9
Dec 04
Greetings!
My name is Rick Mestas and my family is
from Aguilar, Colorado. I stumbled across
your web-site while I was reading the local
news. Being a Mestas namesake, I can say
that the Mountain has always been a special
place of pride for my family. My mother
was a newspaper reporter for the Pueblo
Chieftain and was a wealth of information
on the area. It has always been a strange
coincidence that the exact same name of
my father (John Mestas) is on the monument.
My father was a WWII veteran of the China
Burma India Theater and made it back safe,
though his brother Bernard Duran died from
wounds suffered at the Battle of the Bulge.
I believe my mother or my sister may actually
have some info on the John Mestas who was
KIA. I will make a few calls home this weekend.
Being a former Army Officer,
I know that the Italian Campaign was one
of the bloodiest and fiercest campaigns
that produced countless leaders such as
General John Vessey and Daniel Inouye...There
are actually a lot of great books on the
Campaign to include a very detailed Order
of Battle.
BTW I have no idea if I am related
to Felix...my sister would know as she
has done extensive genealogy research
on our family.
In the meantime, Great Job on
the Website! Nice to know somebody is
making a great effort to document the
history before it is all lost. Again,
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Rick Mestas
