Manuel Jerome Juarez Jr.

Their Story

Manuel Jerome Juarez, Jr. was born on June 12, 1947, to Manuel and Lenore Juarez. He grew up with five siblings named Mary, Joe, Robert, Rudy, and Richard.^[1]

Manuel joined the Navy in November of 1966 and served until December 1967. He fought during the Vietnam War.^[2] The Vietnam War started in 1954 due to issues with North and South Vietnam. The North wanted a communist government and the South wanted a Western government. The North was aligned with China and the Soviet Union. The south aligned with the United States. The war became costly and casualties began to grow, so the United States backed out of the war in 1973. South Vietnam officially was defeated in 1975 when the North invaded the South.^[3]

 During the war, Manuel was part of the Seabees.^[4] The Seabees were first established on March 5, 1942, as the Navy’s construction battalion. “Construimus, Batuimus” is the Seabees motto. It is Latin for “We build, We fight.” The nickname Seabees came from saying the first letter of each word, “C” and “B.”  Seabees build infrastructure, bases, airfields, roads, bridges, and underwater construction. They work globally to help build and construct anything the military might need. Seabees do this all while protecting themselves and others around them.^[5]

Specifically, Manuel was a construction mechanic, constructionman recruit within the Seabees.^[6] A construction mechanic repairs different vehicles such as buses, bulldozers, cranes, and tactical vehicles. Some of the responsibilities included maintaining tires, batteries, brakes, and valves, diagnosing equipment failures, repairing and maintaining gasoline and diesel engines, adjusting or repairing ignition, electrical, steering, or hydraulic systems, and much more.^[7]

After the Navy, Manuel worked as an Occupational Safety Inspector for the State of Wisconsin. He also married Luana West on April 29, 1969. in Davenport, Iowa. They had two children named Sara and Brian. The family resided in Oroville, Wisconsin.^[8]

Manuel passed away on May 15, 2012. He was known for enjoying muscle cars, fishing, and spending time with family. He was buried at the Rock Island Arsenal in the Rock Island National Cemetery for his contribution during the Vietnam War.^[9]