Veteran’s recordings for his family share glimpse of his life in Vietnam
José Luis Aliseda fled the Spanish Civil War as a child and later made his way to the U.S. before serving in Vietnam and eventually settling down in McAllen. While stationed overseas, Aliseda made recordings for his family that give a glimpse into his life in Vietnam.
His life began in Badajoz, a town on the western border of Spain with Portugal. His father was an elected official. In 1936, nationalist forces launched an assault against the democratically elected Republican government. The Aliseda family fled, first to France and eventually to Mexico.
"You know, when we were in Mexico, we thought that we were coming back to Spain," Aliseda said.
The plan was that the Allies would push the Franco regime out. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in 1945 signaled the end of that hope.
"The day that we were all almost crying was the day that Roosevelt died," Aliseda said. "We were, you know, mourning."
Aliseda's father and uncle established pharmacies in Mexico City, settling into a comfortable life there. Aliseda graduated from medical school in Mexico City and in 1958 traveled to Chicago to do his residency in anesthesiology at the Illinois Masonic Hospital.
By this time, he was married to Laura Rios and had children. Aliseda became a legal resident after passing his state boards in 1960.
"When you become a legal resident in this country, you have six months to register in the Selective Service at that time," he said. "That is one of your obligations, you know."
Eventually he was called up for duty. In 1968, Aliseda arrived in Vietnam and worked with the 18th Surgical Hospital, a collection of Quonset huts set up close to the front. The 18th Surgical patched up wounded soldiers and then sent them to other facilities farther south.
The war experience didn't affect Aliseda too much: He was uninjured and didn't develop PTSD. Aliseda himself sympathized with the Vietnamese people.
"I felt sorry for the poor guys that used to go into the field," he said. "I went because, you know, was my duty."
Back home, Aliseda's wife was left minding the couple's three children: a toddler, a 9-year-old and a 10-year-old. In the days before cellphones or email, he and Laura made audio cassette recordings and sent them to one another – some of which were kept by their children.
In the recordings home, he asks his wife to send a few flour tortillas. He describes a radio station that broadcasts in English for only a few hours a day. He talks about being able to speak Spanish with a Puerto Rican soldier. He wonders how the baby, Ernie, is doing and asks for photos of him.
"Qué dices? Ernie? Cuándo vamos a mandar más fotos de él? Y cómo se ve el niño, ese gordito ya."
He sends his family – but mostly his wife – a million kisses from his station at the 18th Surgical Hospital in Vietnam.
The Aliseda family moved to McAllen after Jose Luis returned from Vietnam, and he worked as an anesthesiologist until his retirement. He died there in September 2020.
