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Wars and deaths have touched the lives of all Americans. I lost three friends from high school who died in Vietnam – Ray Delgado, Mike Teague, and Eddie Ephraim.
Ray and I had been friends since childhood. We hoed vegetables together, attended the same church, sold newspapers, and played baseball. After high school Ray joined the Marines. The last time a saw him we shared drinks and laughter at the Dairy Mart. His mother saw a battle on TV in which an explosion killed American boys and she felt in her heart that Ray had been killed. I delivered the eulogy and sang at his service.
Mike and his twin sister Carolyn were two of the nicest and most liked students in high school. He excelled in everything. The last time I saw Mike was at a baseball game. We were playing against each other and he was coaching first base. I hit a ground ball and ran toward first base when both of my legs painfully cramped up and I fell to ground. Mike and a teammate carried me off the field to the dugout. In Vietnam he was an Army Medic killed while attending to a fallen soldier.
Eddie was a guy who got along with everybody, always ready to laugh or make you laugh. He was a great kid. After high school Eddie joined the Army and was killed in a firefight. By the time Eddie was killed I was numb from the daily news coverage of the war and watching hundreds of young Americans die week after week, year after year.
I’ll never forget Ray, Mike, or Eddie – one Mexican, one White, one Black. They are three among over 1.3 million beautiful lives lost in service to the nation.
Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr.
President
United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, Inc.
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