A Kansas City historian is preserving the stories of Mexican Americans who served during Vietnam. The new oral history project is titled "In Their Own Words: Mexican American Vietnam Era Veterans."

More than 50,000 U.S. service members died in theater during the Vietnam War. A disproportionate number of those killed and injured were Latino. Ahead of Veterans Day, historian Dr. Gene Chavez and Army veteran Frank Hernandez spoke with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date about the experiences of Mexican American veterans.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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