Felix Z. Longoria (April 16, 1920 – June 16, 1945) was an American soldier from Texas, who served in the United States Army as a private. He died during World War II and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery after veterans supported his cause in a dispute over his funerary arrangements. Background Longoria was killed during the war, in the Philippines in 1945, but his body was not returned to his family until 1949. Upon receiving the body, his family attempted to arrange to bury him at the local cemetery, which was segregated and limited to whites. The only funeral home in town denied wake services since Felix was Mexican-American. The American G.I. Forum, a local activist group, fought against the injustice, and he was eventually buried in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington D.C. Personal Born and raised in Three Rivers, Texas, Felix Longoria moved to Corpus Christi with his wife in search of work. He was working there as a truck driver and he and his wife had a four-year-old daughter. Feeling the call to service, in November 1944, Longoria enlisted in the US Army. In late April 1945, he shipped out from Fort Ord, California, to the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division, then located in Luzon in the Philippines. He arrived on Luzon Island around June 1, 1945. The platoon was ambushed by a hidden Japanese machine gunner within two weeks of landing, and Longoria was among those killed. His remains were not recovered and identified until 1949. Once they were identified, the Army arranged to have them returned to the United States and to his family. Social climate In Texas during the 1940s, as in other parts of the country, Mexican Americans were socially considered non-white but they were counted as white on the census. Segregation of Mexican American children in schools and employment discrimination against Mexican American workers was pervasive in the Southwestern United States. The town of Three Rivers was no exception. The section nearest the river and west of the railroad was setup for Mexican Americans to live in segregation (see referenced map: the streets west of the rail lines have names in Spanish). Generally during World War II, Mexican-American servicemen were integrated into regular military units, but some served in segregated Mexican-American units, such as Company C, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard. Felix