User: Marine 69-71
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Hi! My name is Tony. My wifes name is Milly and I am the proud father of Antonio as well as another son Jose, and a daughter Nilda, and the grandfather of a beautiful girl named Isabel.
I was born the son of Puerto Rican immigrants, in New York, New York, more specifically in the Bronx area where being a gang member was a way of life. I was raised in the mean streets (Simpson St.) of New York and when my family moved to Queens I became a gang leader.
In New York, I remember meeting Muhammad Ali and Nelson Rockefeller in person. It wasn't until several years later, however, that I would reunite with Ali, as me and my two sons share a passion, with capital letters, about autograph hunting. I have met several other sports super-stars, Presidents, and singers of all walks of life during my family's autograph adventures and I have over 1,800 different autographed items.
I was an active member of the United States Marine Corps from 1969 to 1971 and in the reserves until 1975, fighting in the Vietnam War. As I saw how many disparities there were between White soldiers and soldiers of ethnical minorities, I formed a group of soldiers within my company, one that included Puerto Ricans,Mexicans, Central Americans and others. This group was named the Latin Power In unity. My friend and comrade Reese formed the Black Power group and our groups worked closely towards better treatment of minorities and to improve the relationship between the members of the other races in our company (H&S Co., 2/9 3rd. Marine Division).
This, in turn, led me to view American politics on Puerto Rico differently. It also made me curious of my roots, I can honestly say that I am proud to be a Puerto Rican. I never returned to New York, I rather flew to San Juan, where I was supposed to visit my father for two weeks before returning home, but I met my future wife (my dad's neighbor) while in Puerto Rico, and decided to stay for twenty years. Because of what I saw, I am a strong believer that Puerto Rico should become an independent nation. I became a member of the Puerto Rican Independence Party headed by Ruben Berrios.
I enrolled in the Interamerican University and I majored in Business Administration and accounting. I was a magna cum laude student. I have also graduated from the Puerto Rican Real Estate Academy and the American Banking Institute with honors. I studied computers in the Polytechnical Institute of Caguas, Puerto Rico. I was the owner of R & S Sales Corp., a wholesale business and of other ventures.
My son Antonio, as you might have noticed by reading his works, is a huge fan of boxing and aviation. I can't say I show the same enthusiasm as he does for those two subjects, but I do enjoy boxing as well as baseball, and I am very enthusiastic about my son's airplane model collection.
Whenever my son Antonio gets a new airliner model or my grand-daughter Isabel gets a new Bendo toy, I share their happiness.
It was Antonio who inspired me to become interested in this project. My main objective is to write mini-bios about famous Puerto Ricans and their accomplishments.
Military Decorations Awarded
Barnstars
This barnstar is given to my father for being one of only two people to stay at the hospital everytime I had an emergency (the other one, my mom is not a wikipedian) for being an essential part of my life and loving me so much. Also, for being a fervent writer about Puerto Rican culture at Wikipedia, an invaluable addition so that people around the world can learn nmore about our country.
Antonio No al Matrimonio Martin
If you please. Judging from your bio I wish I had something better to honor you with than a barnstar. - Hephaestos|§ 04:39, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Some Cool People To Work With
Comrade Nick, SWAdair, Andre, Rossrs, Stormie, Hajor, David Cannon, Wolfman, Lst27, ugen64, Acegikmo1, RickK, Shane King, Ambi, Hephaestos, Cjrs 79
