UC Merced

This dissertation explores select military bases within the United States’ Southwest and their relationship with Mexican American communities, in Atwater, California, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. This study is explored in conjunction with an examination of the expansion of military bases and installations throughout the U.S. Southwest from 1942 to 1975. The establishment of military institutions initially prompted positive changes in the communities where they grew, but their presence and eventual absence brought devastating consequences. Military institutions and installments created new economic and labor opportunities and helped form new communities. However, when these bases were no longer needed, surrounding communities suffered due to significant economic downturn and detrimental environmental impacts.I seek to utilize an intersectional lens focusing on race, ethnicity, class, and gender to explore the transformation of Mexican American communities alongside the expansion of U.S. military bases. Furthermore, I will analyze the ways in which the U.S. military’s presence differed in California, New Mexico, and Colorado, due to regional factors, demographics, and the branch of military, demonstrating the unique development of each state and the Southwest region. The purpose for taking a cross regional approach is to provide a comparison of these regional factors in the different states to exemplify what differences and similarities developed alongside the establishment of certain military bases. Moreover, this analysis shows military bases had both positive and negative impacts on surrounding communities, especially on Mexican American communities. This approach emphasizes the need for further study on the impacts of military bases over time, taking into consideration, war time, social movements, and the evolution of labor and social standings held by Mexican Americans in the U.S. The U.S. military provided many benefits, however, as I show throughout this dissertation, for Mexican Americans and their communities, initial advantages and opportunities provided by the military’s presence did not last over time nor were they equally allocated throughout World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The most touted benefits of military service were financial security, employment with opportunity for growth, medical care and for some, a path to U.S. citizenship. This is contrasted with the harmful effects on families during war times and periods of conflict, the negative impacts on physical and mental health, and post service disappointment when promised benefits did not materialize. This is also evident when a military establishment leaves a community: their absence detrimentally effects the overall health and stability of the community. Additionally, this dissertation will focus on how, and if, Mexican Americans are remembered or honored for their military service, labor, political accomplishments, public service, education and activism within their communities. These acts are significant because they were often created or transformed by the U.S. military’s presence. This project aims to contextualize the relationship between Mexican American communities and the U.S. military beyond service and further examine the true benefits and damaging consequences of the military’s presence and absence.