Although the below pictures show the registration form and draft card for 1942, Marcelino Cortés had already served in the Army prior to that as a young man.  You will notice that on the draft card, it states his date of birth and his age, 47 years old at the time.  Although not fully researched, Marcelino Cortés probably served with the Porto Rico Regiment, U.S. Infantry guarding the  Panama Canal from 1917 to 1918.  At the age of 22 or 23, at that time he would have been about the right age to serve. Without research, we are basing this on a prior article that was written about Marcelino Cortés that states that he returned ill after serving in the Army with Uncle Sam.  The Cortés family has served in the U.S. Army for four generations since. 

Two of my uncles also served in the U.S. Army at different times.  My uncle, Antonio Custodio who was my Tia Dalila’s husband served in Germany during World War II.  My uncle, Wilfredo Perez, who is married to my Tia Lucy, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.  In the future, I will try to obtain the family’s permission to post their records on this website.