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In New Mexico, Hispanics fear World War II stories are lost

By Sue Vorenberg
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

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In the unsanitary hell of a Japanese prisoner of war camp, Rafael Rodriguez Jr. found a touch of home: A sweet taste similar to a childhood treat from his mother called jocoque.

Cans of diluted milk that he and some other World War II Bataan veterans occasionally got during their captivity tasted a little like jocoque - his mother's word for buttermilk.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to lift his spirits in a place where one bowl of moldy rice was the standard daily meal and days were spent watching close friends from New Mexico die of dysentery and starvation, the 89-year-old said.

"I remembered Mother used to make buttermilk and I used to like it - and when I tasted this milk from a can it tasted very much like it," Rodriguez said. "That helped me a lot."

As the airing of Ken Burns documentary "The War" approaches, Rodriguez said he's worried that the stories of Hispanic soldiers could be lost.

The documentary sparked controversy when national Hispanic groups noted the absence of any Hispanic interviewees.

Burns went back and interviewed two Hispanic veterans from California and included them in the documentary. But that's a very small sampling - and it's not New Mexico's story, Rodriguez said.

"At least we made them listen a little bit to what they ignored," Rodriguez said.

KNME-Channel 5 is trying to remedy that problem for local audiences, at least. The station plans to air several documentaries about New Mexico veterans in conjunction with the documentary, including "Memories of Hell," produced in 1986, focused on survivors of the Bataan Death March.

The documentary "provides a historical record, as many of these veterans are no longer with us," said Ted A. Garcia, KNME general manager and CEO.

The station is also airing several short spots with local vets and has launched a Web site, knmethewar.org, with more stories from local veterans.

Rodriguez's unit was the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment. Its 1,800 soldiers were among the 47,000 who were force-marched 65 miles without food or water in the Bataan Death March.

Those that fell behind or collapsed during the march were often shot or beaten to death, Rodriguez said.

"For me, it was pure luck," Rodriguez said. "When I thought I was too hungry to continue we got to lay down at midnight one night. A few of us ended up in a turnip patch. We ate turnips - but we didn't make any noise because the Japanese were patrolling back and forth."

After the march, the survivors were held in squalid conditions with little food, sanitation or water from 1942 until the end of the war in 1945.

"I don't think the newspapers and the media gives enough credit to my regiment and what we went through - it's always other regiments, other campaigns," said Horacio H. Montoya, another Bataan survivor from the 200th.

"The suffering, the loss of men, the indignities we suffered," Montoya continued. "We lost a lot of men there. Our regiment that left with 1,800 men, we got back with 900 men."

Montoya said he was surprised that Hispanics' stories weren't originally included in "The War," considering their sacrifices.

"Of course it's important to bring this out to the open regarding Hispanics," Montoya said. "But at the same time, I'd like to leave the race issue out of this - we've been left out of the news, but that's the way the ball rolls."

Montoya, 89, had to work in Japanese coal mines during his captivity.

"It was very, very hard work and not a lot of food," Montoya said.

What got him through it was his memories of home, and faith in God, he said.

"I never maintained any thoughts in my head that I was going to die, even though my friends and buddies were dying all along the road," Montoya said. "I always looked forward to getting back."

Conditions at Camp O'Donnell, where many men in the 200th were held, were better than forced labor in the coal mines, but not by much, Rodriguez said.

There wasn't enough water for showers, barely enough to drink. As a medic, he did what he could to help fellow soldiers - but that was little, Rodriguez said.

"We didn't have enough water to drink, much less to wash the patients," Rodriguez said. "A person with diarrhea that we couldn't wash, can you imagine such an ugly sight? That killed more than anything else."

Occasionally, one of the men forced into physical labor would manage to sneak in an orange or a banana, which they'd share with fellow soldiers - even though they were starving and it would have been easy not to share, Rodriguez said.

"The New Mexico National Guard was about 80 percent Hispanic, and the Hispanic people are very thoughtful about helping our neighbors," Rodriguez said. "We shared. Everybody would get a few bites."

When rescue finally came, with guns blazing, Rodriguez was surprised by his own reaction, he said.

"They started shooting Japs," Rodriguez said. "When I heard the shooting and looked up at the towers, I saw one Jap was hit. He shook a little bit and dropped head-first. But I felt sorry. I didn't rejoice."

And when he returned home, he returned intact, with his love of jocoque in tow, he said.

"It was a nightmare but it worked out - here I am," Rodriguez said. "When I drink buttermilk now, I don't even think about the war. I wonder why I don't, but I don't."

After a pause to consider what he just said, he continued.

"The important thing now is to drink and enjoy," Rodriguez said. "To get the benefits out of it."