Navy honors labor leader

Hundreds gather at the grave of civil rights activist Cesar Chavez to recognize his military service.

Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, known for defending immigrant farmworkers, was recognized Thursday for another act of service.

Twenty-two years after his death, Chavez received military honors for his service in the U.S. Navy.

The Navy marked the anniversary of Chavez’s death with a formal ceremony at his grave in Keene, Calif., according to the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

“Chavez belonged to generations of Latinos who returned home from the service after World War II, Korea, Vietnam and conflicts as recent as Afghanistan determined to see that the country for which they sacrificed fulfilled its promise of equality and freedom,” the foundation said in a statement.

Hundreds gathered for the 10 a.m. ceremony as a Navy bugler played taps and officers performed a rifle salute in the Memorial Garden of the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, operated by the National Park Service.

An American flag was presented to Chavez’s widow, Helen, as active duty and reserve sailors paid tribute to his life and service.

Born on March 31, 1927, near a homestead outside Yuma, Ariz., Chavez had a difficult upbringing. His family lost its farm during the Great Depression and had to work in the fields.

After the eighth grade, he worked full-time in the fields to help support his family.

Chavez joined the Navy in 1946 and served in the Western Pacific after World War II as a seaman. After returning from service in 1948, he met Helen while working in the fields in Delano.

His son, Paul Chavez, told the Associated Press that his family never asked for military recognition.

“We just didn’t do it,” he told the AP. “We were busy trying to comfort people and bury him with dignity. We had always focused on his work with farmworkers,” rather than his military service.

This wasn’t the first time the Navy has honored Chavez.

In 2012, the Navy named a dry cargo vessel the Cesar Chavez — the only U.S. military ship named after a Latino.

Photographs by Scott Smith Associated Press OFFICERS PERFORM a rif le salute in honor of the late labor activist Cesar Chavez, who joined the Navy in 1946 and served in the Western Pacific after World War II as a seaman. He returned from service in 1948.

HELEN CHAVEZ accepts an American f lag from the U.S. Navy during a ceremony honoring her late husband, Cesar Chavez, for his military service.