Article:
PVT Teodosio Perez Rodriguez (Cruz) – Company G, Puerto Rico Infantry Regiment
(Unknown – August 25, 1970)
Born in the Mirasol neighborhood of Lares, he was the son of Juan Marcos Perez Crespo and Juana Paula Rodríguez Rosado (Paula Cruz Rodríguez), farmers. His exact date of birth is unknown due to the poor condition of the Lares registration books. Existing documentation suggests four different dates. In these notes, we use the one officially recorded in the Army Pension Index kept in St. Louis, MO: July 11, 1893. It is known that when World War I broke out, and in compliance with the legal requirements, he registered in Lares, declaring himself to be an agricultural worker in the Río Prieto neighborhood. He began his active service on July 5, 1918 as a PVT (private) in Company G of the Porto Rico Infantry Regiment and ended on March 26, 1919. An old DD1108 that we keep in the family archive reveals his last assignment as Company A of the 374th Infantry Regiment.
After his honorable discharge, he decided to invest his savings and pension in opening a business. He established a department store in the urban center of Lares, carrying clothing, footwear, agricultural implements, hardware, and household goods. He was very successful financially. Over the years, he became one of the most recognized members of the municipal elite.
To his fellow citizens, he was “Don Dosio Pérez.” With the advent of the Commonwealth era and the government of Luis Muñoz Marín, he became a supporter of his reformist policies and the industrialization of the island. In his business vision, this provided him with a great opportunity to expand his operations. In matters of National Defense, he always maintained his military steadfastness, a soldier always ready for combat. This was already demonstrated when, at 51 years old and with a broken arm, he went to enlist for the second time during World War II. Naturally, he was not selected.
On a personal level, his temperament was one of rectitude, seriousness, intolerance of laziness, and contempt for stupidity. His good dress and manners were constant. His social networks were invaluable in maintaining his social status as a community leader. He enjoyed visiting casinos and social clubs to participate in dances. Two of his inseparable friends were Don Marcelino Sánchez, the first practical nurse assigned to Lares, and Don Juan Díaz Lasalle, a Municipal Judge. Teodosio Pérez married Doña María Herminia Ruiz for his first marriage, and after her death in 1968, he married Doña Jova Torres for his second marriage. He succumbed to sudden heart failure on August 25, 1970, leaving behind numerous children.
Written by his great-grandson, Juan Sala Pérez