Wilfred Vargas

Personal Information

Birthplace: Salina, KS

Service Information

Branch of Service: Marine Corps

Theater of Operation: Pacific

Enlisted / Commissioned: Nov 21, 0946

Highest Rank: Srgt.

Honored By: The Eisenhower Foundation

Biography

Wilfred Vargas was born in Salina, Kansas, the seventh of eight children. When his father Benjamin was shot and died, his mother moved the family to Nebraska and then to Colorado, looking for work and shelter. When Paula Ramirez Vargas passed in 1932, Wilfred and his Brother Alfred, the youngest in the family, went to stay at the St. Joseph Orphanage in Abilene, KS. During his stay in Abilene, Vargas saw Dwight Eisenhower sitting on the family home porch.

Vargas enlisted and served in the Marine Corps. His training was in San Diego, and his commission was in the communications unit. Vargas served in the Marshal Island and Saipan in the Pacific. Vargas had recently turned 100 at the time of the interview in November of 2023.