From Colton to Korea: The Story of My Great Uncle, Frank M. Perez

no. 013

In the 1980s, growing up in Azusa, a working-class town in the San Gabriel Valley, I first heard of my great-uncle, Francisco Marquez Perez—known as Frank—through my Nana, Nora Theresa Barrios. I was seven or eight, playing upstairs at her house in Pico Rivera, when she mentioned him. “He has my brother’s eyes, like his father,” she’d say, referring to me, “the eyes of a bear.” She rarely elaborated, redirecting my curious questions with a smile: “I always wanted a Vincent.” The pain of loss was too deep for her to share more.

Francisco Marquez Perez, my Great Uncle.

Nana, born Nora Nellie Perez in 1941 in San Bernardino, was named “Nellie” after a neighbor who supported her mother, Vera Marquez, during difficult times. Vera, an American from Arizona, was married to a man said to be of Ute and Hopi descent, his green eyes hinting at a mixed lineage.

In 1944, after Vera’s husband left the family—reportedly following a car accident that left her son Joe disabled—Nana was given up for adoption. The Barrios family in Azusa, distant relatives, took her in to offer a better life away from Colton’s hardships. They renamed her Nora Theresa Barrios—Theresa from her baptism, Barrios from her new family. By the 1980s, Nana lived in Pico Rivera, and we visited most Saturdays, except during Little League season.

Frank grew up in Colton, a railroad town in San Bernardino County, where his family settled in 1934 after leaving Salt Lake City. Born on August 5, 1931, he lived at 515 West N. Street with Vera and Joe. Colton’s Hispanic community, centered around the San Salvador Catholic Church, faced great poverty, but Vera supported her sons by working in the packing houses. At Colton Union High School, Frank joined the boxing club as a junior in 1947, building resilience through the sport. That year, at 16, he enlisted in Company B of the 40th Division of the California National Guard, reflecting the patriotic wave that swept post-World War II America.

The Korean War began in June 1950, and Frank, at 19, was inducted into the U.S. Army with his unit. After training at Camp Cooke, California, in September 1950, he sailed to Japan on the U.S.S. General Breckenridge. In March 1951, he joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, entering the war’s front lines.

In September 1951, with the war at a stalemate along the 38th Parallel, the 2nd Infantry Division fought in the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge in central Korea. A command report details the 23rd Infantry Regiment’s actions. On September 5, the 2nd Battalion attacked to cut the ridgeline between Hills 983 and 778, taking positions by 2030 hours with no enemy contact. From September 6 to 10, they patrolled and consolidated positions. On September 12, the regiment assaulted Hills 931 and 994—Heartbreak Ridge.

On September 13, the 2nd Battalion moved out at 0700 hours, with Companies G and F attacking near the Suipcheon River valley, facing heavy fire from bunkers on Hill 931. By 1845 hours, they halted, with Company E securing a 7.2-kilometer stretch of the Main Supply Route in central Korea. That night, a supply party was ambushed, and the battalion reported 33 casualties.

On September 14, 1951, the 2nd Battalion continued its attack on Heartbreak Ridge, facing enemy automatic weapons, grenades, and mortar fire on narrow ridgelines. Frank, in Company E, was likely securing the Main Supply Route or supporting the advance. That day, he was critically wounded. He was evacuated to a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, then airlifted to a military hospital in Japan, likely in Osaka or Tokyo, where such facilities treated Korean War casualties. Frank died on September 17, 1951, after a three-day struggle.

Frank’s body was returned to San Francisco aboard the S.S. Allegheny Victory with 615 other American war dead. A military escort brought his coffin to Colton, where a rosary was held at the family home, followed by a mass at San Salvador Catholic Church. A Christian emblem marks his headstone. The Knopsnyder Mortuary handled arrangements, and Frank was buried in Hermosa Cemetery with a flat granite marker.

Thank you for your service, my great-uncle Frank, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great country. This generation, my generation, will never let them tell us PATRIOTS we aren’t qualified or don’t belong.