Scottsbluff Monument Honors Mexican-American Soldiers From Nebraska's Panhandle

A new monument honors Mexican-American veterans from Nebraska’s panhandle.

Bone-chilling cold and a layer of snow didn’t slow what Marty Ramirez called long overdue recognition for Mexican-American military veterans from Scottsbluff and Nebraska’s North Platte Valley. On Veterans Day, unique memorial was unveiled outside a community center in the heart of the city’s Hispanic community. A five foot marble monument includes a message “in remembrance of those who answered the call to serve with honor and valor, leaving our families, our beloved mothers and our barrio communities.”

Ramirez helped spearhead the effort. He and 60 percent of his Mexican-American Scottsbluff High School 1963 classmates were drafted and sent to Vietnam. Ramirez earned a Purple Heart serving in the Army.

“Here we are today, to honor and display, through a monument that’s going to represent our hidden history,” Ramirez said.

Joe Perez is another of the Scottsbluff 1963 grads who were drafted. He was in the Army in Vietnam, then served more than two decades in the Colorado Air National Guard.

“We are Americans. We’re part of America. We served America,” Perez said. “We are Americans. And we want to pass that pride on to our future generation.”

The monument also includes the names of area Mexican-American soldiers killed in action.

Dedication came after a Veterans Day parade, with a special Class of ‘63 Barrio Vietnam Veterans float, wound through the same places where many of those honored grew up.