Fort Worth event marks 70th anniversary of WWII’s end

While stationed on the island of Guadalcanal during World War II, Santiago Diaz relied on his keen skills to locate a small but tough enemy of U.S. troops: the mosquito.

Diaz, an Army medic, was one of about a dozen men tasked with controlling malaria. The disease — passed to humans through the bite of mosquitoes infected with a parasite — could debilitate troops.

“They couldn’t do anything if they got sick,” said the 99-year-old Diaz, explaining that malaria caused hot and cold spells and weakened soldiers.

“We were there to control malaria,” he said. “We would locate areas where mosquito larvae would breed.”

Diaz’s contributions are among those being honored this year during the Spirit of ’45 and Beyond celebration to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. (Fighting with Japan ended on Aug. 14, 1945. The formal surrender took place Sept. 2.)

“We have the most amazing opportunity at our event on Friday to honor those of the Greatest Generation — veterans and their families and folks who supported them — who kept this world safe from tyranny,” said Kathy Campbell, a social worker for Vitas Healthcare who works with area veterans and is helping organize the event.

This year’s remembrance is even more special for Diaz because he turns 100 on Sept. 6.

He and his loved ones will celebrate with multiple events that highlight his military service and his birthday, including one at the senior center at Worth Heights Community Center, where he plays dominoes with friends.

As his birthday approaches, Diaz is asked a lot about his age and the secret to a long life. His response comes with a twinkle in his eyes: “Just eat a lot of beans, eat a lot of vegetables, eat a lot of fruit and drink a little bit of beer.”

A military career

Diaz was born in 1915. His family was from a rural area in the Mexican state of Jalisco, he said. Searching for a better life, his parents moved to Fort Worth when he was an infant.

“I wasn’t born here, but I grew up here,” said Diaz, who attended Fort Worth schools up to eighth grade. He was a hard worker who juggled three jobs during the Great Depression.

“I was lucky to do that,” Diaz said, noting that those were hard times. Later in life, Diaz also juggled jobs to help his family, said Carlotta Garcia, his daughter.

In 1943, Diaz enlisted in the military. His oldest son, Johnny, was 6 months old when Diaz headed to war.

Relatives said he wanted to fight for the United States so his wife, Justina Avina, and children would have a better future: For joining the Army, he would receive U.S. citizenship.

Diaz’s military career was documented by staff at the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison in the fall 2011 issue of The Medallion, a magazine published by the Texas Historical Commission.

Diaz told The Medallion that he completed basic training in 1943 at Camp Barkeley in Abilene. He headed to Guadalcanal from San Francisco on a crowded ship. It took 21 days to reach New Caledonia, about 600 miles south of Guadalcanal, and he was very seasick.

“We zigzagged all the way across,” he said. “We also practiced abandoning ship just in case we had to abandon ship.”

For the last two years of the war, he served with the Malaria Survey Detachment. Its members worked to control mosquitoes to stop the spread of the disease, which played a major role in the operations and battles of the South Pacific.

“We did control it,” he said.

Diaz was gearing up for combat when the war ended.

“The atomic bomb stopped everything,” he said.

Honoring a generation

Campbell said it is important to honor World War II veterans. The National World War II Museum in New Orleans says most of the generation is in its 90s. Of 16 million Americans who served in World War II, some 855,070 survive today, including 52,776 in Texas.

“This generation is getting smaller and smaller, so the more opportunities we can have to honor them and hear their story ... we want to take every opportunity that we can,” Campbell said.

Garcia, one of Diaz’s four grown children, said her father is proud of his military service and enjoys traveling to historic sites. He has shared his experiences with the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg.

Garcia said the family will celebrate his service and birthday with a dinner that includes a patriotic theme.

Diaz will also be honored Sept. 4 at the Worth Heights Community Center with a visit from Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, who will present a proclamation to the centenarian.

Diaz, who doesn’t like to miss Sunday church services, is also expected to receive a blessing at Holy Name Catholic Church.

“He is as sharp as he can be,” said Ralph Rhodes, director of the senior center at Worth Heights. Rhodes said Diaz is known as a shrewd domino player.

“He has more of a poker face,” Rhodes said. “He knows exactly how to play and count.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Fort Worth event marks 70th anniversary of WWII’s end."