The Medallion, Volume 49, Number 4, Fall 2011 Page: 10
15 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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PRESERVATION PROFILE
Santiago Diaz, 95, Shares Stories
of World War II Experience
By Eisenhower Birthplace staffA World War II veteran's recent visit to
Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic
Site resulted in a day of powerful
wartime memories and a boost in
pride for everyone involved.
Armed with a walking cane and
a trove of recollections about his
experiences in the U.S. Army, 95-year-
old Santiago Diaz of Fort Worth visited
the Texas Historical Commission's
(THC) site in Denison this summer
with his daughter, son-in-law, and
grandson to tour the first home of
esteemed World War II Gen. and
President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Born in Jalisco, Mexico amid the
turmoil of the Mexican Revolution,
Diaz's parents relocated to Texas while
he was an infant and settled in Fort
Worth. Diaz was raised in Fort Worth
and eventually married Justina Alvina
at nearly the same time the United
States entered World War II. When
he learned he could receive American
citizenship for serving in the military,
Diaz said goodbye
to his wife and
their newborn
son to enlist in
the Army.
Diaz
recalled
completing
basic training
in 1943 with
his fellow
recruits
i at Camp
Barkley in
Abilene.Twelve weeks later, he
went to a hospital in
Illinois for medical
staging, bound for
duty in Europe. When
his orders were
changed to the Pacific t r w
theater, Diaz was sent
south to Louisiana
to prepare for the
tropics, "because
there are no jungles
in Illinois," he said . ...
with a smile.
Diaz departed for
Guadalcanal from San Francisco on
a crowded ship, where many men,
including himself, became seasick.
Thousands of soldiers slept in bunks
stacked four high to the ceiling, and
Diaz received a spot on the bottom bed.
"The other guys climbing down
would step on my feet and hands,"
he recalled, adding that it took
21 miserable days to reach New
Caledonia, zig-zagging the entire way
to evade enemy submarines lurking
in the South Pacific. Finally arriving at
Guadalcanal, the ship sat offshore all
day before the troops disembarked.
"The men climbed down rope
ladders that night to the landing craft
below (to avoid being observed by the
enemy)," Diaz explained.
Most of Diaz's time overseas
was spent on Guadalcanal, working
as a medic associated with the 53rd
Seabees before transferring to an
Army Air Corps unit. While on the
island, Diaz proudly took his oath and
became an American citizen.When the war ended, Diaz was
stationed on the island for a short
time, but returned to Texas on January
6, 1946. Afterward, he claimed he
never wanted to be on a boat of any
kind again. Diaz and his wife raised
four children in Fort Worth, and he
enjoyed a lengthy career with the
Texas and Pacific Railroad until retiring
in 1982.
Diaz has visited several sites from
his military days, such as the railroad
station in Paris, Texas, where the
soldiers were not allowed to get off the
train. He was especially impressed by
a 2003 trip to Fredericksburg's Nimitz
Museum, also a THC historic site.
"We encouraged him to return to
Fredericksburg since they now have
the National Museum of the Pacific
War with wonderful new Guadalcanal
exhibits," said Sylvia Rushing of the
Eisenhower Birthplace. "I know the
staff there will appreciate and enjoy his
stories just as much as we did."*www.thc.state.tx.us
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Texas Historical Commission. The Medallion, Volume 49, Number 4, Fall 2011, periodical, Autumn 2011; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253479/m1/10/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Commission.