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'POW Hernandez - A Commentary'

By Anna Macias Aguayo, KERA 90.1 commentator

Dallas, TX – For four days during the U.S.-Iraq war, I was an imbedded reporter. I didn't go overseas, but I camped out at the Alton, Texas home of Edgar Hernandez, former POW turned American hero.

When I returned home to the tranquil shadows of White Rock Lake, I had the feeling of having come from the war zone. The Hernandez's fight in their rural town near Mc Allen is against poverty.

The Hernandez's live humbly in a matchbox house on a barren lot where the South Texas winds blow sand into funnels. Their yard is filled with abandoned cars, spare tires and broken furniture. The scene was reminiscent of the dust storms that blanket Iraq and the deserted vehicles scattered on the battleground as the U.S. troops advanced to Baghdad.

Jose, the father, is a farm worker. Maria de la Luz, the mother, a certified nurse's aide. Edgar, the Army Specialist who returned home this week, is the eldest of their four kids. He enlisted three years ago hoping to create a better life. He's about to find out just how much life was altered.

As they anxiously awaited Edgar's return last week, the change was evident in the expression of Jose Hernandez, whose smile became permanently affixed as he greeted droves of visitors.

After I hung around so long and Hernandez felt comfortable with me, he confided, "I'm thinking of dyeing my moustache black to cover up my gray hairs." I sensed that normally he might not contemplate such vain matters. One morning, he frantically raced to pay a past-due bill to keep their water from being cut off. I couldn't help comparing the Hernandez's plight to the Iraqis' - both struggling to have drinking water.

Jose Hernandez has been too distraught to work since his son's capture. Donations of food and money have kept the family afloat. Still, the father's joy at his son's liberation overshadows his worries.

Hernandez is hopeful because, lately, the most influential people in South Texas befriended him. They've all sat to chat in his un-air-conditioned living room. One superintendent promised to name a school after Edgar Hernandez.

Just as Iraq is in reconstruction, a renovation is underway at the Hernandez's rickety home.

On the first day of my visit, townsfolk delivered food and half a dozen ice chests filled with sodas to quench the thirst of visitors. On the second day, the foil paper that covered curtainless windows was replaced with freshly painted banners and yellow ribbons. The family even fielded phone calls from a Hollywood film producer.

On the third day, Hernandez marveled at the fact that city officials sent a crew to mow overgrown brush in their alley. Home Depot promised to make repairs on their home. Restaurant owners planned catered parties for them. All over town, people wore t-shirts proclaiming Edgar Hernandez "An American Hero."

On the fourth day, a woman from a prominent South Texas family delivered a glittery evening gown to Edgar's mother. Maria de la Luz's eyes widened with shock and awe as she humbly accepted the gift. Cynthia Requenez, a fashion designer, gave her the dress so she could look elegant upon her son's return.

Jose Hernandez does not speak English - and I suspect that the language barrier kept his family off TV networks and talk shows that interviewed POW's relatives.

For me, the Hernandez story speaks volumes about sacrifice, patriotism and the relentless pursuit of the American dream. It is a reminder that some Americans fought in a war not too far from their own hardscrabble lives.

Anna Macias Aguayo is a Dallas freelance reporter.