Cervantes persisted against racism to join the military as a fighter pilot, surviving a tour with the 'Bloody 100th' Bomb Group during World War II.
Henry Cervantes was a Fresno-born, 19-year-old son of Mexican farmworkers when the Navy told him in 1942 that he could not fight for his country. An enlistment officer sent him home, saying the Navy didn't take Mexicans, Filipinos or Black people. In an interview with the American Patriots of Latino Heritage, Cervantes said he directed a couple of choice epithets at the officer and declared, 'I'll prove you wrong,' before running out the door.
He recalled that his friend had faced trouble earning the respect of his white subordinates, and there was 'a lot of discrimination against dark-skinned Mexican persons' at the time. Cervantes survived 26 missions during World War II as part of the 100th Bomb Group, which flew over the English Channel and Holland into German skies. Its combat missions were dramatized in the TV miniseries 'Masters of the Air,' executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
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