HispanicVista Columnists

El Paso, Texas, has had as many wartime heroes as any other city in the United States. And, in the aftermath of war, the citizens of this border town pay homage to those heroes – both dead and alive – with great enthusiasm. Ironically, the man who is probably El Paso’s most popular soldier is not a native son, but a son of the Mexican State of Chihuahua. Although he was not a native son and he originally joined the army from Colorado, he became El Paso’s adopted son and one of its most revered wartime heroes.

Coming to the United States

According to his own account, Marcelino Serna was born in a mining camp outside of the city of Chihuahua in the State of Chihuahua, on April 26, 1896. At the age of 17, he crossed the Texas-Chihuahua border as an undocumented immigrant. For a few months he worked in El Paso, but like many other young Mexican men, he sought employment with the railroads, which represented the main arteries of transportation in the early part of the Twentieth Century.

Employment with the railroads usually led migrant laborers to points throughout the United States and Marcelino first worked with a maintenance crew along the Santa Fe Railroad and eventually joined a Kansas railroad maintenance crew working along the Union Pacific Railroad at about the same time that the United States joined World War I in 1917. But much of the work available to Mexican laborers was seasonal and they usually drifted from one job to another and from one industry to another in the course of a year.

Eventually, Marcelino Serna moved on to Colorado to find employment with other laborers in the sugar beet industry. Later in the year, federal officials in Denver picked up a group of young Mexicans, including Marcelino, while they were playing billiards in a pool hall. The “feds” wanted to check to see if the men had registered for the draft. In 1978, Marcelino told Ramon Villalobos of the El Paso Times that “they held me in jail for several days, but not locked in a cell. After four days of waiting for my draft classification, I told them to forget it – that I wanted to volunteer.”

Enlistment and Training

So, to avoid deportation, Marcelino enlisted. The draft board approved his request and sent him to Fort Morgan, Colorado for processing. After passing his physical, Marcelino officially joined the service on October 9, 1917 and was then sent to Camp Funston, Kansas, for basic training.

In an interview with Bill Birch of the El Paso Times in 1962, Marcelino said that “I spoke little English at that time. In fact in my outfit, some 67 of us were unable to speak much English. We had one man in the outfit who could speak both Spanish and English and he was pretty busy keeping us informed of what was going on.” After only three weeks of training, the 20-year-old Serna was shipped to Liverpool, England. During the 17-day journey to England, Serna continued to learn English in the hopes of being able to communicate better with his fellow soldiers. His comrades nicknamed him “Chief.”

Private Serna was assigned to Company B, 355th Infantry of the 89th Division, also known as the Midwest Division because most of the soldiers hailed from Kansas, Colorado, Utah, South Dakota, New Mexico and Arizona. This division was destined to see some of the heaviest action and bloodiest battles in World War I and its actions have been well chronicled in several works.

Entering the War Zone

When Serna arrived in France, his captain called him to his quarters and asked him if he wanted a discharge. When Serna asked him why, the captain “told me he had a letter from Washington authorizing my release.” Serna, however, refused to accept the discharge. “I told the captain I wanted to stay with my buddies, and he told me it would be OK.” This decision opened the door to several months of battlefield experiences that would not end until the Armistice was signed ending the war on November 11, 1918. By the time the war had ended, Marcelino Serna had seen action in some of the most dangerous actions of the war, including the following campaigns:

Lucey Sector (August 10 to September 11, 1918)
St. Mihiel Offensive (September 12 to 16, 1918)
Euvezin Sector (September 17 to October 7, 1918)
Meuse-Argonne (October 19 to November 11, 1918)

In one of many battlefield actions, Serna told Bill Birch that “one morning, in heavy brush and during a heavy rain in Belgium, my platoon was trying to move forward.” However, he continued, “a German machine gun pinned us down and about 12 of our men were killed. At my request the lieutenant let me go forward alone and in my own way.” Marcelino “jumped up and ran about 10 yards and then hit the dirt.” He repeated this action several times, even as enemy fire hit his helmet twice. Finally, “when I got close enough, I threw four grenades into the nest. Eight Germans came out with their hands up. Another six were in the nest – dead. I held my prisoners until help arrived.”

