WWII Marine Corp veteran celebrates 104 years of life and legacy
By Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield
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ALBERTA LEA, Minnesota (WCCO) — Lupe Gasca is a legend in the Marine Corp, a legend in life. As he will proudly say, he is “104 years old!”
He was an 18-year-old farmhand in Albert Lea, Minnesota, when he got the orders.
“Over the years, they had asked me, ‘ Why did you join the Marine Corps?’ Then I tell them what I’m telling you, but I didn’t want to be in the trenches.”
With that, Gasca gained a lifelong title and lifelong friends.
“Easter Island, I went to the Fiji Islands. And then, from there, I went to Australia. Went down to Melbourne. And I spent six months in New Zealand,” said Gasca.
Many a battle he would fight.
“I went to the Battle of Terawa, Saipan, Canyon, and Okinawa, and then I went through the occupation of Nagasaki Japan.”
It was Tarawa that marked his body.
“I got hit, you know, hand grenade, and I spent three months in the hospital.”
And it was an encounter with a baby that marked his mind. His men shot and hit a very unintended target.
“One of us hit the baby on the leg because the baby started crying, our baby started crying and we stopped right away. I think about this, this case.”
He saw a lot, he saw Nagasaki, after the atomic bomb and ended his career in Okinawa.
“I’m glad I survived.”
Lupe came back to Albert Lea and married the love of his life and started an automotive service in town and became a teacher.
He has 2 daughters, 5 grandkids and 12 great-grandkids and is in great health.
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