Central City in Corpus Christi in Nueces County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Héctor Pérez García, M.D.
Photographed by Dave W, November 15, 2025
1. Héctor Pérez García, M.D. Marker
Inscription.
Héctor Pérez García, M.D.. . Héctor Pérez García (1914-1996) was a courageous leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He achieved profound change in the treatment of fellow Mexican Americans through peaceful protest and legal recourse. García was born in Mexico. In 1917, when the Mexican Revolution endangered his family, they fled to the United States, legally taking up residence in Mercedes, Texas. García was valedictorian of his high school class and graduated with honors from the University of Texas (1936), earning a medical degree from the UT Medical School at Galveston (1940). He then completed a two-year residency in Nebraska. Dr. García served in the U.S. Army during World War II as an officer and a Medical Corps surgeon. When discharged as a Major, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with six Bronze Service Stars, and the World War II Victory Medal., In 1946, García moved his young family to Corpus Christi where he opened a private practice with his brother. Most of his patients were veterans who were not able to get the care they needed or financial assistance through the Veterans Administration. In March 1948, he and others formed the American G.I. Forum. Through the incident later named the Longoria Affair, Dr. García and the Forum garnered national attention. The publicity brought an expansion to Forum activities including education reform, desegregation, farm labor and poll tax repeal. In 1967, Pres. Lyndon Johnson appointed García as an alternate representative to the 22nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 1984, Pres. Ronald Reagan awarded García the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As a figure of national and international prominence, his legacy continues to influence society from the poorest of barrios to the highest echelons of government.
Héctor Pérez García (1914-1996) was a courageous leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He achieved profound change in the treatment of fellow Mexican Americans through peaceful protest and legal recourse. García was born in Mexico. In 1917, when the Mexican Revolution endangered his family, they fled to the United States, legally taking up residence in Mercedes, Texas. García was valedictorian of his high school class and graduated with honors from the University of Texas (1936), earning a medical degree from the UT Medical School at Galveston (1940). He then completed a two-year residency in Nebraska. Dr. García served in the U.S. Army during World War II as an officer and a Medical Corps surgeon. When discharged as a Major, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with six Bronze Service Stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.
In 1946, García moved his young family to Corpus Christi where he opened a private practice with his brother. Most of his patients were veterans who were not able to get the care they needed or financial assistance through the Veterans Administration. In March 1948, he and others formed the American G.I. Forum. Through the incident later named the Longoria Affair, Dr. García and the Forum garnered national attention. The publicity brought an expansion
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to Forum activities including education reform, desegregation, farm labor and poll tax repeal. In 1967, Pres. Lyndon Johnson appointed García as an alternate representative to the 22nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 1984, Pres. Ronald Reagan awarded García the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As a figure of national and international prominence, his legacy continues to influence society from the poorest of barrios to the highest echelons of government.
Location. 27° 46.78′ N, 97° 24.864′ W. Marker is in Corpus Christi, Texas, in Nueces County. It is in Central City. It is at the intersection of Hospital Boulevard and S 19th Street, on the right when traveling west on Hospital Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2606 Hospital Blvd, Corpus Christi TX 78405, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Temple Beth El (approx. 0.6 miles away); Galvan Ballroom (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Galvan Ballroom (approx. 0.6 miles away);
Photographed by Dave W, November 15, 2025
2. Héctor Pérez García, M.D. Marker
Look out at the street from in front of the medical clinic.
Hector Pérez García, a physician, surgeon, civil rights advocate, community leader, political activist, and founder of the American G.I. Forum, was born in Llera (south of Ciudad Victoria), Tamaulipas, Mexico, on January 17, 1914, son of college professor José García and Faustina Pérez García, a schoolteacher. In 1917 when the Mexican Revolution endangered the family, the García parents, together with seven children, fled to the United States, legally taking up residence in Mercedes, Texas, in 1918. Initially the family members had to perform manual labor to sustain themselves, later Hector's father joined his brothers in the dry goods business. The accomplished parents
were to instill in all of their children the value of education, so much so that Hector and five of his siblings would go on to obtain degrees in medicine.
(Submitted on November 16, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 16, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 15, 2025, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. This page has been viewed 46 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 15, 2025, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
