The family of Sgt. Louis Armijo, Jr. has invited the Patriot Guard Riders to be present to honor their hero for his service to his country. It will be our privilege to do so.
Our hero Sgt. Armijo has quite a unique story and I want to capture the whole story here told by his niece that is requesting our service.
I’m writing on behalf of my uncle, Louis Armijo Jr., who was a Sergeant in the US Army Air Corp from 1941 to 1945. He was my mother’s younger brother. The family lost contact with Uncle Louis in the early 1950’s but a cousin searched the internet and in 1999 found records showing that he had died and was buried in an unmarked grave at Mt. Hope Cemetery in San Diego. In October of 2021 I visited the cemetery to see if I could find the final resting site of my Uncle Louis, and with the help of the cemetery staff, I found his unmarked grave on the fringes of the cemetery property near the weeds. Since that time, I was able to get a marker for the grave but after seeing this out-of-the-way gravesite, I realize that he belongs in a better place. My Uncle was a decorated WWII hero and deserves to be interred at a National Cemetery with full accommodations.
Sgt. Louis Armijo, Jr. was one of eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Armijo. He was born in 1918 in Trinidad, Colorado, a small coal mining town on the state’s southern border where he attended Catholic school. He graduated from Holy Trinity Catholic High School with high marks, a recognition as a fast runner who excelled in football and basketball, and well-known as a popular student. Uncle Louis was a congenial person, quiet and passive. He wasn’t a trouble maker and had no criminal record. Ultimately, he was offered a scholarship to Notre Dame, but when the college sent a representative to Holy Trinity to talk to him, he turned down their offer and, in August of 1941 when he was 22 years old, he joined the military.
Uncle Louis entered the Air Corps in August of 1941, trained at Camp McCook, Nebraska, and Ft. Bliss, Texas. He served in New Guinea, Papua, East Indies, and in the Philippines as an Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Crewman 597. As an NCO, he attained the rank of Sergeant and was awarded several Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars, the President’s Unit Citation, an Asiatic Pacific Ribbon, six Battle Stars, a Philippine Liberation Ribbon, a Good Conduct Medal, and an American Defense Ribbon. Additionally, he was wounded in New Britain in 1942 and again in New Guinea in 1943, but always returned to duty until being discharged in May of 1945. Documentation shows that in his capacity as an Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Crewman 597 tail gunner in B-17’s and B-24’s he shot down several Japanese Zeros.
After his discharge in 1945, he returned home and tried to continue his life. Because of the time he spent on the islands and because of the experiences he had as a tail gunner, he developed malaria and became a severe alcoholic. Not able to keep a job, he drifted around town to live with different family members, and he married but soon divorced and left the area. He continued to drift around the country, occasionally returning to his hometown, but wouldn’t contact anyone because he seemed to know he had fallen so low and didn’t want his family to see what had become of him. Once in a while, my grandmother, his mom, would receive an anonymously sent bouquet of flowers on her birthday or on Mother’s Day from Uncle Louis. I remember hearing these stories when I was little.
Uncle Louis came to live with my family in the 1950’s. My mother was very happy to have her little brother staying with us and he seemed happy too. One night he had a malaria attack, and my mother was up with him the entire night providing him with blankets as he shivered with cold and trying to comfort him through his heavy sweats. That experience was very upsetting for my mother, and I can’t imagine Uncle Louis having to go through these episodes alone while he was on the streets.
My father got him a job at US Rubber Tire Co. in Los Angeles and for a while things seemed good until one night Uncle Louis didn’t come home after work. He showed up the next day while I was at school disheveled and dirty and asked her to lend him $20. She couldn’t afford to lend money and without a word, a couple of days later, he disappeared. We never saw him again.
He continued drifting and finally settled in San Diego where, in 1977, he died alone at the age of 58. None of our family members knew about his death until his grave was found in 1999. Finally, in November of 2022, a gravestone was set at his burial site. After visiting Mt. Hope Cemetery and seeing where my uncle is buried, it was apparent to me that he is in the wrong place. He has been in an unmarked city plot for 45 years. Why was he missed and not buried in a National Cemetery and given the proper military service he so clearly earned and well deserves? I’m sure that there were resources when he died in 1977, e.g., other Armijo family members who served in WWII, or the National Missing Persons Database, or the National Archives for Veterans that could have been researched at the time of his death. If time was spent to find out who he was, his military records would have been found and the right thing would have been done.
Uncle Louis paid a very high price for serving his country. He survived the war but in reality, it took his life. Being a severe alcoholic with malaria, I can’t imagine how difficult survival on the streets was for him. San Diego County has done my uncle a grave disservice by placing him in a public cemetery next to the weeds for 45 years.
NOTE: This mission posting facilitates your voluntary participation in honoring this Military Veteran. For those interested, and all PGR members are welcome, this mission is a Flag Line of Honor at Miramar National Cemetery.
Time Table for Wednesday December 6th, 20231245 - Stage at Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Drive, San Diego, CA 92122
https://maps.app.goo.gl/d19hiH43dKjSMsnh6 1300 - Mission Briefing
1315 - Patriot Guard to move to the designated shelter
1330 - Flag Line, Funeral Service with Military Honors Miramar National Cemetery
Stacey McCarthy “Lil Bit”
SoCal Patriot Guard Ride Captain(619) 977-5176
You do not have to be a Veteran or a motorcycle rider to attend this mission. All PGR members are welcome. We encourage those who do not ride to attend in your car. If this is your first mission, go to the initial staging area, and you will be briefed by the R/C (Ride Captain). Dress for motorcycle riding or wear casual attire while driving a cage (car). Please feel free to attend any portion of this mission you can. Please ride/drive safely.
Remember that our mission is to stand tall and silent with honor and respect for our Heroes—no talking, smoking, or cell phone use during the flag line or service. Please keep the radios off and engine noise to a minimum. Show respect to all who are there, not just the ones we honor.
