A PROMISE KEPT

By Marc Robertson - Editor | May 14, 2024

SPECIAL FEATURE

Family donates medals to city in honor of fallen veteran

As a child, Joe Lara was captivated by his mother’s dedication to his uncle’s military photo.
“One candle had just gone out, and she was ready with the next,” Joe says. “I didn’t fully understand why such devotion; his picture was treated much like a saint’s.”
As an adult and now an armed forces veteran himself, Joe understands the family’s gratitude for his uncle’s service.
Marcial Lara, former Cotulla resident, was killed in action in France on June 12, 1944, during World War II.
The Texan’s death came only a week after Allied forces had landed on the French coast at Normandy in what had become the largest military maneuver in human history. Operation Overlord on D-Day had put an invasion force of thousands of men and tons of materiel on the mainland in the push by US, British, Canadian and other Commonwealth nations to repel the German occupation of the European continent.
At the age of 24, US Army Pvt. Marcial Lara Jr. of the 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, had paid the ultimate price.

The boy who had grown up in Cotulla and been educated at the Welhausen School had laid down his life for his country for the greater good, for the triumph of democracy over totalitarianism, the great victory of good over evil.

When he learned what kind of sacrifice his uncle had made and when he understood the meaning of service to country, Joe made a decision that came from deep within his heart.
“It was then that I made him a promise,” Joe says. “Uncle Marcial, I’m going to take you home to your beloved Cotulla, Texas.”
Joe pledged to bring the picture and his uncle’s military medals – including the Purple Heart – back to the town where Marcial had grown up.
Joe and his wife Evangelina contacted La Salle County Clerk Sonia Maldonado, who helped secure Marcial’s records, and planned to make the trip to South Texas from Palm Springs, California.
It would become a pilgrimage for the couple, as they were fulfilling a pledge that they believe was greater than themselves.
“I wanted my Tio to be in his beloved hometown,” Joe says.
At the gravesite, Joe touched the white marble stone and whispered, “You’re home now, Tio.”
The picture that represented the enduring memory of Marcial Lara Jr. was back in Cotulla, finally putting a face to the simple gravestone and giving the family and its descendants as well as those of Marcial’s former classmates and community members a tangible reference to the young man’s duty to his hometown and to his country.

Attending a special presentation ceremony on behalf of the city of Cotulla and La Salle County on Friday, April 26, were Councilor Tanis Lopez, City Administrator David Wright, and County Judge Leodoro Martinez III.
The ceremony was held in front of the historic Welhausen School on the east side of Cotulla. Marcial Lara Jr. had been a mere ten years old when future US President Lyndon Johnson served as teacher and principal at the school.
The group also journeyed to Panteon Antiguo / East Side Cemetery, and at the veteran’s gravesite Councilor Lopez removed an aging US flag and replaced it with a new one.
“This is where I’m privileged to be,” the councilor said of his part in the day’s events. Lopez has been an active participant in and advocate for the Cotulla Garden Club’s involvement in the Wreaths Across America project.
The city of Cotulla is in the process of developing the Welhausen school site for historic preservation highlighting the school’s significance to the community and its contribution to the Hispanic culture of South Texas. Lara’s medals and portrait will eventually be displayed there. For the time being, however, the memorabilia will be kept for public view at City Hall.
The ceremony was organized by Cotulla Garden Club members Patricia Rodriguez and Geronima Garza as part of their work in the Wreaths Across America project to highlight the service of US armed forces veterans and to bring greater public awareness and recognition of those who served their country in uniform,
The city administrator extended thanks on behalf of the community to the Laras for their gifts, which he described as priceless in value to the community’s history and in helping tell the story of the people of Cotulla and La Salle County.
“It was a great visit,” Joe says of his time in Cotulla. “We didn’t have the opportunity to meet the county clerk who helped us in this project, or to eat at Linares BBQ, so I guess we’ll have to return.”
Marcial Lara Jr. died on foreign soil before the Allies achieved their victory in Europe. Although his body was long ago returned for burial, it is the portrait and his medals that represent the boy from the east side of town who has come home.