Marine, Public Servant, Kansan: The Life of Ernest Garcia is an inspiring untold story of a Midwestern Latino that reveals amazing grit, determination, love of family and public service. It begins with a Mexican family fleeing the armies of Pancho Villa and the Mexican government during the Revolution of 1910. The family’s journey leads them to migrant farm work in the sugar beet fields of southwestern Kansas. The book follows the life of grandson “Ernie” Garcia who worked for Senator Bob Dole in Washington D.C. after graduating from college. Ernie’s Washington experiences included working as a Public Liaison Assistant in the White House and serving as U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms where he escorted the president of the United States to deliver the State of the Union Address. During this time Ernie also served in the U.S. Marine Reserves. During his public service he traveled the globe and met many dignitaries, including Pope John Paul II. Ernie’s military career included service in the Gulf War and the Iraq War, where he sustained injuries. His Midwestern roots and patriotism are a ringing testament that immigrant families enrich this country. Ernie’s story is an affirmation of the American Dream.
About the Author: Dennis Raphael Garcia
Dennis Raphael Garcia, AWA, is a retired attorney and teacher. Garcia earned his law degree at the University of Kansas and his Bachelor’s degree in Business at the University of New Mexico. He practiced civil and criminal law, and served as a Judge Pro Tem in Magistrate Court. He taught government and law at a public high school in Tucson, Arizona. A gifted storyteller, he details in Marine, Public Servant, Kansan: The Life of Ernest Garcia, the inspiring and unique experiences of his first cousin, Ernest Garcia. While setting the background of Ernest’s success, Garcia recognizes the sacrifices and hardships of his immigrant grandparents. Garcia’s research chronicles their family’s past and their migration from Mexico to Kansas more than 100 years ago. Like his grandparents and parents, Garcia believes that an education is the strongest social justice equalizer. In support of this belief, he has spent his life working to protect the rights of others and educating the future. Formerly a Kansan, he now lives in the Washington, D.C. area.
In Marine, Public Servant, Kansan, the remarkable character of not just one Kansan son of Mexican immigrants but also the immigrant experience itself is eloquently and poignantly weaved into the story of Garcia and his family’s American dream. University Press of Kansas This engaging biography details Garcia’s humble beginnings in Western Kansas to his rise as Sergeant at Arms for the US Senate . . . Valerie Mendoza, Lecturer in American Studies, University of Kansas Marine, Public Servant, Kansan is neither a tell-all nor a political memoir. Rather, it is an inspiring story of the life of a Kansan we can all be proud of. Sarah Bagby – Owner Operator Watermark Books and Café, Wichita, Kansas. // REVIEWS: “Ernies story, and that of his family, truly exemplifies what it means to be American. The Garcias were immigrants to Kansas whose values and character shaped a community and all those with whom Ernie interacted. It is a story from which we can all learn.” —Kansas History
