Immigrant of the Day: Army Cpl. Victor H. Toledo-Pulido

Victor H. Toledo-Pulido was about 7 years old when a smuggler helped him and his older brother and mother cross over the mountains along the California border into the United States. He became a legal resident in 1999. Like many undocumented immigrants, he worked in the fields of the Central Valley of California, picking grapes and other crops. Later, he cooked in a restaurant.

Toledo-Pulido joined the California Army National Guard and later pursued a career in the Army.

Growing up in the Central Valley, Toledo-Pulido was keenly aware that he was not an American citizen, but “he loved this country,” his mother said. “He said, ‘This is my country.’ “

In March, at age 22, Toledo-Pulido, was deployed to Iraq. The father of a 1 1/2 -year-old boy, he called home regularly from Iraq and spoke with his wife and other family members.

On May 23, Victor H. Toledo-Pulido was one of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Nahrawan, Iraq, southeast of Baghdad. Army Capt. Troy Thomas, who was in the vehicle with Toldeo-Pulido but surviced, told the L.A. Times that he would never forget Toledo-Pulido or the American values he stood for. He said Toledo-Pulido was a “Mexican citizen voluntarily serving in our armed forces at a time when you hear more about illegal immigration on TV than the war itself.” “What does it take to prove your worth as an American?” Thomas asked. “Well, if you ask me … Victor Toledo-Pulido showed his worth by serving his nation and his family.”

For the full L.A. Times story about Victor Toledo-Pulido, click here.  May Victor rest in peace.

KJ