic in Houston.

    “We went after the city government, and pressed them so much, that eventually there were many young men who started joining,†says Eguia. “My brother was one of the first Hispanic firemen in Houston. His name is Leon Eguia.â€

    Eguia, who throughout his life has held every LULAC Council 60 officer post, including president, says although discrimination still exists, it’s hardly noticeable compared to when he was younger.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Ernest Eguia in November, 2013, at a reception commemorating the 50th anniversary of JFK’s visit with LULAC, at the Rice Hotel in Houston. (Courtesy LULAC)

    “I’m 94-years-old now, and I’ve forgotten a lot of these things, but I see things have changed for the good,†he says, in terms of discrimination.

    Last month, he handed out a LULAC scholarship in his name to a high school senior at Sam Houston High School. He’s clear that his priority is now the future of Latino youth.

    “Our leadership in LULAC is a bit weak right now,†says Eguia who is still a member. “What we need is stronger leadership – one that is focused on community and neighborhood…The leadership we have now is very weak…â€

    He explains that when he first joined LULAC, he never took a penny and put it in his pocket.

    “Now leadership is taking big salaries,†says Eguia. “That money belongs to the community – for scholarships for our youngsters. We need to get our young ready for the future.â€

    And what advice would he like to tell today’s youth?

    “The first thing I would tell them is, ‘Be a good citizen. We live in a country that is free, and we could do whatever we want and live comfortably,’†says Eguia. “The second thing I would say is, ‘Get yourself educated, because once you get education, no one can take that away from you’…The important thing is to be honest to the country, yourself, and the community, and if you have a good education, I think a youngster could get very far. Short cuts are not going to get you anywhere.â€

  • Borinqueneer still serves as a military intelligence volunteer at 92

    Borinqueneer still serves as a military intelligence volunteer at 92

    July 27, 2012, U.S. Army veteran Andres Vergara salutes during the commemoration of the 59th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice in Arlington, Virginia. With four official combat jumps, Vergara received the South Korean medal of honor for rescuing 100 children from an orphanage during the war. (Photo/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
    July 27, 2012, U.S. Army veteran Andres Vergara salutes during the commemoration of the 59th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice in Arlington, Virginia. With four official combat jumps, Vergara received the South Korean medal of honor for rescuing 100 children from an orphanage during the war. (Photo/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    The 65th Infantry Regiment, otherwise known as “Borinqueneers,” was created in 1899 by the U.S. Congress as a segregated unit composed primarily of Puerto Ricans. Thousands of these brave men served in World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

    According to Gilberto Villahermosa’s book, “Honor and Fidelity: The 65th Infantry in Korea, 1950-1953,” 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the Korean War alone, thousands of them with the 65th. However, the 65th has been the only segregated military infantry unit to have not yet been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

    But just last month, after more than a year in the making, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed bills that will grant the 65th Infantry Regiment its long-awaited recognition. President Barack Obama will sign the legislation on June 10, 2014, and the living members of the infantry, and their families, will head to Washington to receive the Medal.

    “I am feeling wonderful!,” says Master Sergeant Andres Vergara about the pending honor.

    Vergara, now 92, signed up with the Army at 19 and served in the 65th during World War II. According to “The Borinqueneers” documentary producer, Noemi Figueroa, he is only one of at least 300 Borinqueneers, which could possibly be in the thousands, who are still documented as living. Residing in Clearwater, Florida, Vergara drives 11 hours every weekend to an Army base in Georgia to volunteer – even though he retired from the Army 34 years ago.

    “I do military intelligence,” says Vergara proudly. “I sit at the computer Friday, Saturday and Sunday with no sleep.”

    He says he signed up as a volunteer three years ago, and the Army recruited him.

    “This is my last month,” says Vergara. “I have the rest of the week off, and this weekend I am lucky I can go to New York to take part in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.”

    This year’s parade, on June 8, will feature a special float dedicated to the Borinqueneers of the 65th Infantry Regiment.

    During service in Korea, Vergara saved the lives of approximately 100 children when a Korean orphanage caught fire. Recently, the Republic of South Korea honored him with a Medal of Honor, and they also named a school in his honor.

    Although the details of that experience are fuzzy in his memory, what he does remember fondly is playing the tuba in the 81st Army Band while serving in Germany, Africa, and Japan.

    What is he going do now that he is retiring from the Army for the second time?

    “I might continue parachute jumping,” says Vergara happily. “I’m a paratrooper. I go every two weeks. I’ve been to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Israel. Next year, we’re going to Vietnam!”