Local Vet Touts Transportation Service

By Michael Bromka

Veteran José Aldas, age 92, enlisted in the USMC in the spring of 1953. He’d grown up farming in Eddy County.

“It was rough, nine of us in a poor family. Dad was a hard worker with no schooling. During harvest, we able-bodied kids got pulled out of school into fieldwork for months,” he said.

Leaving school to enlist as a Marine was no issue for José. The Korean Conflict had gone badly for the US. The Chinese were backing up the North Koreans, driving allied troops far to the south. Then General MacArthur boldly landed forces at Inchon and pushed back.

After three months in San Diego and further training in Camp Pendleton, José and his comrades boarded a ship bound for Korea.

“It took us 17 days to cross the Pacific. Then news came: the Koreans had stopped fighting. Cease fire. Never signed a truce.”

So, José’s Marines were sent to Camp McNair in Japan. The uncertainty of the truce meant that artillery training continued day and night on Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

Firing shells took its toll since Marines wore no ear protection. For two months, José lost all hearing. This wasn’t his only injury. During dental surgery, a clumsy technician accidentally dislocated José’s jaw. For two months, all he could eat were small pieces of bread dissolved in his mouth. No chewing.

Fellow Marines stuck by him with workarounds for his disabilities. So tightly did José bond with his unit that he later declined promotion.

“They wanted me for Officers’ Training School. I turned it down. I was part of a good group, could rely on them, and likewise. We could set up artillery anywhere, ready to fight. But we never got to use those skills.”

José’s Marines grew so adept that some men yearned for deployment. It never happened. Returning to America in 1956, Sgt. José Aldas also declined to re-up. He yearned for autonomy and the freedom to build a future in civilian life.

His family rejoiced to get him back intact (save for right ear deafness). He chose a career in graphic arts—printing.

“First in El Paso, then Dallas, I trained as a typesetter.”

Again, he declined promotion—this time to teach. By then, José had married Andrea. They had young children. He wanted to work in industry.

José’s career brought relocation several times: Carlsbad, Artesia, Roswell, California, and then at last to Dallas for 20 years. After his retirement, they returned to Carlsbad to open a laundry on Lea Street that Andrea ran. Were customers sometimes difficult?

“Tell me about it,” came Andrea’s oblique reply.

In early retirement, José’s medical concerns required trips to the Albuquerque V.A. His heart, circulatory, skeletal, and prostate needed checkups and treatment. With Andrea at his side, he could drive long distances.

“I managed. And they did a good job of patching me up each time,” José said.

For 30 years, he made four to five annual treks. But in time, José had to give up distance driving.

“Then it was long bus trips. Get up at 3 a.m. to ride all day. In earlier years, our daughter, Veronica, lived in Albuquerque. I could bunk down there, go to the V.A., and ride the bus back. When she moved to Oklahoma, there was Heroes Hall.” (Near the V.A., allowing veterans overnight stays.)

For a stretch, José and Andrea’s son, Johnny (who lived in Odessa, TX), would come over, pick them up, and drive to and from Albuquerque. Eventually, he moved to Florida. Now José was stuck.

Through the grapevine, Andrea learned of SE NM Veterans’ Transport. Dispatching from Roswell, volunteers give free medical rides in comfortable minivans to all US veterans. José has ridden with these champions to Artesia, Roswell, Albuquerque, Alamogordo, and Lubbock.

“They gave us a new lease on life. Their drivers are wonderful—skillful, safe, patient, and courteous. I thank them all—manager, secretaries, drivers. Without them, we veterans couldn’t make it. We should get out the word; what a great job they’re doing!” he said.

“Medical expertise and top-notch treatment are only as good as your getting to and from each doctor. So, SE NM Vets’ Transport deserves high praise as the champions they are!”

Vets’ Transport has an urgent need for new volunteer drivers. Retired (or younger) individuals with clean records can call Norbert Rempe at 575 361-0175 to learn about driving vets in need.