User:Marine 69-71
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I was born the son of Puerto Rican immigrants, in New York, New York, more specifically in the South Bronx area where being a gang member was a way of life. I was raised in the mean streets (Simpson St.) of New York where I was a member of a gang called "The Torchmen" a branch of the "Crowns". When my family moved to Cambria Heights, Queens I created and led a gang called "The Vikings". Some people used to call me "The Man with the Gun". When I was a child growing up in New York City, the only heroes that we "Hispanics" (note: that term hadn't even been coined then) had were "El Zorro", The "Cisco Kid" and "Speedy Gonzalez". Our history books failed to make mention of the numerous contributions which Hispanics have made to the formation of our country. I didn't know about our participation in the Revolutionary War nor about our heroes in the Civil War. As I grew older, I became aware that our people produced good singers and that in some cases some Hispanics were given minor stereotyped roles in Hollywood and that we had a Desi Arnez who was in love with Lucy in the television sitcom "I love Lucy", but that was it. I was accepted in Columbia University but, instead I decided that I wanted to be a Marine. I was an active member of the United States Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971 and in the reserves until 1975, fighting in the Vietnam War. As I saw how many disparities there were between White soldiers and soldiers of ethnic minorities, I formed a group of soldiers within my company, one that included Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Central Americans and others. This group was named the Latin Power In unity. My friend and comrade Reese formed the Black Power group and our groups worked closely towards better treatment of minorities and to improve the relationship between the members of the other races in our company (H&S Co., 2/9 3rd. Marine Division). I also served in the Corps Military Police. 
This, in turn, led me to view American politics on Puerto Rico differently. It also made me curious of my roots. I can honestly say that I am proud to be a Puerto Rican. I never returned to New York, I rather flew to San Juan, where I was supposed to visit my father for two weeks before returning home, but I met my future wife, Milagros (my dad's neighbor, see: The Marine and the Girl Next Dooor), while in Puerto Rico, and decided to stay for twenty years. Because of what I saw, I am a strong believer that Puerto Rico should become an independent nation. At first, I became a follower of the ideals of the Puerto Rican Independence Party headed by Ruben Berrios, however now I believe that the PIP lacks true leadership and does not have an effective program which reaches out to the common person explaining the importance of saving our national identity. Does this make me a bad person? No, unless George Washington, Simon Bolivar and Ramón Emeterio Betances (not that I compare myself to them) were bad persons. Does this make me an anti-American? No, I was born in the U.S., served in the U.S.M.C. and my grandchildren are half "Anglo". I just believe that every nation has a right to its independence. 
I enrolled in the Interamerican University and I majored in Business Administration and accounting. I was a magna cum laude student. I have also graduated from the Puerto Rican Real Estate Academy and the American Banking Institute with honors. I studied computers in the Polytechnical Institute of Caguas, Puerto Rico. I was the owner of a wholesale business and of other ventures. It was Antonio, my son, who inspired me to become interested in this project. My main objective in Wikipedia is to educate others by writing mini-bios about the accomplishments of famous Puerto Ricans (including those of Puerto Rican descent), articles related to Puerto Rican History plus, I have set it upon myself as a goal to write about the positive contributions which we Hispanics have made to this country in general. In New York, I remember meeting Muhammad Ali and Nelson Rockefeller in person. It wasn't until several years later, however, that I would reunite with Ali, as my two sons and I share a passion, with capital letters, about autograph hunting. I have met Presidents, sports super-stars and entertainers during my family's autograph adventures. I have over 1,800 different autographed items. My son Antonio, as you might have noticed by reading his works, is a huge fan of boxing and aviation. I can't say I show the same enthusiasm as he does for those two subjects, but I do enjoy boxing as well as baseball, and I am very enthusiastic about my son's airplane model collection. I also enjoy reading (especially about history and psychology) and listening to all kinds of music (rock, soul, salsa and the classics, Mozart etc.) If you would really like to know why I spend so many hours writing in Wikipedia you may find the answer here: Why I write in Wikipedia. Some Famous People I've Met and Whose Autographs I Have |
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| Philippines | Puerto Rico | Mexico | British Virgin Islands | |||||
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| British Hong Kong | U.S. Virgin Islands | Dominican Republic | ||||||
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Marine Corps Hymn
