Robert Luevano

VFW Post 4695 and the District 21 Honor Guard, along with a unit of the Diabled Veterans
and a Young Marine Corps Volunteer Presented Mr. Luevano with his long overdue Medals in a special medal
ceremony. The Army was going to do this for him, but at a later date, and Mr. Luevano will probably not live
another 2 weeks. Channel 8 TV covered the event and had a story on it on the 6 and 10 O'Clock news cast that day. When the story is available on their website, it will appear as a link here. Here are pictures of that event .

VFW members present were: Post 4695 Service officer Jim Van Rite, who organized and MC'd the ceremony. Also from 4695, Post Surgeon Jeff King who as District Chaplin gave the Invocation, helped MC, and along with PDC, 8911 and Honor Guard member John Arnold folded and presented the US Flag. Post 4695 Auxiliary members present were Sue Van Rite (Post Auxiliary President elect) and Jeannie King (Post Auxiliary Sr. Vice elect)

 

Robert was drafted into the United States Army at age 18 in 1944. He was sent to Fort Seal, OK for basic training. He also trained at Evansville, IL, Camp Breckenridge, KY, and Camp Shanks, NY before being shipped to South Hampton, England with the 75th Infantry division, 291st Infantry Regiment, Company C.

He fought frontline in Ardennes and Rhineland along central Europe.
He recalls vividly going into the Black Forest and being ambushed by the Germans who were dressed in white to camouflage themselves in the snow.  After almost one year of combat he was wounded when German tanks attacked their area. Shrapnel hit him in his left knee. He lay in the snow for hours while the battle raged around him before help arrived.  Only after a long ride in the back of a jeep to a tent behind enemy lines in Belgium, did he receive medical attention. It would take one month for him to be transferred to England for surgery.

In 1946, PFC Robert Luevano was honorably discharged from the United States Army with the following medals:
The Bronze Star
The Purple Heart
The Army Good Conduct Medal
The American Campaign Theater Service Medal
The Asiatic-Pacific Theater Service Medal
The European African Middle East Theater Service Medal with two bronze service stars
The World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Occupation Medal
Presidential Unit Citation

Robert Luevano, was born November 29th 1925 to Juan Luevano and Petra Parras in Big Spring, Texas.   He worked for the railroad company before being drafted into the Army.  Alongside were three of his uncles who were drafted at around the same time.  They all served during World War II, but he was the only one who was wounded in action. 

Upon returning from the war, he made Big Spring his home.  He married Catalina Luevano and had 5 children.  He was employed by the Veteran’s Hospital and later worked with Civil Service Commission at Webb Air Force Base where he retired after 24 years of service.  He received several merit awards for excellence in job performance.

After retirement he and his wife relocated to Denver, Colorado where they lived for seven years. Afterwards, he moved to the Dallas area and is now currently living in Irving at Hearthland Assisted living facility under the care of Vitas Hospice.

Robert especially enjoyed traveling. Among his favorite locations were in Mexico and Paris, France. For years, he dreamed of taking his wife to Paris, France to share with her some of his fondest memories of his tour during WWII. For his fiftieth wedding anniversary he finally made that trip along with some of his adult children. From the Eiffel Tower to the streets to tunnels, he recounted stories from his memories, which had never been shared before with anyone. His daughters remember him telling a conversation he had with one of his unit buddies. His unit buddy invited him to go sight seeing around Paris. He especially wanted to visit the Cathedrals and Saints. Robert said he replied “Forget the Saints, I want to see santas (the females!)”  Since then, his children and his wife have teased him about his spirituality!