The American GI Forum of the United States (AGIF) is the Nation’s oldest and largest Latino congressionally chartered Veteran Service Organization (VSO) that serves all Veterans and their families from all wars.

The American GI Forum was founded on March 26, 1948 and congressionally chartered in 1998. Today, our mission is to secure and foster our American democracy and further the rights and education of all Veterans, our members and their families.

The American GI Forum was founded in Corpus Christi, Texas by Dr Hector P Garcia. An immigrant from Mexico, Dr Garcia came to the United States in 1917 and became a medical doctor in 1940. In 1942, Dr Garcia was drafted in the Army to fight in World War II.

As an officer, he commanded infantrymen and corps of engineers before being transferred to the Medical Corps. After the war, Dr Garcia settled in Corpus Christi and opened a private medical practice.

It is in Corpus Christi that Dr Garcia became acutely aware of the inequality faced by many Mexican-American people. He began helping impoverished people in the barrios who were ill-clothed, malnourished, and diseased due to living in unsanitary conditions. He also began helping Mexican-American veterans file claims with the Veterans Administration to receive the benefits they had rightfully earned but were being denied based on their ethnicity.

Addressing the concerns of Mexican-American veterans led to the formation of the American GI Forum, but there would be an injustice against one veteran that would catapult the American GI Forum onto the national stage. This became known as “The Longoria Affair.”

Army Private Felix Longoria was killed in the Philippines during the war, but it wasn’t until almost 3 years after his death that his body was returned to the United States for burial. In 1949, his family attempted to bury Private Longoria in the local Three Rivers, Texas cemetery, since he was born and raised in Three Rivers. However, the Longoria family was denied use of the chapel because Private Longoria was “Mexican” and the funeral home said that if his wake were held there, “the whites would not like it.”

Private Longoria’s widow reached out to Dr Garcia for help. Outraged by this blatant discrimination against a United States military veteran, Dr Garcia contacted prominent Texas political figures, including Freshman Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. Senator Johnson helped secure Private Longoria’s burial in Arlington National Cemetery, making Private Longoria the first Mexican-American buried in Arlington. He received full military honors.

The American GI Forum continues to provide support to veterans and their families through community outreach programs, youth development programs, and educational opportunities.