While visiting family in Kingsville, Texas, Holley-Riddle Post 21 Commander Mary Garcia decided to see if she could exchange post license plates with the local American Legion. Little did she know she would find a childhood friend.
“I grew up in Kingsville and was teaching in the Corpus Christi area when I decided to pursue a commission in the Air Force. After my parents moved, I didn’t travel back there very often. But I have an aunt and uncle still in Kingsville, so I decided to visit them for a few days and see how the old hometown had changed.”
While researching the address and hours for Ernest L. Anderson Post 99, Mary was surprised to find out that the Auxiliary Unit 99 secretary was her childhood friend Sylvia Martinez. “I hadn’t seen Sylvia in years. When I met her and her sister Dora that evening at Post 99, we reminisced about family and friends we knew from way back.”
Mary also met past commander and current adjutant Bucho Ruiz, vice commander Thomas Rose and Albert Martinez. “Everyone was so welcoming at Post 99 - it really did feel like a homecoming.”
The American Legion – bringing veterans and old friends back together.