Maj. Gabriel Fuentes, Jr.

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Co. K 1940-1943 (WWII); 2 Bronze Stars; Purple Heart (Deceased 1986)

Article:

RETURN TO AVALON – A book profiling Maj. Gabriel Fuentes, Jr. (65th Infantry Officer in WWII) 
 
In 1940, as the United States teetered toward entering the war in Europe, Gabriel Fuentes Jr. accepted an active duty commission as a second lieutenant in the 65th Infantry.  Lieutenant Fuentes had just graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in engineering, using an ROTC scholarship to earn his way through school. Military planners, desperate for forces but influenced by the prejudices of the times, were not ready to fully trust the Puerto Ricans. The men of the 65th set about proving their doubters wrong. Their original assignments were protecting the interests of the U.S. in the Caribbean, including an extended stint guarding the Panama Canal. Their exemplary service there earned them a transfer to the African Theater and ultimately to the Maritime Alps, where they guarded supply lines and the Franco/Italian border in the closing hours of the war.  
 
This comprehensive 510-page book serves as a stirring biography of one 65th Infantry officer, Gabriel Fuentes, Jr., and includes an early history of Puerto Rico with numerous and rare photographs of the 65th during World War II.  In Return to Avalon, author Gabriel Fuentes III, aided by the invaluable insight of his uncle Jorge L. Fuentes Vazquez, uses elegant and richly detailed prose to tell the story of his father and the 65th Infantry and their important role in World War II.
 
Written in English. Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.6 x 1.6 inches

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