and gave us a beautiful welcome. It was important for me to show the Iraqi families that many American people do not support this occupation, and that like the Iraqi people who have lost their family, American people have lost members of their family in the war in Iraq."
Since then, Fernando has paid hundreds of visits to middle and high school classrooms across Southern California where he's urged students not to join the military. He's stood at the front of dozens of anti-war marches and founded his own non-profit organization, the Guerrera Azteca Project (www.guerreroazteca.org), dedicated to countering military recruitment targeting the Latino community.
But such activism has come at a tremendous personal and financial cost. He's now estranged from Jesús' mother and widow who believe Fernando's activism disgraces his son’s memory. And because Fernando has poured his heart and soul into stopping the war, he's been unable to advance economically. He works as an overnight cashier at a 7-Eleven outside San Diego.
"I'm tired," he says. "But I need to continue."
Aaron Glantz is author of The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against América's Veterans (UC Press)




Fernando founded his own counter-recruitment organization, Proyecto Guerrero Azteca, http://www.guerreroazteca.org/, which aims to bring a message of peace and justice to sectors of the population which have historically lacked information about vital social issues in our society. fernando@guerreroazteca.org