[Archive of Manuscript Letters Sent Back and Forth Between Private Heraclio Gonzalez and His Family in San Antonio During World War II]

[Various locations, 1940. Very good.. Sixty-six manuscript or typed letters, signed, totaling 120 pages, and about 12,000 words. Occasional short tears along fold lines or at corners, mild occasional staining, but mostly well preserved. Accompanied by a small collection of family photographs and assorted papers. A unique collection of correspondence documenting the relationships among various members of the Gonzalez family of San Antonio, Texas, with particular regard to one of their sons and brothers, Heraclio Gonzalez, a young soldier serving in the U.S. Marine Corpse during World War II. Dr. Heraclio Gonzalez (1926-2103) was the son of a Mexican-American (truncated) Texan father and a Mexican-born mother. Gonzalez was born in San Antonio, where he lived the great majority of his life, graduating from Lanier High School before his war service. Following the Second World War, Gonzalez worked as a clerk in a finance company before ultimately earning his medical license and working as a pediatrician; several copies of his business card are present here, noting him as "Especialista en Enfermedades de Ninos." Gonzalez was part of a large family, which included six siblings, most of whom are among the correspondents in the present archive.

The present letters date between July 20, 1944 and May 22, 1945. The great majority of letters were sent to Private Gonzalez while he was stationed in San Diego, California or Cherry Point, North Carolina; three of the letters were written by Private Gonzalez himself, each to a different recipient. Gonzalez sent the first of his three letters to his sister, Guadalupe Gonzalez in San Antonio. In this letter, he discusses his recent visit to Los Angeles to see his friend Sixto Obregon; while in L.A., Heraclio reports on the surprisingly large Mexican population in the city. In his next letter, dated December 8, 1944 from North Carolina, Heraclio writes to Obregon, mostly about his potential transfer back to San Diego, and how he hopes to see family when the train passes through San Antonio. Heraclio's third and final letter was written to his mother, Porfirio Gonzalez. Here, he writes from San Diego on May 21, 1945, to his "Mamacita" in Spanish, on his basic activities of the day, mainly that he went to church, washed some clothes, and attended an afternoon concert.

The remainder of the letters were sent to Gonzalez by various family members and friends on the homefront in San Antonio, including his mother, Porfirio; his sisters Josephine, Mary Magdalene, Guadalupe, and Irene; and his hometown friends (some of whom are also fellow soldiers writing from various locations while in the service) Sixto Obregon, Jesse Palos, Edward Calderon, and Emilio Uriegas. The lion's share of the letters are written in English, but six letters are in Spanish, mostly from Heraclio's older sister Josephine "Josie" Gonzalez. The letters from Heraclio's mother and sisters necessarily report on a myriad of homefront subjects such as church service, family meals, local news, and the like, but there are also interesting passages in which the women recommend office work for Heraclio instead of gunnery service (he went to clerical school); report on the war news they hear locally, including the wartime activities of another Gonzalez serving in the military, Heraclio's brother, Leopoldo Gonzalez, Jr. (one letter mentions he was wounded in the war three times so far); ; their homefront social activities, including seeing bands and various films; and much more.

In one letter, Guadalupe Gonzalez (who is Heraclio's most frequent correspondent) recounts a recent celebration and ruminates on the current state of San Antonio: "Today is the famous 16th of Sept. Mexico's Independence Day and all the Mexican population here in S.A. is celebrating. They have puestos at San Pedro and Casiano Parks and I think there's going to be some dancing to both parks. We didn't go any place and I think in the long run it’s best for there are so many Pelados turned loose now that I'm afraid. The cream of the crop is in the service and only a bunch of hoodlums are left here doing more bad than good. Only half an hour ago that bandido Domingo -- you know the one that lives on San Fernando St. half a block away from us was trying to get into a knife fight with his own cousin over here in the alley. And I could mention a few other incidents that have happened here of late, right here in our own neighborhood, but why go into them. I only wish we lived in another part of the city with more pleasant surroundings and better educated people." The letters from Heraclio's friends and fellow soldiers report on their own struggles and anxieties about their own military service; the news they hear about the comings and goings of other soldiers and friends; news surrounding fellow Lanier High School friends; the current state and future potential of their romantic lives; and more.

The present collection also includes a dozen uncaptioned family photographs dating to as late as 1953, and a handful of family papers. As a whole, the collection is probably most useful for the depiction of life in San Antonio painted by the sisters during the war. A critical mass of homefront reporting from a variety of viewpoints is a rare occurrence in letter groups from any war, including the Second World War. Ultimately, the correspondence provides a rare peek into the homefront lives of Mexican American women in Texas during World War II, as reported in a healthy number of letters to their Marine Corps brother. (Inventory #: 4338)