Juan Garcia the come back kid.

Garcia has also been busy securing the restoration of the Dr. Hector P. Garcia (no relation) office builiding. He was the first Mexican American to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest award a civilian can receive. Dr. Garcia organized the American G.I. Forum (1948) initially to improve veteran benefits and enhance medical attention. But it soon expanded to address educational and vocational training, housing, public education, poll taxation, voter registration, hospitalization and employment. Today the American G. I. Forum has nearly 160,000 members in 502 chapters in 24 states.