Mario Espinoza celebrates his 100th birthday with a surprise gift honoring his military service during WWII.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — From neighbors helping neighbors to inspiring acts of kindness, we’re sharing stories of people making a difference in our ‘Champions of Hope’ series.
Mario Espinoza never thought he would be drafted at the age of 18. He was a farm laborer his entire life until he went into the military.
“We lived in tents. I slept on the ground. There for a long time we had nothing to eat but corn tortillas and boiled beans,” he said.
Espinoza served as an ammunition carrier and sharpshooter during World War II. Although he was drafted by war, he was driven by hope.
“I made up my mind there that I would get a better job and I would go to school and learn the English language,” he said.
Now, decades later, is another day he didn’t think would happen.
“It feels pretty good. It feels pretty good because I never thought I could make it this far,” he said.
He’s part of the less than 1% of the 16.4 million Americans who served during World War II still with us today.
His caretaker, friends, daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter celebrating the big milestone together. There was even a surprise he didn’t see coming…
After losing his uniform and medals, Espinoza was gifted a shadow box with a replica of his military jacket and medals — a moment to honor a life shaped by hard work, service and the pursuit of something greater.
“You know, after seeing all that makes me pretty proud of myself,” he said.
His secret to a long and happy life is exercising, sleeping and eating well. He’s hoping to celebrate his 110th birthday, but in the meantime: “I want to go to a casino and hit $1 million.”
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