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Description
Christopher Orenic and Danielle Then are USC students participating in the research project via an American War in Viet Nam course. [Profiler bio] Tito Melara was born in El Salvador on January 4th, 1945. In the midst of 1960's liberation conflicts in El Salvador, Tito decided to move to the United States to pursue an education. During the process of his immigration to the United States in 1965, he was served with a draft notice. He did not yet speak English, and experienced great difficulty integrating into American culture. Immediately prior to his transfer to Basic Training, he married his love, Virginia, also adopting her 12 children. In October of 1968, he deployed to Viet Nam. During his time overseas, Tito was stationed in Ben Hoa, Phu-Bai, and Hue. He says that the one thing that sustained him in absence of his family was the ability to read and write letters. In 1969, Tito returned to the United states. Since his deployment in Viet Nam, he has experienced numerous health issues related to the war, including an almost-fatal bout with cancer. He has yet to find resolution with what happened during the war, but leads a very happy life in Fields Landing, California. [Profile bio]
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