Miguel Marquez

Miguel enlisted at FT Bliss El Paso, TEXAS on September 21, 1942. The oldest of eight children, Mike had dropped out of school during the Depression to go to work and help the family. Later he joined the civil construction body that was under the command of the military. Mike decided to join the air force, Mike wanted to be a pilot. Later he joined the paratroopers, since his brother Armando was there.

Mike fought alongside the F13s in Normandy and Holland.

Mike was with Jake at the barracks in Toccoa.

Jake bet Mike 50 dollars that he couldn't destroy an entire barracks with a single TNT.

Mike accepted.

Moments before the barracks exploded, Armando left the barracks.

Armando got very angry with them, they almost killed him, Mike told him that he didn't know he was inside.

Mike won the dollars.

Mike Marquez recalls that General Eisenhower came to review the 101st Airborne while they were at attention, Mike was between two Euro-American soldiers.

Eisenhower approached the one he had to the left of him and said:

You have great shoulders. You're going to cause the Germans a lot of trouble.

Then I look at Mike and he didn't say anything...

Mike thought that he didn't greet him because he was too small and that he wasn't going to be dangerous enough or maybe he didn't like Mexicans.

Mike liked to read a lot of western stories, about Indians and Mexicans.

Eisenhower walked past Mike and saluted the next soldier.

When Mike landed in Normandy he couldn't find any of his companions, he saw a German soldier, the German soldier saw Mike, he got on his knees and surrendered.

The German soldier did not want to fight, he was very hungry.

Mike asked him where the Americans were and the German pointed the way. He took him prisoner and they went looking for the Americans. Along the way Mike took 12 German soldiers prisoner.

The Germans that Mike captured didn't want to fight, they just wanted to surrender to get something to eat. Mike was talking to them the whole way and said that outside of the battle they seemed like good people.

Once they reached the front, they were taken prisoner, locked up and fed.

When the war ended, Mike traveled to Germany. He met a German girl there. They traveled back to the US and got married. Mike learned to speak German.