HARLINGEN, Texas - The City of Harlingen is to name a new park after Arturo Treto Garza, an influential leader in the movement to bring a Veteran's Hospital to the Rio Grande Valley and longtime columnist for the Rio Grande Guardian.
Garza, a decorated U.S. Marine who fought in the Viet Nam War, died in November 2012 aged 86. A former co-chair of the Veteran’s Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley, Garza edited the Guardian’s influential Veteran Voice column from 2007 right up until his death.
Garza was a strong-willed and outspoken in the causes he believed in. One of his last columns for the Guardian, in October 2012, was titled: “Veteranos, Wake the F*** Up. It urged Rio Grande Valley veterans not to give up their fight for a VA hospital.
Upon his death, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn passed a resolution in Garza’s honor, saying he was proud to call Sgt. Garza a friend.
“He will be remembered for his honorable service to our country, his fierce devotion to the veteran community in South Texas, and his tireless fight to improve health care services for veterans in the Rio Grande Valley,” Cornyn said. “My staff and I were privileged to have his thoughtful input on veterans’ issues for many years and his leadership in the Valley will be sorely missed.”
Rio Grande Guardian Editor Steve Taylor said Valley veterans owe a great deal of gratitude to Garza for keeping veterans affairs front and center. “Treto was persistent. He knew what the goal was. He came to us in 2007 and asked if he could start writing a column and he never stopped writing. Through his columns he kept the politicians accountable,” Taylor said.
Click here to read one of the Guardian’s tribute stories about Sgt. Garza.
The new park that will be named after Garza is behind the fire station on Stuart Place Road. Plans include a basketball court, walking trail, solar lighting, and parking. The city says it will be the first park for people on the west side of the city. City leaders hope to add a splash pad later.
The city commissioner who pushed to have the park named for Sgt. Garza was Rene Perez. He spoke about how it came about at a city commission meeting on July 1.
“As we've been building it, or in the process of building it, I wanted to name it something. I didn't want it to just be named Stuart Place Park. So, I was doing some research. I know our city is full of people that have done great things, and I just wanted to find someone specific that would be able to show what people from Harlingen can do,” Perez said.
“I’d been researching, and had read about different individuals here from Harlingen. I was at work, and one of my coworkers mentioned, for the first time, a Sergeant Arturo Treto Garza. And he’s like, ‘have you heard of him?’ I was like, 'No, I haven’t.' And then he says, 'I know you've been thinking about naming a park after somebody, and I think you should really look into this guy. And I was like, ‘Sure… just send me some information.’
“So he sent me some information, and I learned more about Sergeant Treto Garza. And the stuff that I learned about him was amazing.”
Perez pointed out that Harlingen has about 4,000 veterans, which is about one out of every 20 residents. In Cameron County, there are close to 20,000, he explained.
“And what I was learning about Sergeant Garza is that I think every single veteran here in Harlingen, and throughout probably Cameron County have benefited from the Coastal Bend Clinic (administered through the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System) that we have here in Harlingen. It serves all the veterans here in Cameron County, and even some from further away.
“And what I found out, as I was reading more about Sergeant Garza, is that he played an instrumental role through his advocacy and his work, and his.. what I loved about what I read was that he was very, very outspoken. He'd come here to the city meetings here at City Hall. He would go to Washington, he would go to Austin… to speak out and say how the veterans here in Harlingen and in the Valley deserve a hospital or a clinic. He was a strong advocate, kept on going, kept on going, kept on going.
“Then I learned about his tours in Viet Nam, and then I learned about his work bringing utilities to Brownsville and the Cameron Park area. I learned about his efforts when it came to migrant workers, and I was just blown away by his accomplishments.
“So I reached out to Genaro, who happens to be his son, and I asked for some more information about him, and the more that Genaro shared with me, I was just… it was automatic, like this guy deserves to be remembered here in Harlingen. His legacy deserves to be shared with future generations as a testament to what advocacy can do. He did amazing things.
“It's even in the Congressional Record, where John Cornyn years ago said that even though we don't have a VA hospital here, he said if we ever do get a VA hospital, it should be named after him, because of his tireless advocacy to bring that to the veterans of the Rio Grande Valley.”
Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda was impressed to learn of Sgt. Garza’s role in getting Su Clinica established in her city.
“Su Clinica is like an amazing organization that serves an underserved population in our community,” Sepulveda said.
After hearing from Treto Garza’s son, Genaro, and his grandson, Gael, Harlingen city commissioners voted unanimously in support of naming the new city park on Stuart Place Road after Sgt. Arturo Treto Garza.
