DALLAS _ Eddie Reyes still has pieces of metal under his skin. The shrapnel lodged in his arms and legs serves as a reminder of the day he was wounded while patrolling a Cambodian jungle.
It was June 1970. Reyes had been at war for seven months when his platoon was mistakenly fired upon. He said artillery units would regularly pepper plots of land with rounds before soldiers were deployed on the ground.
"Somebody got the time wrong, and as soon as we got off of the helicopters, the shells started coming in," he said. "That whole moment stays burned in your memory forever. The smell. The sound."
Returning to the U.S. a month later, Reyes, 69, thought he'd be welcomed home with open arms, but the Vietnam War was different. The accounts of anti-war protesters taking their anger and frustration out on returning servicemen are plentiful.
The psychological wound was made deeper for Reyes knowing Latinos like him _ despite comprising a significant portion of drafted men _ went largely unacknowledged for their service as the years passed and tensions subsided.
"We have died and served in our nation's military," he said, "but we have not been accorded the appropriate and equal acknowledgment or respect in our history books or by the media."
Now, nearly 50 years later, Reyes, who lives in Carrollton, wants to help undo that erasure with art. He's teamed up with a fellow Vietnam vet and local artist named Vincent Morin Jr. to create a series of hand-drawn pieces depicting Latino servicemen.
Under Reyes' direction, Morin has crafted an array of pencil sketches, some depicting soldiers praying with a rosary, others emblazoned with phrases like "No te aguites camarada!" or "Don't mope around, comrade!"
He's also put the artwork on shirts, which he sells for $20 to $35 through his business, "Esta Raza No Se Raja." It means "This Race Won't Back Down."
Inspiration hit Reyes in 2015 while helping the Dallas Mexican-American Historical League organize events for Mexican-American Heritage Month to honor Chicano vets. Reyes noticed throughout the month that the soldiers depicted on people's shirts were always white men. In the various military catalogs he'd flip through, all of the models were also white.
"I got mad," he said. "If all you see is white guys on T-shirts, then you think that white guys did all the fighting in all the wars. Certainly, it keeps us out of the consciousness of America as a result."
Reyes said his collaboration with Morin isn't intended to be a social or political statement. He just wants Latino vets to have an opportunity to show pride for their service.
