The daughter of a Mexican immigrant and migrant worker, Triste Ordex spent her childhood summers working in the fields.
Wanting to give her family stability and hoping to be able to take care of them one day, she joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
After one tour of duty in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, she became a drill instructor for the Marines before retiring in 2014.
At a Hispanic and Latino veterans storytelling event in San Antonio last weekend, she shared that when President Donald Trump first ran for office in 2016, his comments about Mexicans made her question the value of her service.
“I just got out of the Marine Corps, and here’s this person talking about people like me, and this question kept coming to me: Does my service matter?” she said.
She said it’s a question that has continued to stay on her mind as she watches veterans be deported, military spouses and parents impacted by ICE raids while their service members are deployed and as stories of Hispanic veterans are removed from federal websites.
“For any Latino veteran in this room, if you have ever had that question in your head, your service does matter,” she said. “If it didn’t matter, this administration would not be doing everything that they’re doing to erase our contributions to this country.”
When Secretary Pete Hegseth assumed control of the Pentagon last year, he created a task force to “eliminate all diversity, equity and inclusion offices and initiatives.” The move led to the pictures, references and histories of some Hispanic veterans – among other minority groups – being removed from things like the Arlington National Cemetery website.
Killeen’s military base, which in 2023 was renamed Fort Cavazos after the first Hispanic four-star general and Texas native Richard Cavazos, was reverted back to its old name Fort Hood at the beginning of the Trump administration.
Ordex now works for VoteVets, a progressive political organization to get veterans more involved with politics. The organization brought Sen. Ruben Gallego (D- Arizona), to San Antonio earlier this year for a veterans town hall.
San Antonio has both a large Hispanic population and a large veteran presence, and she says it’s important for Latina veterans like herself to be involved with advocacy for the military community. The most recent Defense Department demographics report found that 19.5% of active duty service members identify as Hispanic or Latino.
“To be greeted by somebody doing this work. … That grew up with arroz con frijoles, that grew up with their parent working in the fields, that grew up hablando Español…you feel so seen,” she said.
Saturday’s storytelling event was put on by Minority Veterans of America and the Chamberlin Network. The two organizations have traveled the country to host similar events for transgender, Asian American, women, African American and Indigenous and Pacific Islander veterans.
“We’re bringing together veterans to tell their stories of service, stories of service that in today’s environment can be pretty radical,” said U.S. Army veteran and Chamberlin Network founder Chris Purdy. “We’re here in San Antonio to highlight the rich tradition of Hispanic Americans in the U.S. military.”
San Antonio native Larry Romo, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who currently serves as the vice president for veterans at LULAC and previously was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead the Selective Service System, also spoke about his decades of service.
“I needed to be a positive role model, so people can see that Latinos, once they get these positions, they can be good role models,” he said.
Like Ordex, Romo said he was concerned by the “inexcusable and reprehensible” deportations of veterans and their family members. He called the recent deportation of a San Antonio U.S. Navy midshipman’s mother “disgusting” and said LULAC is working on efforts to protect military family members, but also to make sure Hispanic veterans receive recognition.
“There’s been a lot of discrimination in World War I, World War II, the Korean War for Hispanics and other ethnic people,” Romo said about who had received the Medal of Honor.
He highlighted an effort to help get a Medal of Honor for Pvt. Marcelino Serna, a Mexican immigrant who settled in El Paso and went on to become one of the most decorated veterans of World War I.
The World War I Valor Medals Review Act, passed in 2019, directs the Defense Department to review the service records of minority veterans to see if discrimination contributed to their awards process, and whether they should be upgraded to a Medal of Honor.
“He will eventually get the Medal of Honor,” Romo said.
For some veterans in attendance at the event, the recent removals of minority officers from promotion lists and efforts to rid the military of “DEI” have been particularly upsetting given the military’s diverse history.
Retired U.S. Army veteran Fred Hofstetter said he served with people of every race and ethnicity during his time in the service.
“We are DEI, no matter whether we want to be or not,” he said.
Hofstetter and retired Army Lt. Col. Martha Spinks are part of the San Antonio-based Support and Defend, an organization for veterans committed to defending the Constitution through civic engagement.
“There are some of us who would argue that the U.S. military is a model meritocracy,” Spinks said.
She said that despite the masculine and rigid reputation of the military, it has historically served as an early leader in social integration and cultural change. President Harry Truman’s directive to desegregate the military came years before schools in the U.S. adopted similar policies.
“It really does make an effort like no other organization I’ve ever seen to promote diversity, equity and inclusion,” Spinks said.
San Antonio U.S. Marine Corps veteran and founder of Lone Star Veterans for Democracy, John Lira, said there is a special trust between the American public and veterans, and a need to share the stories of Latino veterans.
“Their voice matters, and right now, with so much going on within our military and within our veterans and within our society, we want to elevate those voices,” he said.
The San Antonio Report’s military and veterans coverage is supported by Report for America.
