I could not have written this book without the support of Roy’s family, especially his children, Denise, Yvette, and Noel. From our first e-mail correspondence in 2015 to our most recent meal at the Lone Star Café in El Campo, they have welcomed me into a piece of their lives. We’ve been on road trips to rural cemeteries, eaten Texas barbeque, and shared difficult, emotional moments. They invited me into their homes and gave me so many contacts of people who knew their father. I was so grateful to get to meet their mother, Lala, and their Uncle Eugene, both of whom are no longer with us. Thank you to everyone in the Benavidez family for answering my endless array of texts, emails, and calls about all the big and small details related to your family history. And thank you for your patience, your grace, and your generosity. I admire you all so deeply and hope that this book makes you and your families proud.
My own family lived through this book with me and supported me along the way. My partner, Fan Lee, learned about this book near the time we met, and she has offered years of support and encouragement along the way. It must be a difficult thing living with a writer whose attention can turn to their work at any minute. We would be walking the dogs or watching a show when my mind would suddenly wander off to another time and place. I know it’s not always fair or very charming, but she entertained me by engaging in discussions of far-flung topics such as Cambodian diplomacy in the 1960s or Hispanic life in Texas in the 1920s, neither of which has much to do with our immediate existence. Her support allows me to pursue my passions and makes my dreams possible. Thank you, Fan, for living with this book and for supporting me as I completed this work during a turbulent time in our lives. On the other side, I look forward to a life with you and our new daughter, Billie. I must also thank Billie as she has spent many hours of her young life sitting and lying next to me as I finish revisions. I can’t think of a better writing companion as I finished this book. She is so happy and calm (at least in the mornings), and she gives me such a great sense of purpose and hope.
My mother, Peg Thoms, who taught me how to read and dream, has also lived with this book for some time. For years, she’s listened to me talk about my hopes and challenges with this book. I began learning how to tell stories while sitting in her lap as a boy as she read me the books that filled me with a love of literature. Sid Fleischman, one of my favorite childhood authors, once said, “The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever—they have a special impact.” He was so right. I know I’ll never forget the adventures of Jingo and Jack that my mother read to me on that little tan couch in our house on Sharon Avenue. I thank her for her ear and for helping support the life I have built. None of this would be possible without her.
Thank you to my brother, Dave; sister-in-law, Jess; and nephew, Bo. You have also lived through this process with me and provided much-needed support along the way. Thank you for listening and believing in me. I have never been as excited to meet anyone as I was Bo. He brings me so much optimism for the future. I love you all. Thanks to Dad, Linda, Janet, Derek, my uncles Paul and Bob, and all members of the Sturkey and Thoms families. Although we don’t see each other often, I feel your support and am bolstered by your examples. I am also so grateful for my mother-in-law, Sue, who has helped our family so much over the past months. It’s unimaginable where we’d be without her. Thanks also to my father-in-law, Chen, and sister-in-law, Fay, for their support. Many thanks also to my Labrador retrievers, Fonny and Mumbo, who sat at my feet while I wrote much of this book. They were my companions for many hours when I was otherwise alone. Their patience and zest for life has brought me such joy, and they demanded that I take much-needed breaks. Thanks also to my best friends who help fill my life with joy and laughter through hobbies and dinners that are unrelated to history.
I owe many professional debts. The research for this book has been supported by the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of North Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences, Institute for the Arts and Humanities, and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. Most of my research was conducted at the Briscoe archives, where the wonderful staff hosted me for many hours over the past years. Special thanks to Margaret Schlankey at the Briscoe and historians Daina Ramey Berry, María Hammack, and Jessica Pliley who helped keep me company in Austin. I also appreciate my hometown friends Mike Szymecki and Greg Gianelli who helped show me around Austin and Houston. Thanks also to the talented staffers at the LBJ Library, the Reagan Library, the Texas State Library and Archives, the Catholic Archives of Texas, the Vanderbilt TV News Archive, the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum, the Colorado State University Archives & Special Collections, and the staff at the office of the Wharton County Clerk, especially Pamela Brandstetter, who spent an afternoon helping me locate records. Steve Branch at the Reagan Library and Aryn Glazier at the Briscoe provided much-needed assistance with images. Thank you to Kate Blackmer, who made the maps for this book.
Many thanks to those who knew Roy and spent hours talking with me about him—his children, Chris Barbee, Eugene and David Benavidez, Michael Benavidez, Benny Aleman, Jose Garcia, Buddy Gee, Joe Munoz, Sister Elizabeth Riebschlaeger, George Shepard, and Steve Sucher. Deborah Lattimore transcribed my interviews. She is wonderful to work with. Other much-needed research help was provided by Jay Driskell, Eric Burke, and Jaaz Catterall, who helped organize thousands of images. I’d still be organizing my research if not for Jaaz. Thanks to Joyce Loftin, Jennifer Parker, Sharon Anderson, David Culclasure, and Michael Williams for making my research trips possible. And thank you to Jennifer Marquardt for taking me into Cambodia and accompanying me across so much of that beautiful county. Rob Thompson provided helpful suggestions in response to random problems, and Kyle Rable lent his invaluable expertise to several chapters. Andrew Wiest helped me better understand the war.
At the University of North Carolina, I was blessed to work with such wonderful colleagues. The faculty and students have all elevated my abilities as a historian and writer. I’d like to offer a special thanks to Katie Turk, Erik Gellman, Jennifer Standish, Ron Williams, Kathleen Duval, Joe Glatthaar, Ben Waterhouse, Miguel La Serna, Lou Perez, Fitz Brundage, Susan Pennybacker, Lisa Lindsay, Matt Andrews, Chad Bryant, Zaragosa Vargas, Jerma Jackson, Antwain Hunter, Lauren Jarvis, Wayne Lee, Lloyd Kramer, Nancy Andoh, Alma Huselja, Carter Kurtz, Lan Li, Madeleine McGrady, Tess Megginson, Cristian Walk, Tim Marr, Bill and Marcie Ferris, Doug Zinn, Melanie Feinberg, Seth Kotch, Jacqueline Lawton, Michelle Robinson, Carolina Sá Carvalho, Ariana Vigil, Daniel Wallace, Lyneise Williams, and Lingyu Wang for reading and engaging with sections or ideas from this book. A manuscript workshop with Marcia Chatelain, Scott Nelson, Brandon Proia, and Kevin Boyle also greatly enhanced this book. Greg Downs helped a lot with the introduction. Thanks to you all for your brilliance and generosity. My new colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania welcomed this project and offered helpful remarks that benefited this manuscript in the final stage of revisions. The last push to complete this book would not have been possible without the newest members of our family’s community: Allie, Marc, and Clark Getty.
My talented agent, Lauren Sharp, fought for this book, and I will toast her when it is published. I am so grateful for her calm, grit, and professionalism. Thank you to my editor, Brian Distelberg, who believed in this project and has always believed in me. I couldn’t ask for a better agent-editor partnership. Lauren and Brian are at once professional, deeply intelligent, and profoundly compassionate. Thank you both for putting your faith in this story. The team at Basic Books has been wonderful. Many thanks to Alex Cullina for so many portions of this project and to Kristen Kim, whose sharp and insightful line editing greatly improved the prose and structure of the final version. I am also so grateful to Melissa Veronesi, Elisa Rivlin, and Lillian Duggan for turning this Word document into a book.