"I was born in Ulysses, kansas. There was nine boys and one girl. I was told that my mother had had other children that had passed away so, there would have been 17 of us. At that time there were a set of twins ahead of me and roughly a year or so later they had passed away. My noble brothers Santos, Willie, and then your uncle Rodrigo were next. He was actually born in a hospital unlike the rest of us. "

Where were you born? How many siblings do you have?

Did you have any pets as a child?

"We had a dog named Colonel because my grandma wanted one around the house for protection. I also had a chihuahua named Chico when I was in my thirties and a plethora of dogs after that. "

Did you play any sports?

"Yeah, I played basketball, golf, wrestled and men's fast pitch softball. I was an average player. My favorite sport was golf. I enjoyed playing it in California and in Concordia, but I didn't play it all the time."

What age were you when you got your first job and where was it at?

"I was around nine or ten years old when I started working. I had a lot of jobs, but the first one was with my dad who took my brothers and I to irrigate fields. I had a job where I shined shoes and even one where I worked as a pin boy, that's where I learned how to bowl. My job as a caddie was fun too because I got to play golf there."

What model was your first car?

"My first one was a Buick. I had about four or five cars though. I had a Hudson, a Chevy, a Mercury and I don't know many more after that. I know I had a 65 super sport car at one point too."

What did teenagers do to have fun when you were young?

"Everything mischievous. Hanging out with friends was a joke. I was always working."

What is your favorite childhood memory?

"I don't really have one. I basically wasn't anything outstanding as a kid. I grew man hood into man hood. My dad didn't believe in fun. Back than it was survival of the fittest."

What was your nickname growing up?

"My nick name was Bones. I was so muscular (aka skinny) I weighed 117 pounds in high school."

Who was your best friend when you were younger?

"Well, I had a lot of friends. I know I had a good friend named George Jackson. Another good friend of mine was Duane Curtis. Duane and I ran away from home before."

What is one word to describe you as a teenager?

"Mischievous, because I weighed 117 pounds and everyone was scared of me."

Who influenced your life the most?

"My brothers Fortino and Al did. Fortino was a policemen and Al was in the service. I really wanted to be like them. I also enjoyed being around my brother Bill because he didn't like doing to much and it was funny. One time we couldn't find him and he was sleeping on the roof. "

What struggles did you go through growing up?

"Having a big family was hard at times. I also had a strict dad who didn't let my brothers or I do much. He believed in showing us how to work on what life was going to be about. "

What was racism like while you were growing up and how did it affect you?

"There was a lot of racism in my own neighborhood and on the ship during the Vietnam war. Our neighborhood was like the ghetto which we called the bario. It was a small community of our own. There was bars for only mexicans, restaurants for only mexicans and so on. In the war there was racial problems on our carrier because we had over a thousand people on it. The riots we had on our ship was between blacks and whites, but because I am mexican, I was not involved in a lot of the fighting. All the racism I was around really showed me a lot about growing up."

What's your advice to teenagers today?

"They need to straighten up and respect there parents and elders. I think they should get a better type of learning and growing environment too. In my school they were really strict. Now days kids are carrying guns to school. We didn't carry that stuff. We protected ourselves on our own."

How do you feel about technology changing?

"I really like it. The way we are doing things now is great. Radio's and phones would be my favorite technology invention from when I was younger."

What is the difference in clothing from when you were young to now?

"It's about the same, but there are a few differences. Back then people took care of there stuff and it was a better material than what they use to make clothes now. Another thing is if you wore jeans, you wore jeans. People would get a good pair of Levi jeans with no holes in them. "

What is one thing you wish did not change about the world from when you were young?

"I wish the amount of responsibility and respect that teenagers gave to there elders did not change."

What did it feel like to sign up for the war & what was it like serving in the Vietnam war?

"Signing up for the war was hard. My dad didn't want me to go but being as mighty as I am, I out smarted him. The only reason I got my dad to sign the form to join was because I took my recruiter to where my dad worked. With no other choice my dad so nicely signed

the paper. Being in the war started out real

good, but when it was time for me to get off the

ship, mum was the word from my captain about me leaving. Next thing you know I am in burning hot, Vietnam."

How did World War 1 affect you?

"At the time the only thing I knew about it was what I would hear."

Where is your favorite place to travel? Is there a place you have not seen that you would like to still visit?

"I would say Germany is a place I would like to travel. I have never been there. Every place else I've been. There is no greater place in life than being here, where you grew up, having a since of security."

How did you meet grandma?

"I worked in a bakery in El Paso and went down to Mexico to visit my aunts one day. I then encountered your grandma, which my aunts had already known. Next thing you know we got married in Rosales, Mexico."

What is your biggest regret?

"As for now, nothing. I think the lord has gave me a good life and I ask no more but to take care of the kids I have."

What is your proudest moment?

"One of my proudest moments would be when I reunited with all my brothers. The other one is when I was an altar boy. It felt good being up there with the priest. I still remember some of my prayers in Latin."

If you could do it over again, what would you change?

"I wouldn't of drank at all. That had a lot to do with my thoughts on what I wanted to do back then."