In the St. Mihiel Offensive, George H. English’s History of the 89^th Division (page 104) credited the five-foot, six-inch Serna with the single-handed capture of twenty-four Germans. In his 1963 interview with Bill Birch, Marcelino described the event in detail. After a battle of 45 minutes, he recalled, “They came out with their hands up. I captured 24 and about 16 were killed in the action. I herded them into a tight group with a .45 automatic in one hand and a Luger, which I had picked up, in the other. After a few minutes I was able to fire an SOS flare and my buddies came to help me.”

On November 7, 1918, after months of combat, in which Marcelino successfully avoided injury and death, he was shot in both legs by a German sniper, mere days before the Armistice was signed. In his 1978 El Paso Times interview with Ramon Villalobos, Serna said that, after this injury, he spent several months in a military hospital in France recovering from wounds. While he was there, Gen. John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, pinned the Distinguished Service Cross on him. This was the second highest American combat award. And, Marcelino added, a few days later, Field Marshal Foch, Supreme Commander of the Allied troops, awarded him with the French Croix de Guerre for bravery.

Recognized by Four Nations for Bravery

In all, Marcelino Serna was decorated nine times by four nations for his bravery and efficiency in battle. His extraordinary heroism in four major engagement won recognition from both the United States and three of its allies. He earned the following medals:

The Distinguished Service Cross (for extraordinary heroism in action near Flirey, France, on September 12, 1918)
The French Medaille Militaire (Military Medal)
The French Croix de Guerre (War Cross) with Palm Medals (two)
The Italian Croce di Guerra (War Cross)
The British Medal of Honor
The World War I Victory Medal with three campaign bars
The St. Mihiel Medal
The Verdun Medal
Two Purple Hearts

After his recovery, Serna spent some time with the occupation forces in Germany before his discharge and return to the United States. In May 1919, he was discharged at Camp Bowie, Texas, and took up residence in El Paso. Young Marcelino quickly became recognized as a hero of World War I. According to the El Paso Times (1955), sixty-nine El Pasoans paid the supreme sacrifice in World War I, but those who had survived were embraced as favorite sons and, in the post-war period, the El Paso Herald periodically informed the world of Marcelino Serna and how his life was going. Proudly the newspaper reported that “few El Pasoans have a war record that equals Serna’s.”

Post-War Life in El Paso

Soon after Marcelino settled in El Paso, the El Paso Herald reported on June 7, 1919 that Serna was “looking for a job.” But soon after that, Marcelino was invited to participate in a presentation in which he was awarded three of his citations. A 1970 article in the El Paso Herald-Post reported that Marcelino was awarded the medals at Ft. Bliss on August 30, 1919. In attendance were Texas Governor William P. Hobby and Major General Robert L. Howze, the commander of the El Paso Military District.

In 1922, the El Paso Herald reported that Marcelino was employed with the El Paso City Water Works as a truck driver. He would keep this job for the next 11 years. On February 29, 1924, Marcelino Serna became a U.S. citizen and soon married and settled down. In the 1930 census, 33-year-old Marcelino Serna was tallied along with his Mexican-born wife, Simona, as a resident of 3127 E. San Antonio Street in El Paso’s Justice Precinct 101. Marcelino and Simona had a young daughter, Gloria, but also shared their household with Marcelino’s sister-in-law, Maria Jimenez, and her three children. In this census, Marcelino had given 1914 as his date of immigration to the U.S. and stated that he was a naturalized citizen.

Between 1930 and 1937, Marcelino and Simona had three more children, Caroline, Julliette and Ester. During this time, the Quartermaster Department also hired Marcelino as a plumber with the civil service at nearby Ft. Bliss. In 1940, as the Second World War crept closer to America’s shores, the El Paso Herald reported that 45-year-old Marcelino Serna “lives quietly in South El Paso, works daily on a WPA project at Ft. Bliss. Thoughts of war had been tucked away in a remote corner of his memory – until America’s draft brought them back.” After the United States joined World War II, Marcelino was invited to appear in Liberty Hall where El Paso veterans’ organizations honored the first group of 28 youths accepted for the draft in El Paso.

In later years, Marcelino took up a new job as a plumber at the William Beaumont Hospital before his retirement in 1961. In 1962, the El Paso Times reported that Marcelino had retired to take “up the growing of roses and other flowers” as a hobby. Serna’s flower garden, however, came to an end when his home and those of his neighbors were removed to make way for the Chamizal Highway. He then took up a new residence on Buena Vista Street and continued to enjoy gardening as his hobby.

