CORPUS CHRISTI The orange and white airplanes flying over 1950s Robstown were Capt. Juan Garcia Jr.’s ticket to an education, to see the world and to a better life.
When pilots from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi visited his science class at the old St. John’s High School, he was hooked.
“Those student aviators will never know the impact they had on our family,” said Garcia’s son Assistant Secretary of the Navy Juan Garcia III. “Mikey and I went into the Navy because we wanted to serve. We wanted to fly, and we thought girls would like it. But mostly because we wanted to be like Big Dad.”
Garcia Jr.’s story is South Texas, Garcia III said.
It’s about the son of a Mexican immigrant who picked cotton. It’s about a boy who saw his way to the American dream and grabbed it.
Garcia Jr., 69, became a Navy pilot, flying attack jets and never looked back.
“There were Navy airplanes flying all over the place, and it just triggered something in me,” Garcia Jr. said. “I think maybe that’s the beauty of it. I had this passion for flying. And it kind of guided me to where I went.”
Along the way, he and his wife, Pat, raised a family that includes two Navy pilots, Lt. j.g. Michael “Mikey” Garcia and Garcia III who was recently confirmed as assistant secretary of the Navy.
“He earned a place at the American table through service to the country and passed that love of country on to the next generation,” Garcia III said.
Garcia Jr. is quick to point out that in America, if you work hard enough you can do anything.
When pilots from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi visited his science class at the old St. John’s High School, he was hooked.
“Those student aviators will never know the impact they had on our family,” said Garcia’s son Assistant Secretary of the Navy Juan Garcia III. “Mikey and I went into the Navy because we wanted to serve. We wanted to fly, and we thought girls would like it. But mostly because we wanted to be like Big Dad.”
Garcia Jr.’s story is South Texas, Garcia III said.
It’s about the son of a Mexican immigrant who picked cotton. It’s about a boy who saw his way to the American dream and grabbed it.
Garcia Jr., 69, became a Navy pilot, flying attack jets and never looked back.
“There were Navy airplanes flying all over the place, and it just triggered something in me,” Garcia Jr. said. “I think maybe that’s the beauty of it. I had this passion for flying. And it kind of guided me to where I went.”
Along the way, he and his wife, Pat, raised a family that includes two Navy pilots, Lt. j.g. Michael “Mikey” Garcia and Garcia III who was recently confirmed as assistant secretary of the Navy.
“He earned a place at the American table through service to the country and passed that love of country on to the next generation,” Garcia III said.
Garcia Jr. is quick to point out that in America, if you work hard enough you can do anything.
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