Louis Cardenas was born in April 1919 in San Antonio, Texas. His father had a good job in the civil service. He was not considered poor. He had a good childhood. The Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s] did not have an effect on them. His father worked for the railroad. They were a fortunate family. His parents were not well-educated. His father could not write his own name. They did not discuss political things at home, but they talked about the war at school. Cardenas was in high school and joined the Texas National Guard. They were mobilized when Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] came along. He joined the Texas National Guard on the side to earn money. He wanted something to do. When they were mobilized, they went from San Antonio to Louisiana and then on to Florida to be put into units. They were not prepared to go to war, but they knew they would get training. They wanted to do their part.

Louis Cardenas was put into the 36th Infantry Division. They learned how to dig foxholes and fire rifles. They would eat out in the field while they practiced shooting. They were training to go into combat. They did all infantry work. Cardenas did not think he would last very long if he went overseas with the ground forces. His dream was to be a pilot. It never occurred to him that he would fly in combat and get shot down. Eventually, he did join the United States Army Air Corps. They flew into Italy. He flew in bombers. They were preparing for the invasion [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. They would assemble their squadrons and then head over to bomb Romania. Cardenas was a nose gunner. He saw hundreds of planes on D-Day. They would watch to see how many men could bail out when planes got hit. When he was in the nose turret, the bombardier was behind him. When they were the lead plane they had extra officers. Cardenas was on the waist gun when this happened. He was on the waist gun when they were shot down. The wing was on fire and the pilot told them to get ready to jump. They had to grab their parachutes and jump out. They were well-trained.

Louis Cardenas had to bail out of the plane. [Annotator’s Note: Cardenas is referring to his plane getting shot down in March 1944]. He saw everyone was ready to jump. He readied himself to jump. They were told to count to 10 before pulling the ripcord. They were up at about twenty-thousand feet. Some of the men lost their boots because when they pulled the ripcord, it jerked them so hard. By the time everyone was out, the airplane exploded. Cardenas remembers looking around and seeing everyone had made it out. As he landed, he was being surrounded. They were not turned over to the military right away. A man with a buggy showed up and he started whipping the people to get them away. When they were turned over to the military, they were asked a lot of questions. They were well-trained with how to cope with interrogation. When Cardenas was asked, he told them he was from the United States. They were trained to say only their name, rank, and serial number.

Louis Cardenas remembers that they were taken from the capture site to Bucharest, Romania, the capital city. They were kept in an old hospital building. They used to bomb this area in the daylight and the British would bomb at nighttime. At night, the prison would get bombed sometimes. One man lost his life trying to protect a nun from the bombs. Cardenas remembers the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] did not eat like they did back in camp. They made their own potatoes. They had to take cover in their foxholes during the bombings. The Romanian people liked the Americans. The Germans had to go to the frontlines because the Russians were moving closer. Almost everyday they received new people who had been shot down. The Romanians did not treat them badly at all. When the Germans left, the Romanians turned them loose. Some of the men had been there for over a year. They were told that the Red Cross [Annotator's Note: Red Cross, an international non-profit humanitarian organization] would deliver food and clothing to them. Cardenas asked the Italians in Spanish where the Red Cross packages were, and the man understood him. They did not get the deliveries because the Americans had bombed the railroad tracks. After they were liberated, they got the packages. They mostly ate potatoes, peas, and bologna. For breakfast, they would get a piece of bread and hot tea. They were eating the same food as the Romanian soldiers.

Louis Cardenas remembers that the Germans left Bucharest [Annotator’s Note: Bucharest, Romania] when the Russians started getting closer. Cardenas and the other liberated prisoners of war found their way to an airfield and made a feast. They were there for two or three days. The Colonel was arranging for transportation to come to get them out. The next day, they were assembled into groups of 20 men. The B-17s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] came in and asked if there were any injuries. They would run and jump into the aircraft, then they would take off. There were P-51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] protecting them from German aircraft. They were flown back to Italy and back to their unit. They were very fortunate to make it out quickly. All their uniforms were gone because they did not expect them to come back. They all received automatic promotions. They were shipped back to New York immediately. It took about two weeks. They were given clothing and then released to go home for a vacation. Then they were sent to Miami, Florida and they could take their families with them. When he arrived home by train, he had to take a taxi home. His wife had their baby. At first, he was considered missing in action. His family thought this meant he had been killed.

Louis Cardenas remembers they slept on boards. They had sacks and they put hay in them. They were not suffering. They would have tea and bread in the mornings. In the afternoon, they would have bologna sandwiches or stew. They were allowed to bathe once a week. The German soldiers used the same facilities. He was given a lot of benefits because he was a POW [Annotator’s Note: prisoner of war]. He stayed in the military because he had a family to support. He thought he would have a hard time finding a job. He does not think he was affected by his war experience. He would ask himself how he was feeling. He was declared in good health. He was given one disability. Airplanes are noisy and most people lose their hearing. He read about people having a hard time adjusting to civilian life after the war.

Louis Cardenas jumped out of his aircraft and kept his senses about him. [Annotator’s Note: Cardenas had to bail out of his plane in March 1944]. Everyone was going out to fight for their country. His dream was to be a pilot. He was given the opportunity, but he did not have enough schooling. He did not have all the math education he needed. He had a pension when he completed his time in the service. America should be proud to fight the war on two fronts at the same time and come out victorious. It was quite an accomplishment. He thinks museums are important. Americans can defend themselves and win.