Lenny Kravitz’s Hero Uncle and Other Lesser Known American Heroes

28. Declining a Chance to Get Out of Fighting Another Country’s War

After boot camp, Marcelino Serna was sent to join the American Expeditionary Force in France, where he was assigned to Company B, 355^th Infantry Regiment, in the 89^th Division. Once he got to the trenches, Serna’s unit realized that he was not an American citizen. His company commander informed Serna that as a Mexican national, he did not have to be there.

So he was offered a discharge. Although it would have been quite understandable had Serna taken it, considering it was not his war but that of a country he had only lived in for less than a year, he declined. A stand-up guy, he decided to stick with his comrades.