The antique comic book is on display at MACRI. Photo: Madalyn Mendoza/Axios
👋 It's Madalyn! This 1946 comic book on display at MACRI features the story of David Bennes Barkley — a World War I hero who drowned in 1918 during a mission across the Meuse River in France just days before the November Armistice.
Zoom in: Barkley was one of the first Hispanic service members to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.
Flashback: Barkley was born in Laredo in 1899 and was raised in San Antonio. He hid his Mexican heritage to enlist in the U.S. Army, as policy restricted non-white soldiers to support roles, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Antonia Cantu, his mother, accepted his posthumous Medal of Honor in 1919. His body laid in state at the Alamo — a rare honor — before being buried at the San Antonio National Cemetery.
