Happy Birthday to an officer and a gentleman, and a doctor, Richard Carmona. Carmona was raised in Spanish Harlem, and dropped out of high school. He joined the US Army, where he earned his GED high school equivalency. His Army career included service in the Vietnam War, and he was honored with numerous awards for valor, including… Continue reading Happy Birthday to Richard Carmona, US Surgeon General
Year: 1949
Diana Garcia Prichard, Scientist and Educator
Happy Birthday to scientist and education activist Diana Garcia Prichard, born in San Francisco, California on October 27, 1949. Prichard’s mother was an immigrant from Nicaragua and her father was a Texan of Mexican and Native American heritage. After raising her two children, Prichard returned to school, earning a BS in chemistry/ physics at California State University… Continue reading Diana Garcia Prichard, Scientist and Educator
Happy Birthday to Pedro Almodóvar Caballero, Award Winning Film Artist
Happy Birthday to brilliant and iconoclastic Spanish film maker Pedro Almodóvar Caballero, born on 25 September 1949 in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain. Almodóvar stated that his strong-willed mother influenced his art, and his female characters are strong and eccentric. He began shooting with a super-8 film camera that he’d saved up for, and started building… Continue reading Happy Birthday to Pedro Almodóvar Caballero, Award Winning Film Artist
Felix Longoria, World War II Hero
On February 16, 1949, Mexican American soldier and World War II hero Felix Longoria was finally laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Felix Longoria was killed in action in the Philippines. According to his widow, Beatrice, the local funeral home director in Texas refused to allow services for Longoria on his premises, because “the… Continue reading Felix Longoria, World War II Hero