Marine veteran gets wish of a lifetime from aarp

Denver-based artist Ray Espinoza, 86, is skilled in painting, drawing, sculpture, writing and singing. But his art career didn’t take off until after he left the military and used the GI

bill to attend art school. As a child, he enjoyed painting and drawing. But when he was 9, he began working alongside his migrant farmworker parents, helping harvest vegetables in the

fields. “In my hometown there was nothing to do but join the Marines, go to jail or be poor,” he says. He enlisted in the Marines at 17 during the Korean War and was sent to Japan, where

he helped distribute arms and supplies throughout the region. His two older brothers and his younger brother were also Korea veterans. During his eight years in the service, the

self-identified Chicano, an American of Mexican descent, remembers encountering only a few soldiers with the same heritage as himself; he formed friendships with them that he still values

today. AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER When Espinoza left the military in May 1962, he started focusing on his artistry, calling upon his upbringing, love of art and respect for the military. After he

graduated from the old Rocky Mountain School of Art, he helped found the multi-institutional Auraria Campus, where he taught art, Southwest history and art history. His platform and

influence would help him become a well-known Chicano artist throughout the Southwest. “Some of my sculpture work is related to Indians in the Southwest. I’ve gotten a lot of Mexican

portraits and studies that I’ve done,” he says. “I even wrote a manuscript about the history of Chicano music, which one day I hope to be published.” Espinoza estimates that he has written

10 manuscripts, 2,000 songs and 10 poetry books. “That’s why my memory is active,” he says.