Manuel Fernandez Research Paper

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Pages: 4

Manuel Fernandez was born on September 29th, 1934. He is the son of two immigrants from Zacatecas, Mexico, and was born in El Paso, Texas. Manuel grew up in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, El Segundo Barrio. In 1951, when he was only seventeen years old, he decided to join the military. When I asked him why he enlisted, he said, “I wasn’t going to school; I quit during my sophomore year after I got into some trouble.” He said, “I didn’t want to go to school.” He said, “I didn’t want to go to school.” He said, “I didn’t want to go to school.” He said, “I didn’t want to go to school.” He said, “I didn Since the war in Korea started a year prior, there have been tons of flyers around his neighborhood encouraging young men to serve. …show more content…
The recruiters did not believe Manuel was seventeen because he looked small and scrawny, so they told him that he would need permission from one of his parents. Since his mom did not know how to speak or read English, he ended up tricking her into signing the paper by saying it was for a job. Unfortunately, his parents refused to let the friend join, but Manuel still went through with it because he “wanted structure in my life”. He was picked up at six in the morning later that week and was immediately shipped off to basic training. Manuel became a member of the military during a turbulent time. The Korean War began in 1950 after North Korea crossed the thirty-eighth parallel with intent to take over South Korea. When I asked Manuel what he thought about the United States intervening, he said “I was young when it started mija; I didn’t really know why there was conflict in the first place but I knew war was never good so I guess I wasn’t thrilled that the United States got