Everyday Patriot

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient was born on May 18, 1881, in Assaria, Kansas. He attended college at Columbia University, earned a Master's degree in American History, and worked as a school teacher before the war. He enlisted in World War I for the History of it and was assigned to the 369th infantry, the Harlem Hellfighters. During the assault on Sechault, he was wounded on three separate occasions, leaving his trench only once, under orders, for medical attention, and returned promptly to his men after treatment. After the war, he was the postmaster of Salina before being appointed to the post of State Auditor in 1935 and was re-elected for that position for the next 35 years. He was considered a soft-spoken individual and believed that respect from his fellow man was better than the stature of a hero. After his retirement, he spent his time studying History. He died on May 14, 1972, in Topeka, Kansas. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project he...

Sergeant Rafael Hernandez Marin was born in Aguadilla Puerto Rico on October 24th, 1892.  As a child, he earned his living by making cigars, but by twelve, he could fulfill his love of music by studying in San Juan. Sergeant Rafael Marin could play several instruments, including the clarinet, tuba, trombone, violin, piano, and guitar, and by fourteen was playing for the Cocolia Orchestra. While working as a musician in North Carolina, James Reese Europe, a Jazz bandleader, recruited him, his brother Jesus, and other Puerto Ricans to join the Orchestra Europe, the military band of the 369th Infantry, known as the Harlem Hellfighters. He deployed to France for World War I. Orchestra Europe is considered the band that started the love of Jazz in Britain and France. After World War I, Sergeant Rafael Marin formed several bands, and continued to compose. He also directed the Teatro Fausto in Havana, studied at the Mexico National Music Conservatory, and was the director of the ...