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Honored
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I was interviewed by Joan Fragaszy a historian working at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University (http://chnm.gmu.edu/). According to them "they are very interested in digital historical works, including people writing history on Wikipedia." I feel honored that "Virtual Boricua" has included four of my articles (Kirk Acevedo, Julia de Burgos, John Leguizamo and Edwin Torres (Judge)) among it's "Best Boricua Related Websites" links.[1] I have also the honor of being mentioned in "El Boricua", in the website's news page for my article on Luis R. Esteves.[2] On September 2005, I was named "Editor of the Puerto Rican Military History Channel" of "El Boricua" a monthly cultural magazine.[3] On May 2006, ASPIRA Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture linked my User Page to their Famous Puertoricans biography section.[4] On August 1, 2006, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 109-253 which contains the biography of Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa, which I wrote. On August 6, 2006, I received this e-mail "I also will be letting my listeners know about you and your site on sunday On WCLM AM radio in Richmond, Virginia" On September 7, 2006, an article in the newspaper "Claridad" of Puerto Rico stated that "I am the Puerto Rican who has made the most contributions to Wikipedia."[5] On September 8, 2006, the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, Senator McClintock invited me for the unveiling of a monument on Memorial Day of 2007, as a result of my work in Wikipedia. On October 27, 2006, I received an e-mail from the office of United States Congressman Jose Serrano, congratulating me on my work in Wikipedia stating that I should get in "touch" with them. I was invited to and attended the reunion of the families of William Knouts and David M. Gonzales, recipient of the Medal of Honor, on Memorial Day of 2007 in Powder Springs, Georgia. I helped the Kouts family find the Gonzales family bringing to an end 62 years of searching. I was featured in the Arizona Republic. [6] On Memorial Day 2007, I was also honored in a speech by the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock for my work about Puerto Rico in Wikipedia. On November 28, 2007, The Senate of Puerto Rico paid me a tribute and I was honored by the Senate of Puerto Rico with a Resolution # 3603 in recognition of my work on behalf of Puerto Rico in Wikipedia. The President of the Puerto Rican Senate, Honorable Kenneth McClintock presented me with the resolution.[7] On January 30, 2008, I was featured in an article in the Phoenix Republic titled "Author details contributions of Puerto Ricans"[8] On March 12,2008, I was named the Official Historian of the "Association of Naval Service Officers"[9] On May 26, 2008, I was publicly recognized by the Government of Puerto Rico as a Historian who has written the biographies of prominent Puerto Ricans who have served in the military. Also, present in my recognition was the former President of the United States Bill Clinton and his wife, New York State Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brigadier General Hector E. Pagan, the Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army Special Warfare Center and School, presented me with a medal of excellence.[10][11] On June 8. 2009, the Chief of the Maintenance Managemnt, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Fwd. Cpl . R.P. Lemiszki, honored me with a United States Flag which was flown over the the 2nd Marine Aircraft (Fwd) Headquarters, Marine Air Base, Al Asad, Iraq during Operation Iraqui Freedom. On October 5, 2009, I was honored by Brigadier General Rafael O'Ferrall, the Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo, Cuba with the "Commander's Coin for Excellence" together with a certificate which states:Tony the Marine, Thank you for your watch of Puerto Rico's values and history, it is people like you who maintain alive our customs and traditions. |
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Senate Resolution # 3603
The President of the Puerto Rican Senate, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock presented me this resolution honoring my Puerto Rican related work in Wikipedia on behalf of the government. This may very well be the first time in history that a government recognizes someone for his work in Wikipedia.
USAJFKSWCS Medal of Excellence
USAJFKSWCS Medal of Excellence presented to me by Brigadier General Hector E. Pagan on Memorial Day of May 26, 2008.
Joint Task Force Commander's Coin and Certificate for Excellence
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Joint Task Force Commander's Coin and Certificate for Excellence presented to Tony (The Marine) Santiago by Brigadier General Rafael O'Ferrall on October 5, 2009.
Bill in U.S. House of Representatives contains one of my articles
The following Bill Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa Post Office Building Designation Act introduced to the United States House of Representatives by Congressman Luis Fortuño, contains the mini-biography of Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa which I wrote. The bill was signed by President Bush on August 1, 2006. It's now Public Law 109-253.
