HomeMy WebLinkAbout Daniel Ruiz, Brazos Valley Heroesone in a series of tributes to members of "The
Generation" who served our country during world war n
Daniel Ruiz of Bryan lives in a military neighborhood.The
names of the streets in the area are Patton, Montgomery,
Bradley, Eisenhower and McArthur. He served under
General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines during
World War 11, and now lives on McArthur Street.
"Having my home on McArthur is really a coincidence
but If I tell folks I moved there because of serving under
General MacArthur, it makes for a good story. I did serve
under General MacArthur and I am proud of that."
(Apparently the city didn't check the spelling before
naming the street.)
Ruiz had three brothers who also served in World War
11. Felix was an artillery man in Europe. Louis landed at
Normandy on D -Day and received two Purple Hearts.
Manuel served in the Army's mountain division in
Europe.
"I was drafted into the Army in 1944 and was sent to
Camp Hood for basic training. From there we were sent to
Fort Ord, California, to sail to the Philippines. I remember
the sign on the dock as we boarded ship. R said:'Through
here pass the best soldiers in the world.' I sure didn't feel
like one of the best soldiers in the world that day.
"There were 5,000 of us on the ship and we were only
served two meals a day, but I was so seasick I couldn't
eat anything for a while. We stopped in Hawaii and New
Guinea before landing at Manila Bay in the Philippines.
There were so many bombed out and sunken ships that
we had to use landing barges to get to the dock."
Upon his arrival in the Philippines, Ruiz was assigned
to Company G of the 145th Infantry Division as a scout.
1 11 was the first scout, and that was my permanent
job until the war ended. Being the first scout meant that
you were the lead person on every patrol. There was a
second scout behind me, then an officer, followed by the
rest of the squad. The first time was scary for me, but you
learned that the best way to take care of yourself and
those behind you was to really concentrate on watching
for the enemy.
"The best thing about my job was that most patrols
were made during the daytime. At night we would stop
and dig foxholes. The night was when the Japanese came
out of hiding and would come looking for us. One night
we had just dug in and one of my buddies had to answer
the call of Mother Nature. He had just left his foxhole
when a mortar round landed in his foxhole. I guess you
could say that Mother Nature saved his life."
Several years after Ruiz was out of the Army, he was
awarded the Bronze Star for an incident that took place
before the war ended.
"We ran into a Japanese machinegun in a concrete
pillbox that was really cutting our guys up. We encircled
the pillbox and kept it under fire until we could get the
flamethrower up there to take H out. When you get an
award like that, you usually don't do it by yourself. There
were others that did what I did but I don't know if they
were ever awarded the medal. I hope they were because
they deserve it just as much, if not more, than I."
While still in the Phillipines, he served as a military
policeman and helped train the Filipino police force. In
November 1946, he returned stateside and was honorably
discharged.
"After I Game home, my mother told me that she didn't
know if I was speaking Japanese or English when I was
asleep at night, but I sure was saying something."
Ruiz eventually went to work at Texas A&M at the
newly constructed Memorial Student Center in the food
service department. When he retired 43 years later, he
was the assistant manager for banquets.
"I worked until all my kids graduated from college. I
enjoyed working at A&M and getting to meet and know
the people who worked there and that were involved in
A&M.
"As I look back on the war, it was a big experience for
me, especially as young as I was. I learned about discipline
and responsibility. I learned about life - for life."
Daniel Ruiz' name can be found on the Brazos Valley
Veterans Memorial. If you know of a World War II veteran
whose story needs to be told, contact Bill Youngkin at
(979) 260 -7030. If you would like to add someone's name
to the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial, names must be
submitted by August 15, 2006, in order to be engraved on
the wall by this year's Veterans Day observance.
The E gle
Here when you need us.
Vietnam Purple Heart Recipient Jim West will be the guest on
"Veterans of the Valley" Friday, April 28, at 8:30 p.m. on KAMU -TV A
Veterans of the Valley, hosted by WTAWs Tom Turbiville, can be seen
Fridays at.8:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. �amd