Edmund Noehl Lopez:  

My family and I originate from a small South Texas community named "Beeville." I never knew about such places like Wauwatosa Wisconsin but thanks to my mother she packed up whatever belongs we had and moved us from Texas to Milwaukee in 1964. I was enrolled as a high school student at "South Division High School" on the near Southside of the city and by 1969 we moved out of Milwaukee and into Wauwatosa where I graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1970. After graduation I kicked around in the military for fourteen years. I was discharged in 1984 and have tried several different career paths things but found my niche in society as a Quality Inspector and "CMM (CMM = Coordinate Measuring Machine) Programmer." I still enjoy cooking and every year I bake a very special cake to the woman I am involved with. Some of my favorite pieces of music are "Una Cancion by RBD whenever I think of all those I have loved and lost along the way. However, when I feel nostalgic I will listen to classic rock. I am now in Tennessee living with a woman that conducted a twenty-five year search for me. And I still hold some very fond memories of my time at Tosa East. Approximately two weeks before leaving my home town of Milwaukee, I was walking along œCaesar Chavez Avenue" on the near Southside of the city. When I happened to spot a public litter, can with a slogan written on one side that read, "Make a mark in life not on a wall." This small statement started me thinking about what we (the Mexican - American people) have and what we have contributed to this country of ours. Additionally, it also made me wonder if I have made my own mark in life. As a result of this question, I began a personal quest to learn if there were any real heroes among the Mexican - American people either living or dead within the twentieth century. I was not surprised to learn that for the most part a majority of Latino's and Larina's cannot name at least three Mexican - American's that have made any significant accomplishments or contributions within the latter part of the last century or even within the current era that we are in. For the most part, whenever I have asked any Hispanic individual male or female if they can name any significant individuals that have made any positive contributions to the American public the only responses I received were the names Poncho Villa and Joaquin Murrieta both of which were nothing more than common criminals. Yet many Mexican American's will call out their names declaring them as heroes to the members of our nationality. When I think of this, I feel great sense of shame and disappointment that a great number of Mexican - American people hold these two individuals with such high regard. In contrast to that, there are several real heroes among the members of our nationality. These three individuals made a mark in life that helped us in ways that many of today's young people do not appreciate whatsoever. The first person who made a positive impact for the Mexican - American people is a man named Gustavo (Gus) Garcia (July 27, 1915-June 3, 1964) who presented a case before the United States Supreme Court in January of 1954. In his argument, Mr. Garcia stated that we the Mexican American people are a race apart from the other races living within the United States. His argument was so intriguing that then Chief Justice Earl Warren granted Mr. Garcia an additional twenty two minutes to complete his argument. No one since then has ever received any additional time to complete his or her argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. His argument resulted in a major change in Texas law that once prohibited Mexican Americans from serving on juries in criminal court proceedings. Additionally, this argument was made directly after Thurgood Marshall completed his argument for Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. The next person who made an important accomplishment was Raul (Roy) Perez Benavidez (August 5, 1935 - November 29, 1998) here was a hero in his own right. Master Sergeant Benavides was the last man to be awarded the "Congressional Medal of Honor" from the Vietnam War. On Ma...Expand for more