by Sancho de Beurko Association In recent weeks, one family contacted Sancho de Beurko, a nonprofit historical association based in the Basque Country and responsible for the “Fighting Basques” research project, asking about relatives lost during World War II. Beyond a few names and fragmented recollections, very little about them had survived within the family over […]
by Sancho de Beurko Association A centenarian World War II veteran reflects on memory, sacrifice, and the effort to build the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial in Gardnerville, Nevada. At 104 years old, Regina “Reggie” Bastida is among the last living World War II veterans of Basque origin — and one of the few remaining voices of the […]
by Sancho de Beurko Association From Family Memory to National Recognition For decades, the story of Basques and Basque Americans who served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II lived quietly within families and local communities — preserved in fading photographs, personal letters, and stories shared at kitchen tables, yet largely absent […]
by Sancho de Beurko Association On Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14, the Basque American community and guests will gather at the Basque Cultural Center of South San Francisco for a deeply meaningful occasion: the official announcement of the city and architectural design of the National Basque World War II Veterans Memorial. These events take place within a very special […]
by Sancho de Beurko Association At barely 19 years old, Marie Irigaray Inchauspe arrived in the United States to start a new life. The year was 1904. She was accompanied by her older brother Jean who was 20 at the time. Years later, at least three more siblings—Marie, Jeanne, and Grace—joined them in pursuit of the “American […]
by Sancho de Beurko Association Below we publish the chronicle of the latest trip of Dr. Pedro J. Oiarzabal – co-author of this blog and co-principal investigator of “Fighting Basques: Memory of World War II” – to the United States. His trip’s goals were two-fold: to disseminate the nearly-final results of the research, on the […]
by Sancho de Beurko Association Would you like your Basque club or town to be the “home” of the National (U.S.) Basque WWII Veterans Memorial? The North American Basque Organizations’ (N.A.B.O.) Basques in World War II Special Committee has opened a call for proposals among its member clubs to host the future memorial intended to permanently remember and […]
by Pedro Oiarzabal March 1 marks the first anniversary of the historical resolution that honors, for the first time in the history of the United States, our WWII veterans of Basque origin. The resolution was passed by the Texas House of Representatives, in Austin, thanks to the efforts of Representative Rafael Anchia (HD 103) and […]
Plans are underway to build the first national WWII memorial in the United Sates to honor veterans of Basque descent. Do you know that over 1,600 veterans of Basque origin served in the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII? The time has come to permanently honor and thank all WWII veterans of Basque descent who served […]
