Part 5 Chapter 32 Summary

In June of 1945, a Mexican-American private in the U.S. Army died in battle in the Philippines. In 1948, his widow asked that his remains be returned to Corpus Christi, TX, for internment. She was refused the use of the local funeral home because, "the whites won't like it." Beatrice Longoria might have accepted the decision, had not the founder of the newly-formed American G.I. Forum not taken up her cause and contacted Texas legislators in Washington for help. LBJ's compassion overflowed and he offered to arrange for Pvt. Felix Longoria's burial with full honors in Arlington National Cemetery. He also impulsively called for a full investigation of this "un-American action." He telegraphed the widow pledging his support and offering to defray any costs. LBJ made sure the story made the New York Times and Walter Winchell's radio audience and he...