Saving Private Ramos: Ken Burns' World War II Documentary Continue to Incite Latino Protest

Since learning that The War initially excluded him and the more than 500,000 other Latinos who fought, were injured or died in World War II, Alvarez says he was “upset but not surprised” by what he calls “Mr. Burns negligence for omitting the Hispanic WW II experience.” Rather than fume about it, he and other friends in Brawley, CA collected money and took out a full page ad in their local newspaper. The former Private First Class, in the Army’s 7Th Cavalry’s Troop G, hopes that his campaign will “make people think and realize World War II was not fought and won solely by white males.”

Though “The War” now includes 28 minutes of footage of two Latino veterans, most major leaders of Latino organizations, members of the Congressional Hispanic Congress and a constellation of grassroots groups across the country remain dissatisfied. Different groups with different agendas have organized a number of activities to show dissatisfaction including protests, forums and possibly even boycotts of PBS and their corporate sponsors Anheuser Busch, General Motors and Bank of America.

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