Community en Accion pushes new memorial for local World War Two Heroes

City council will consider a proposal to build a new monument dedicated to Company E in Downtown El Paso.

Company E was a predominately Hispanic group of men from El Paso who served during World War Two. They were tasked with crossing the Rio Rapido in Italy in the middle of the winter of 1944. The banks were heavily fortified with German troops and artillery which led to the death or capture of many of them. Community en Accion advocacy chair Dan Olivas says it’s important for El Pasoans to learn about their sacrifice.

“El Paso is a military town, El Paso is 85 percent Hispanic, we need to honor the deeds of what these young men did during World War Two, the sacrifices that they made, many of them with their own life,” says Olivas.

A memorial for Company E already exists in South Central El Paso at Acosta Sports Center, but it’s not as well traveled as Downtown El Paso. That’s why Community en Accion wants another monument in Cleveland Square, near Southwest University Park.

“The stakeholders have been saddened of the fact that what their family members did has not really gone recognized at the level that it should be in a town such as El Paso where these boys came from,” says Olivas. “It’s been reported that this was one of the biggest blunders from military officers in World War Two, ordering these young men to cross that river, that was shear death for them.”

City council will vote on the proposal on Tuesday.