Tony Santiago

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antonio "Tony" Santiago
Tony Santiago (left) with actor Erik Estrada
Born	March 9, 1950 (1950-03-09) (age 58) New York, New York
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Other names	"Tony the Marine"
Occupation	Writer and historian
Known for	First Puerto Rican recognized by the Government of Puerto Rico for his Puerto Rican and Hispanic related work in Wikipedia.

Antonio "Tony" Santiago a.k.a. “Tony the Marine” (born 1950, in New York, New York), is a Puerto Rican writer and historian mostly known for his extensive work on the creation of articles related to the contributions of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics in general to the United States in Wikipedia, the world’s largest free Internet encyclopedia. He is the first Puerto Rican whose work in Wikipedia has been recognized by the Government of Puerto Rico.^[1] He is the editor of the Puerto Rican Military History Channel of "El Boricua" a monthly cultural magazine, a staff writer in "Somos Primos" an internet magazine dedicated to "Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues" and as of March 2008, became the first Puerto Rican to be named Official Historian of the Association of Naval Service Officers.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Puerto Rico 3 Wikipedia 4 Written work 5 Puerto Rican recognition 6 Association of Naval Service Officers 7 Memorial Day 2008 8 Personal 9 See also 10 References

[edit] Early years

Santiago’s parents, Joaquin and Hilda moved to New York City from Puerto Rico in the late 1940’s where he was born. His parents divorced and his mother remarried. He was raised by his mother and stepfather, Edison Pop in the South Bronx where he received his primary education. In his teens years his family moved to the borough of Queens where he completed his high school education. Santiago, who was a gang member in Bronx, formed and became a gang leader in Queens.^[2]

He joined United States Marine Corps in 1969 and served with the 2nd Battalion 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division in the Vietnam War as Gunner in the 81 MM Mortar and later in the Military Police. In the Marines he and a group of fellow Puerto Ricans formed a group called "Puerto Rican Power in Unity" which eventually became "Latin Power in Unity". The objective of this group was to unite all the Hispanic Marines regardless of their national background, as a brotherhood. Together they shared their cultures and demanded to be treated equally as their black and white counterparts in the military.^[3]

[edit] Puerto Rico

After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, Santiago moved to Puerto Rico and married Milagros Rivera. He enrolled in the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and as a Magna Cum Laude student majored in Business Administration and accounting. He also studied in the Puerto Rico Real Estate Academy, the American Banking Institute and the Polytechnical Institute of Caguas, Puerto Rico, where he was joined by his then 16 year old son, Antonio Jr. During his years in Puerto Rico, he became a believer that Puerto Rico should be an independent nation.^[2]

[edit] Wikipedia

In 1990, Santiago moved to Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and three children. While his children attended their college classes, Santiago would visit the college libraries and research information in regard to the contributions which Hispanics have made to the United States. Santiago remembered that when he went to school the contributions made by the minority’s in the United States were never mentioned in the history books. Santiago’s son Antonio Jr., introduced him to Wikipedia. On May 30, 2004 he choose Wikipedia to write as a means to reach millions of readers where he could share the contributions which Hispanics have made in the fields of science, education, the military and so on.^[2]

[edit] Written work

Santiago started to collaborate with “El Boricua” a Puerto Rican monthly cultural magazine and on September 2005, he was named “Editor of the Puerto Rican Military History Channel” of the publication.^[3] On August 1, 2006, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 109-253. The "Background" section of the bill, which was updated on March 27, 2006, contains a brief biography of Barbosa which was obtained from the July 30, 2005 version of the Jose Celso Barbosa article written by Santiago for Wikipedia under the username User:Marine 69-71.^[4]This may have been the first time that material from Wikipedia has been deemed important enough to have been included in a U.S. bill. On Sept. 7, 2006, he was named in a Puerto Rican political newspaper, “Claridad” as the “Puerto Rican who has made the most Contributions to Wikipedia”.^[5] On January 2007, Santiago joined “Somos Primos “, an internet magazine dedicated to "Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues, as a Staff writer. His articles in Somos Primos are received in the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute.^[2]

