Eugene Obregon

Thank you for featuring the story of Marine Pfc. Eugene A. Obregon in “A Day to Honor Southland Veterans” (May 26). It is about time for the people of this state to acknowledge the exemplary courage and dedication of heroes like Obregon, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country in spite of its poor treatment of Latinos back home. As a veteran of the U.S. Army and the son of a Mexican American veteran who served in Korea, I am extremely proud of the fact that Hispanic Americans have earned an impressive 41 congressional medals of honor (more than any other ethnic group).

When confronted with anti-Latino rhetoric from state politicians and the like, I cannot help but ask myself: Why aren’t all of our children taught more about this in our public schools, and what has to happen in order for Hollywood to portray Latinos positively for a change? As you can see, there is no shortage of Hispanic heroes--you just seldom hear about them.

ROBERTO N. GALVAN, Los Angeles

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Your article was a fitting recognition of one of East Los Angeles’ heroes. The ceremony took place at Morin Memorial Square, not Veterans Memorial Park. The area was dedicated in 1967 to the memory of Raul Morin, who wrote about Obregon and other Mexican American Medal of Honor recipients in his book, “Among the Valiant.”

I am the son of Raul Morin, and I’m working on a book about Mexican American Medal of Honor recipients of the Vietnam War.

EDDIE MORIN, Pasadena