CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A park on the Westside stands as a tribute to eight young men from the Molina neighborhood who never made it home from the Vietnam War. One of those names is Alfredo Castanon.
Toddlers grew up without their brothers. Parents grew old without their sons. But the Westside community never forgot the eight young men who lost their lives in Vietnam.
Lee Castanon, Alfredo's older brother, also served in Vietnam. He still recalls the moment he learned his brother had been killed in action.
"They were calling me to let me know my brother had been killed in action."
"I don't know. The first thing I said was... What am I gonna do? What are we gonna do?"
Lee was the one who went to retrieve his brother's body. Walking through decades of photographs, newspaper clippings, and Alfredo's high school yearbook, the memories kept coming back.
"There was another guy from Corpus... and he was in trouble and he yelled for help and he went to help him and they both got shot."
Before they were Marines, Lee said, Alfredo was just a kid from the Westside.
"A lot of people knew us because we were the paper boys for Molina."
Alfredo was killed before his younger sister, Rosalinda Castanon, was old enough to know him. But she said even though he never came home, he never really left.
"He was always present somehow."
Rosalinda shared what she thought was just another family photo — until the family realized Alfredo's portrait was perfectly positioned on the wall behind them, making it feel as though he was standing there for the picture.
Now, with both of their parents and several of their siblings gone, she said that photo has taken on an even deeper meaning.
"When we saw it... We were like oh my gosh this is truly a family portrait. We're here with our parents and of course we never really had this opportunity with him to take a portrait in this way."
For the Castanon family, that is why places like Molina Veterans Park matter.
"Everybody who wasn't exactly around when he was killed knows who he is."
Today, that legacy lives on at Molina Veterans Park, where each tree, bench, and brick represents the eight young men who grew up just blocks away and gave their lives in service to their country.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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