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FALFURRIAS — The outside of Amancio Garza’s home, located a short walk from Falfurrias Junior High, is distinguishable by the flagpole at the front corner and his well-manicured yard.
A fairly sized carport sits empty, save for a small table near the front door and a small barbecue pit. This is where the 97-year-old World War II veteran likes to spend his time, observing the passing cars and admiring his red and pink hibiscuses.
The inside of his modest home is immaculate — a testament to the discipline he maintains decades after having served in the Army. For Garza, his military service is very much a part of who he is to this day.
As he sat as his breakfast table one Friday morning drinking his coffee out of a Harry Potter mug, he is surrounded by numerous hats, some reading ”World War II Veteran” and “Purple Heart Combat Veteran,” among others; and his wall is covered in photos and newspaper clippings showing glimpses of Garza’s long life.
Garza, who loves company, was unusually quiet.
“You have to feed his ego,” joked Lourdes Treviño-Cantu, who befriended the Army veteran. She runs the Falfurrias Heritage Museum, and recently helped Garza celebrate his 97th birthday. Her comment is met by a grin and a childlike laugh from Garza.
“I met him when I was doing a Veterans Day event at the museum,” Treviño-Cantu said. “I invited all the veterans to come, and somebody told me, ‘You need to invite Mr. Garza. He’s like the oldest, surviving World War II veteran.’ So that’s where I met him, and then it was just a friendship.”
She helped Garza celebrate his birthday, along with the Falfurrias Fire Department, police department, and members of VFW Post 7634.
“He wanted some kind of hoopla for his birthday,” Treviño-Cantu said. “I just reached out to my ‘Fal people’ and they came through, you know, they came by.”
His table still has some balloons from his birthday, as well as a chocolate Easter bunny still in the box and several packages of cookies.
Garza lives alone, save for the few hours a day that his friend and provider, Maria G. Frazer, comes to check in on him and help him with small chores. His wife, Petra, died years ago, and only two of their three sons are alive today.
Frazer said that he is completely independent — cleaning the house, tending to the yard, planting his flowers, and preparing some of his meals.
Frazer is deaf, but is able to read lips. She talks loudly when addressing Garza, who is hard of hearing. In her presence, he finds companionship that he has lost through his years and someone with whom he can share his stories of the war in the Philippines.
“He eats breakfast at 7, and then all he does is talk,” Frazer said. “He cleans his room. He fixes his bed before I even get here. He likes everything to be clean and orderly. He even takes his baths by himself.”
She added that he is very particular about his yard, favoring his leaf blower and raking the few sparse leaves that blow onto his yard. She recalled a time when she installed a ramp to help Garza, who uses a walker, get in and out of his house without the use of the entryway stairs.
He had the ramp removed.
“He likes things that are very well made,” she said. “He didn’t like the way I made (the ramp). Sometimes he’ll bring out his saw and some wood and tell me to leave. He says that he’ll do the work himself.”
“Me gusta trabajar,” Garza added with a wide grin.
Garza was born on April 8, 1926, on a ranch in Encino, roughly 20 miles south of Falfurrias.
“My father had an old ranch. I was born there,” Garza recalled. “In that time, there were no doctors. Puro partera (midwife).”
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. He recalled being sent to California after completing his basic training. After that, he was sent “straight to combat until the war finished.”
He served with the 38th Infantry in the Philippines in Manila and Luzon as a staff sergeant from 1944 to the end of the war in 1945.
“All jungle,” he recalled. “There, it was man to man. No tanks. No airplanes.”
He suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm as well as shrapnel in his back.
For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Asian-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, WWII Victory Medal, Combat Infantry Badge First Award, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze service star, and an Honorable Service Lapel Button.
Those awards can be seen on his Army Dress Green jacket, which he keeps hanging on a wall in his bedroom and still wears regularly.
He put on his coat briefly for Monitor reporters and sat for photos that Friday morning. When he was finished, Frazer helped him remove the jacket and placed it back on the wall.
She emphasized his desire for company. She said that he regularly attends church on Sunday mornings before going to have breakfast — often inviting strangers to sit and talk with him, and sometimes offering to pay.
When she returned, Garza had already prepared himself for an afternoon nap, continuing with his routine.
To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Delcia Lopez’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: World War II veteran from Falfurrias thrives in independence