On March 20, 2007 , Maribeth Kouts, daughter of William Walter Kouts, began an extensive Internet search for the family of the David M. Gonzales the Medal of Honor recipient who saved her fathers life in World War II ,^[6] and she posted the following message on Wikipedia:

"My father, William Kouts, was the soldier David M. Gonzales was digging out when he was shot and killed by sniper fire. My Dad is 85 and in ill health and we want to get into contact with the Gonzales family before Dad's passing so that Dad can tell David Jr. of his father's heroics firsthand. Mbkouts."^[7]

Santiago^[8] responded to the message and told Maribeth that he would try to help her in their quest. Santiago, sent e-mails to Congressman Howard Berman and telephoned every David Gonzales in the Los Angeles area without any luck.^[9] He then placed a message in Somos Primos, a Hispanic heritage cultural magazine, and on April 11, 2007, Santiago made contact with Ernestine Gonzales, cousin of David Gonzales Jr. and, as a result, both families met in the Atlanta suburb of Powder Springs, Georgia for the first time on May 24, 2007.^[6]The event brought closure to over 60 years of searching for the relatives of David M. Gonzales on behalf of William W. Kouts. Said Beatrice Gonzales, David's daughter-in-law, "We feel so much peace because David's father died to save a very good man who lived a good life."^[10] "We owe so much to Mr. Santiago," said Maribeth Kouts.^[6] On May 27, 2007, Santiago was featured in the ‘’Arizona Republic’’ under the headlines “A medal, a debt, both of honor”.^[11]

[edit] Puerto Rican recognition

Santiago’s biographies helped get the names of various Puerto Rican soldiers inscribed in “El Monumento de la Recordación” in Puerto Rico. On November 28, 2007, Santiago became the first Puerto Rican to be honored by the Government of Puerto Rico for his work on behalf of Puerto Rico in Wikipedia when the Senate of Puerto Rico recognized him as a military historian and paid him tribute with a Resolution #3603.^[1] The resolution was presented by the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock on behalf of the people of Puerto Rico.^[12] On January 30, 2008, Santiago was featured in the ’’Phoenix Republic’’ in an article titled “Author details contributions of Puerto Ricans.” ^[13][14]

[edit] Association of Naval Service Officers

Rear Admiral Jay A. DeLoach, from The Pentagon asked Santiago if he could work on some Hispanic related articles for the United States Navy and together they worked on various projects. DeLoach recommended Santiago for the position of Official Historian of the Association of Naval Service Officers (ANSO). On March 16, 2008, Captain Kathlene Contres (USN) officially named Santiago Historian of ANSO.^[15][16] ANSO is an organization that fosters the advancement and recognition of Hispanic officers in the uniformed naval services of the United States.^[17]

[edit] Memorial Day 2008

On Monday, May 26, 2008, Santiago was publicly recognized by the Government of Puerto Rico as a Historian who has written the biographies of prominent Puerto Ricans who have served in the military.^[18] Santiago was invited to the Puerto Rican Capitol Building and in the presence of his wife Milagros, members of the Puerto Rican Senate and the Camera, was presented with a gift by the President of the Puerto Rican Senate, the Honorable Kenneth McClintock. Also, present in Santiago's recognition was the former President of the United States Bill Clinton and his wife, New York State Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brigadier General Hector E. Pagan, the Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army Special Warfare Center and School, presented Santiago with a medal of excellence. Santiago was also recognized in speech given by Mr. De La Luce, in representation of Luis G. Fortuño, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States Congress, during the ceremonies held in front of the Capital Building in which the names of Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers were unveiled.^[19][20]

[edit] Personal

Santiago currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Milagros, three children Antonio Jr., Jose and Nilda, and two granddaughters Isabel and Nina.

[edit] See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

[edit] References