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Tony the Marine has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, Love, A record of your Day will always be kept here. |
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User:Marine 69-71 has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, Peace, A record of your Day will always be kept here. |
Wikipedia Awards and Recognitions Page
Outstanding Wikipedians
 Wall of Honor |
Featured Articles or Lists
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Military history of Puerto Rico is a featured article, which means that it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. |
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Military history of Puerto Rico appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on June 30, 2005. |
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Puerto Ricans in World War II is a featured article, which means that it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. |
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Puerto Ricans in World War II appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on July 18, 2008. |
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Hispanic Americans in World War II is a featured article, which means that it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. |
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Hispanic Americans in World War II appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on July 4, 2009. |
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Ramón Emeterio Betances is a featured article, which means that it has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. Note: I only created this one, but the people who made it what it is and deserve all of the credit are:User:Demf, 凶 and Boricuaeddie |
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Puerto Ricans Missing in Action in the Korean War is a featured list, which means that it has been identified as one of the best lists produced by the Wikipedia community. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute. |
Featured Selected Biography/Article
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Pedro del Valle was featured on the United States Marine Corps portal as the Selected biography on June 24, 2006. |
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2nd Battalion 9th Marines was featured on the United States Marine Corps portal as the Selected article. on September 1, 2006. |
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Joseph V. Medina was featured on the United States Marine Corps portal as the Selected article. on June 1, 2007. |
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Angel Mendez was featured on the United States Marine Corps portal as the Selected article. on September 3, 2008. |
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Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps was featured on the United States Marine Corps portal as the Selected article. on October 4, 2008. |
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Joseph M. Acaba was featured on the United States Marine Corps portal as the Selected article. on May 1, 2009. |
GA Status
The Good Article Medal of Merit
awarded August 26, 2007
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2nd Battalion 9th Marines became the first article of its kind to be promoted to GA Status on August 3, 2006. |
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The Humbert Roque Versace article was promoted to GA Status on August 28, 2006. |
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The Pedro del Valle article was promoted to GA Status on August 29, 2006. |
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The Puerto Ricans in World War II article was promoted to GA Status on March 30, 2007. |
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The Sylvia Mendez article was promoted to GA Status on April 6, 2007. |
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The Hispanics in World War II article was promoted to GA Status on August 1, 2007. |
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The Ramón Emeterio Betances article was promoted to GA Status on August 8, 2007. Note: I only created this one, but the people who made it what it is and deserve all of the credit are:User:Demf, 凶 and Boricuaeddie |
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The Black history in Puerto Rico article was promoted to GA Status on August 9, 2007. |
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The 65th Infantry Regiment (United States) article was promoted to GA Status on September 27, 2007. |
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The Daniel Santos (singer) article was promoted to GA Status on March 24, 2008. |
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The Roberto Cofresi article was promoted to GA Status on April 11, 2008. |
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The Román Baldorioty de Castro article was promoted to GA Status on July 5, 2008. |
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The Lolita Lebron article was promoted to GA Status on August 9, 2008. |
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The Puerto Rican Campaign article was promoted to GA Status on September 9, 2008 Note: This one I share with User:Caribbean H.Q.. |
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The Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico article was promoted to GA Status on January 10, 2009 |
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The Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps article was promoted to GA Status on February 22, 2009 |
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The Flag of Puerto Rico article was promoted to GA Status on March 3, 2009 |
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The Hispanics in the United States Navy article was promoted to GA Status on March 31, 2009 |
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The Román Baldorioty de Castro article was promoted to GA Status on July 6, 2009 |
Total GA's: 19
My Articles in DYK
 Awarded Dec. 10, 2006 |
 Awarded Sept. 4, 2007 |
 Awarded June 16, 2009 |
| On December 8, 2008, Ivan Castro received 71,300 page views while it was featured on the Main Page, establishing an all-time DYK record for most page views![1]. |
"Boricua" Barnstars
Barnstar Award Versions That I've Created
"To be award to those dedicated users who have made significant amount of contributions or improvements to articles related to a particular country" (example: Puerto Rico, shown above).
To be award to dedicated users whose contributions and dedication to articles regarding Puerto Rico are above and beyond from what is normally expected and have helped provide a positive image of the island.
- "Recipient should have at least one featured article about Puerto Rico" or
- "Has created a significant amount of Puerto Rico related articles".
Helpful SitesWikipedia:How does one edit a page Wikipedia:Sandbox Wikipedia:Naming conventions manual of style Wikipedia:Help Village pump administrators' reading list administrators' how-to guide Guide of Barnstars, Tool for edit count, Add images to pages, Special Upload, Wikipedia:Public domain image resources, Block, Unblock, Protected page, Welcoming New Comers, Copyright Tags, Stub Proposal, Deletion policy, {{Template:PuertoRico-bio-stub}},Help:TableWeb colors, Warning Templates, PR Template={{portal|Puerto Rico|Flag_of_Puerto_Rico.svg}}, Special:Userrights, Wikipedia article traffic statistics,Checklinks, Protected={{pp-protected}} Note: "Copyrights sites"
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License
I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below:
| Multi-licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License versions 1.0 and 2.0 | ||
| I agree to multi-license my text contributions, unless otherwise stated, under Wikipedia's copyright terms and the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license version 1.0 and version 2.0. Please be aware that other contributors might not do the same, so if you want to use my contributions under the Creative Commons terms, please check the CC dual-license and Multi-licensing guides. | ||
| This is a Wikipedia user page.
If you find this page on any site other than Wikipedia, you are viewing a mirror site. Be aware that the page may be outdated, and that the user this page belongs to may have no personal affiliation with any site other than Wikipedia itself. The original page is located at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Marine_69-71. |
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References
- ^ Best Boricua Related Websites
- ^ El Boricua
- ^ Editor of the Puerto Rican Military History Channel
- ^ ASPIRA Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
- ^ Claridad
- ^ Arizona Republic
- ^ Resolution
- ^ Phoenix Republic
- ^ ANSO
- ^ Senado conmemora junto a los Clinton Día de la Recordación
- ^ Senado conmemora junto a los Clinton Día de la Recordación; Primera Hora; May 25, 2008; Pg.3
