Latinx Women on the Home Front
Bridgette C. Ramirez
Latinx Women on the Home Front
The Latinx community is often-times underrepresented, especially when it comes to their history in participating in United States war. One group from this marginalized community that rarely obtains recognition or appreciation are the war efforts of the Latinx women on the home front. While the men were fighting in World War II, the women held down the fort in the states; Latinx women created patriotic organizations to help families cope with their loved ones being at war, they contributed to the high-demand job market, and claimed their space within American society.
Patriotic organizations are a mechanism used to keep the morale on the home front positive, and a way to make the community feel involved with the war efforts, even if they aren’t on the battlefield. One patriotic organization that sprouted during World War II by Mexican American women was The Asociación Hispano-Americana de Madres Y Esposas, which means The Mexican-American Mothers and Wives Association. This organization originated in Tucson, Arizona as a way for the women to manage and survive while their loved-ones were fighting. Arizona State University describes the organization as being “founded to help support the war effort… to provide economic and moral support to the Mexican-American soldiers abroad in World War II.”[1] The association not only focused on keeping the morale up on the home front, but they also took care of the veterans whom returned home injured, and they raised money to create a recreational center exclusively for veterans. The women of the patriotic organization began publishing a community newspaper, The Chatter, to spread the information and needs of the soldiers.[2] According to Arizona Historical Society, The Mexican-American Mothers and Wives Association “supported their loved ones by sending letters, buying war bonds, rolling bandages, and raising money for a post-war veterans’ center.”[3] The mothers, wives, daughters, aunts, sisters, fiancées wrote letters to the soldiers because they were not only fighting battles on the field, but they were also fighting an internal battle of loneliness.[4] The organization fizzled-out when the war came to a close, because the veterans that returned home did not want to continue a woman-led organization, so they created their own. The Mexican-American Mothers and Wives Association contributed enormously to the war efforts on the home front and proved their patriotism through their tireless efforts.
Another shift for women during World War II on the home front was their contributions to the high-demand workforce. Previously, women normally worked within their home and remained in the private sphere[5], but once the war began and the need for employees rose, women began filling the gap of employment and venturing into the public sphere[6]. Due to the mass deployment of men and women, manual labor was experiencing a shortage. “Thousands of Latino men and women on the Home Front worked on railroads, in mines, shipyards and airplane factories and as crucial agricultural labor.”[7] To fill the gap of employment, the United States government initiated the Bracero Program, which allowed “50,000 Mexican agricultural workers and 75,000 railroad workers to come as guest workers to the United States… these workers were crucial to the country’s wartime economy.”[8] Aurora Estrada Orozco, a Mexican American women on the home front during World War II, described her transition into the workforce when the war was happening. Her and her sister, “began working in various jobs… among the jobs available were making buttons from seashells and stitching uniforms for the military.” [9] Mrs. Orozco also mentions that men from Mexico started crossing to border for work, and even though they were illegal the United States allowed them to stay because there was so much work that was needing to be filled, and there was nobody around to do it since he men were off at war. [10] The war allowed women to explore the workforce, claim their space in society as income-contributors for their household, and it also gave them a sense of fulfillment to be able to help the war efforts from the home front.
Aurora Estrada Orozco did an interview with VOCES to describe her wartime experiences being a Mexican American woman on the home front during World War II. Orozco described the tone of her community during World War II as very somber; she stated, “The townspeople cried often and the Christmas holidays were sad.”[11] Orozco’s brother-in-law was called by the Army to serve in the Pacific Theatre[12], his exact location is unknown. Latinx that participate in World War II risked their lives for the United States to prove their loyalty, and hope for desegregation and respect when they came home from war- though it never happened. According to an article written in the National World War 2 Museum website, “Los Veteranos- Latinos in WWII,” it states, “In the Pacific Theater, the 158th Regimental Combat Team, of which a large percentage was Latino and Native American, fought in New Guinea and the Philippines. They so impressed General MacArthur that he called them “the greatest fighting combat team ever deployed in battle.”[13] Though Orozco’s brother-in-law’s exact location is unknown, his willingness to fight for this country is undoubtedly remarkable for the Latinx community.
Rationing items was another struggle families on the home front faced. Orozco explains that people couldn’t purchase leather, sugar, or butter, so Mexican American families would cross the U.S. border into Mexico to purchase huaraches (leather sandals), oleomargarine (butter), sugar, and other items that were unable to be purchased in the states. [14]
The Latinx community contribute to the war through volunteering, draft, and keeping things in order on the home front. Though they are highly underrepresented, experienced discrimination upon return, and didn’t receive the equality they were hoping for, the Latinx community’s contributions to World War II can no longer be overlooked. Their contributions on the home front through organizations, filling manual-labor positions, and rationing with the rest of the country should earn them the respect, recognition, and equality they deserve.
[1] Christine Marín, “Mexican-American Calendar: Arizona, 1864-1985,” Arizona State University, accessed on November 11, 2018,
[2] Julie A. Campbell, “Madres Y Esposas: Tucson’s Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association,” The Journal of Arizona History 31, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 161-182.
[3] Julie A. Campbell, “Madres Y Esposas: Tucson’s Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association.”
[4] Julie A. Campbell, “Madres Y Esposas: Tucson’s Spanish-American Mothers and Wives Association.”
[5] The term “private sphere” is often used when referring to duties exclusively permitted in the home, such as, rearing children and household duties- frequently utilized by women.
[6] The term “public sphere” is often used when referring to places outside of the household, such as, politics and employment- customarily utilized by men.
[7] “Los Veteranos- Latinos in WWII,” The National Museum of World War Two, accessed on 11/15/2018,
[8] “Los Veteranos- Latinos in WWII.”
[9] Desireé Mata, “Aurora Estrada Orozco,” The University of Texas at Austin, accessed on November 7, 2018,
[10] Desireé Mata, “Aurora Estrada Orozco.”
[11] Desireé Mata, “Aurora Estrada Orozco.”
[12] A term used for military activity between the United States, Allies, and Japan from 1937-1945.
[13] “Los Veteranos- Latinos in WWII.”
[14] Desireé Mata, “Aurora Estrada Orozco.”
Campbell, Julie A. “Madres Y Esposas: Tucson’s Spanish-American Mothers and Wives
Association.” The Journal of Arizona History 31, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 161-182.
"Los Veteranos- Latinos in WWII.” The National Museum of World War Two. Accessed on
11/15/2018.
Mata, Desireé. “Aurora Estrada Orozco.” The University of Texas at Austin. Accessed on
November 7, 2018.
Marín, Christine. “Mexican-American Calendar: Arizona, 1864-1985.” Arizona State University.
Accessed on November 11, 2018.