Saturday, July 27, 1996

Texans mourn death of Dr. Hector Garcia

By STEVE RAY and ANNA M. TINSLEY
Harte-Hanks Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Lawmakers, politicians and government officials mourned the death of Dr. Hector P. Garcia Friday, crediting the Corpus Christi man with empowering Mexican-Americans and making them one of the most powerful political forces in Texas.

"Dr. Garcia was a leader in the Mexican-American community when there weren't many people willing to step forward on controversial issues," said George Christian Sr., a former aide to President Lyndon Baines Johnson and an Austin political consultant. "He was a force to be reckoned with."

Reaction to Garcia's death in Austin was immediate.

"Dr. Hector P. Garcia was a true Texas legend," Gov. George W. Bush said. "Texas and the world are better places because of Hector Garcia's selfless service, hard work and dedication. He will be missed."

Garcia, hailed as a champion of civil rights, was forced out of obscurity by injustice and into the limelight of a fledgling civil rights movement that would eventually guarantee Mexican-Americans equal rights.

"Dr. Garcia represented the new breed when the veterans came out of the war," Christian said. "Times were changing fast when he emerged on the political scene. He accelerated that change by facing issues that were hindering Mexican-American progress in this state.

"He did so much to bring Texans of Mexican descent into the political process."

Garcia is best known as the founder of the American GI Forum, a national veterans family organization founded in 1948.

"He was for civil rights before Martin Luther King ever thought of civil rights," said George Santana, commander of the Abilene chapter of the GI Forum. "He was a leader.

"Back then, there was discrimination all over the place."

hen Mexican-Americans veterans came home from World War II, they found they couldn't go to certain hospitals, restaurants and other public places, he said.

"A lot of people wouldn't hire Mexican people," Santana said.

Santana, a resident of Abilene since 1958, remembers when Garcia took up the cause of Felix Longoria, a Mexican-American soldier who had died in combat but was refused burial in his hometown of Three Rivers, just outside of San Antonio. Then-U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson intervened and Longoria was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

That incident, along with others, led to the founding of the GI Forum, he said.

"Everybody got mad," said Santana, who served in the Navy in WWII. "We were good enough to serve our country, but when we came home were nobodys."

"He broke down a lot of barriers that we had back in '48," he said. "He wanted (Mexican-Americans) to get an education and run for office. He was respected throughout the United States and Canada."

The group's motto, perhaps, says it all: "Education is our business and freedom is everybody's business."

As a medical doctor, Garcia devoted his life to caring for the poorest and neediest people in South Texas. He practiced medicine for 50 years in Corpus Christi until closing his office in March. He had served as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and was an adviser to several U.S. presidents.

"He had tremendous impact. The American GI Forum became a political force at a time when there weren't many political forces," Christian said. "He was sort of a one-man band there for awhile. He was always pushing, always expressing views, always in the middle of things.

"His reputation was such that people had to listen to him."

One person who listened was a young Corpus Christi bank teller who Garcia took under his wing more than 20 years ago and encouraged his fledgling political career.

"He said that even though it was a tremendous sacrifice, our community needed young leaders to represent them and work on their behalf," said an obviously shaken state Rep. Hugo Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi.

Another who listened was state Sen. Carlos Truan, the dean of the Texas Senate, who first decided to run for office 28 years ago after Garcia said he would help.

"I accepted because I knew with his help, I would be successful," said Truan, D-Corpus Christi. "Dr. Hector never ran for public office, but he did more as a private citizen and had more influence than any elected official. He had a great desire to serve."

Truan, who looked to Garcia as both mentor and friend, likened the Corpus Christi man's efforts for Mexican-Americans to those of Martin Luther King's for African Americans.

"I am so grateful that we had a Dr. Hector Garcia in our lives," Truan said. "So few people ever make the impact he made.

"He wanted a better America for all people," he said. "And he fought very hard to make that happen."

Garcia served as a mentor to many of the state's top Mexican-American leaders, including Berlanga, encouraging them to get involved in their communities and state.

Berlanga took that advice and has become one of the most powerful state representatives, serving as chairman of the House Public Health Committee and chairman of the House Mexican-American Legislative Caucus.

"Dr. Hector taught me that we owed it to our community to serve in public office and that has always stayed with me," Berlanga said. "And he always reminded me that we had to look out for the less fortunate because he believed the real test of a democracy is how we took care of those in need.

"This is a tragic loss to our community and in particular to the Hispanic community," Berlanga said. "He was extremely well received from the White House to the courthouse."

And also in the state's Capital.

On Friday, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock expressed his sorrow about Garcia's death.

"Dr. Hector Garcia was a voice of reason and compassion for generations of Texans," Bullock said. "He practiced his healing arts with the same dedication and success as his efforts to bring justice and dignity to all.

"He was a true leader, and Texas will miss him."