Today, I learned about United States Army Marcario García, who earned the Medal of Honor in 1944 when he single-handedly charges German machine guns that had pinned down his company’s advance through Grosshau, Germany. He destroyed two guns and captured four Germans.

Garcia was wounded and only let himself be evacuated when his company had seized its objective. The Staff Sergeant had landed on Utah Beach on June 6 and had already received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Tony Bizzarro, Garcia’s company commander, nominated him for the Medal of Honor. Bizzarro thought highly of Garcia. “He was always willing to do anything he was asked to do.”

Bizzaro was a remarkable man in his own right, by the way. He had enlisted in 1942 and then earned a commission  a year later and landed on Utah Beach on D-day as well. 

Bizzarro earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts during the War. He was badly wounded at the end of the War and spent three years recovering, in and out of hospitals.

In other words, Bizzarro was no pogue, and his opinion of Garcia means a lot to me. Read Bizzarro’s obituary here:

http://1-22infantry.org/history3/bizzaro.htm

Garcia returned to the United States and had a terrible experience just after the War. When a Sugarland, TX cafe owner refused himself service and beat him with a baseball bat. Garcia was the first Mexican immigrant to receive the Medal of Honor and the restaurant owner did not like Mexicans.

National columnist Walter Winchell learned about the incident and wrote about it, calling Sugarland the most racist town in America. The town’s leaders and police responded by arresting Garcia instead of the restaurant owner.

The resultant national outcry and anger within the Mexican-American community changed the tide and the charges were dropped. Garcia got married and raised three children while working at the Veterans’ Administration.

On November 21, 1963, Garcia greeted President John F Kennedy at the Rice Ballroom in Houston, TX. The rooms as full of civil rights leaders and Latino World War II veterans. Kennedy spoke about Latin American relations. The next day, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Garcia was killed in a car accident in 1972 and is buried in the Houston National Cemetery. In 2021 a large mural was unveiled in Houston in his honor. Remember this great American leader and hero!