In 1970, the El Paso Herald-Post reported that Marcelino suffered a stroke, which left one arm partially paralyzed. However, the decorated veteran continued to enjoy his landscaping endeavors and family activities. For many years, Marcelino Serna was an honored participant in El Paso’s Veteran's Day parades. In 1973, the El Paso reported that the Marcos V. Armijo VFW Post 2753 honored Marcelino at his home with a 40-year pin for continuous membership. On February 29, 1992, Private Marcelino Serna died at the age of 95.
Seeking Recognition

Although Marcelino was a great hero to the people of El Paso, many friends and family members were concerned that the rest of the country did not recognize his bravery and courage. In 2004, his daughter, Gloria, told Erica Molina of the El Paso Times that Marcelino “never received the Medal of Honor, and the reason they gave was he wasn’t a U.S. citizen at that time.” Several people did, however, express an interest in his story. In 1978, Marcelino told Ramon Villalobos of the El Paso Times that “several years ago, a man came to see me about writing a book about my war experiences. We talked for two days, but the man never came back.”

Three years after Marcelino’s death, the Honorable Ronald D. Coleman introduced legislation before the Texas House of Representatives, as a tribute to the late Marcelino Serna (H.R. January 17, 1995). In that legislation, Coleman requested that Serna be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, which he clearly deserved. In his statement, Coleman explained that although other countries had awarded him their highest honors, the U.S. had not, citing “that he was a buck private, and because he was not a citizen of this country at the time, or because he could not speak English well…”
Years later, at the 79^th Texas Legislature, Representative Juan Manuel Escobar, a highly-decorated Vietnam veteran, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 200, memorializing Congress to reopen consideration of posthumously awarding Marcelino Serna the Medal of Honor. In addition, El Paso resident Roberto Lerma started his own campaign to get Marcelino the Medal of Honor, explaining that “I always thought it was unjust for the government to do what it did. It’s time to honor America’s heroes – all of the Americans.” Marcelino’s grandson, Lucio Serna, added his voice: “He never asked for anything and he never back down from anything. It’s just something I think he deserves.”

This article was originally published on Dec. 1, 2007 at the following link: http://www.somosprimos.com/sp2007/spdec07/spdec07.htm

Sources:
Birch, Bill, “Hero of World War I Campaigns Grows Flowers, Recalls Combat,” El Paso Times, June 29, 1962.
“Decorated Hero In El Paso – He, Too, Looking For a Job,” El Paso Herald, June 7, 1919.
“El Paso’s Top Decorated WWI Hero To Be Honored By VFW Post,” El Paso Times, February 3, 1970, page 1B.
“El Paso – Then And Now: Where Are Boys Who Went Away to World War I?,” El Paso Times, November 6, 1955, pg. 5B.
English, George H., History of the 89th Division, U.S.A. From Its Organization in 1917, Through its Operations in the World War, The Occupation of Germany and Until Demobilization in 1919 (Denver, Colorado: The War Society of the 89th Division, 1920).
Gomez, Elena, “Marcelino Serna Became World War I Hero,” Borderlands. Online:
http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/23/marcelino%20serna.htm
Molina, Erica, “WWI Vet’s Loved Ones Try to Get Him Medal,” El Paso Times, May 31, 2004, Page B1.
“Most Decorated Soldier in El Paso: Hero of World War I Rides in Parade,” El Paso Herald-Post, November 11, 1970, page B1, Column 3.
Serna, Louis, “Sernas of the World,” Online: <http://sernasoftheworld.blogspot.com/>
“Vet With Nine Medals Guest At Draft Party,” El Paso Herald, November 15, 1940.
Villalobos, Ramon, “Feats of El Paso’s WWI Hero Won Medals But No Movie,” The El Paso Times, September 24, 1978, page 11-B.
And Special Thanks Sara Puentes of the Periodicals Department of the El Paso Library for her assistance in obtaining these newspaper articles.
About the Author
John Schmal is the coauthor of "The Indigenous Roots of a Mexican-American Family" (available as item M2469 through Heritage Books at http://heritagebooks.com). Recently, he also published “The Journey to Latino Political Representation” (available as item S4114) about the struggle for Tejano and Californio representation from 1848 to 2004.