About a year before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, Jesus “Joe” Soto, a 20 year-old young man, enlisted in the Marines as a Private. His ship, the U.S.S. New Orleans, deployed for Pearl Harbor in October of 1940, a few months before the attack
Soto, one of roughly 500,000 Latinos serving in the army during World War II, served proudly in the Marine Corps and found brotherhood and unity aboard his ship. He harbors many frightening memories of war, but found pride in his achievements as a Marine.
“I was shining my shoes that morning before breakfast and the loud speakers sounded,” Soto said. The loud speakers sounded General Quarters, an announcement made aboard the naval ships, which signaled the men to prepare for battle. Five minutes later, Japanese aircraft zoomed into Pearl Harbor. A 50-caliber machine gun sat on the deck of Soto’s ship, but without ammunition. “Go down and break the lock and get the ammunition,” he said. By the time the crew had gotten ammunition, the Japanese opened fire and dropped a bomb amidst the U.S. ships.
In 1942, the U.S.S. New Orleans met the Japanese at the Battle of Tassafaronga where the flagship Minneapolis was struck by torpedoes and caused New Orleans to steer straight into the track of a torpedo.
“I was about six feet away, something hit me in the head and shoulders and I was laying on the deck, I couldn’t move,” Soto said, “the Minneapolis was on fire… torpedoes blew up the whole bow [of the New Orleans], including where I got hit.” One hundred and thirty-five men were killed on his ship that night. Soto received the Purple Heart medal for his injury.
“Someone from the raider ship came and wrapped my head around. We went over to Tulagi to the tent and medical officers were there. I didn’t know what was happening,” Soto said. Soto experienced much loyalty and kindness from his crewmembers.
“Sempre fie,” Soto said, “It means always faithful. The Marines say it to each other all the time.”
Born in El Paso, Texas, Soto grew up as an only child with his Spanish-speaking grandmother, mother, and stepfather. His family was poor, and Soto describes spending most of his time in his childhood with his cousins, playing together and going swimming in the Rio Grande. At around seven or eight years old, Soto’s family moved to Los Angeles, California, where he learned English and attended school.
In the early 1930s, when Soto was in junior high, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in California, a part of the New Deal designed to mitigate the suffering of the unemployed during the Great Depression. In return for food, lodging and wages, CCC workers built public roads, facilities and other infrastructure. “I made $90 and I was the only guy with a suit! I thought everyone else would wear a suit,” he said. The CCC camps provided work for around three million men across the nation with Latinos as the majority of the men.
Throughout his time in the Marines, Soto moved up in ranks from Private to Corporal to Sergeant. “Just do the right things, don’t drink, don’t smoke, and if they ask you to do something then do it,” said Soto. At one point, Soto was appointed Captain’s Orderly and was the only Latino in his rank.
In 1946, after the war had ended, Soto left the Marines for his station in Camp Pendleton on the coast of southern California, and saw his mother and stepfather again for the first time since he left. Soto attended Woodbury University in Burbank, California for two and a half years. “I used to make money writing theses,” Soto said. He would sell the typed theses for $40 each.
Soto met his wife, Otilla Macias, before he joined the Marines at his cousin’s house in California. They wrote letters to each other while he was at sea on the U.S.S New Orleans for two or three years and got married when he came back to California in 1943. Soto supported his wife and two children by working at an advertising agency. “I didn’t like it,” he said.
Soto currently lives with his daughter, Joanne Soto Harris, and her family in Alhambra, California, east of the city of Los Angeles. His son lives in Santa Ana, California, and visits Soto occasionally. Soto said he does not feel his attitude towards the Japanese is resentful, but he acknowledges there is still social tension between the Latinos and Americans. His only advice for the younger generation is to encourage them to “like other people,” even people who are different from them.
*This story was written for The University of Texas’ U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project