Professor Juan David Coronado explores the oral histories of Mexican American POW from the Vietnam War from his titular book. During the Vietnam War era, Mexican Americans had become more a part of the culture of the USA. However, many Mexican Americans prisoners of war (POWs) faced discrimination and inequality both in the military and back in the States.
Juan David Coronado, Ph.D., is a fronterizo from the Río Grande Valley of South Texas. He is associate professor of Latino and Public History and Coordinator of Latino & Puerto Rican Studies at the Central Connecticut State University. A social and oral historian, Dr. Coronado’s research and teaching interests include the Latino military experience, Chicana/o/x history, oral history, sports history, and Latina/o/x history with an emphasis on class and gender.
In his award-winning book, “I’m Not Gonna Die in this Damn Place”: Manliness, Identity, and Survival of the Mexican American Vietnam Prisoner of War (2018), Coronado shares the oral histories of Mexican American POWs. From 2015-2019, he was a post-doctoral scholar at the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University. Juan David previously served as Co-President of the Southwest Oral History Association. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University and University of Texas-Pan American.
Banner image: U.S. Air Force photo by Dennis Rogers/Released
