Proud American

Being the only child of a single mother, Sergio was raised by his maternal grandparents in a South Texas region better known as the Rio Grande Valley. This memoir details his upbringing as a poor migrant worker of Mexican descent having to pick crops for a living since the age of seven. As a way to break from the family cycle of picking crops and depending on government welfare programs, Sergio joined the United States Army and served ten years on active duty. He was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina shortly after the Bosnian War only to find and deal with the aftermath of the genocide that took place there and be caught in the middle of several attacks. His experiences in Bosnia ultimately led to experiencing signs and symptoms related to PTSD. After completing ten years of military service, Sergio joined the U.S. Border Patrol. Being of Mexican descent and having family in South Texas and in Mexico gave way to new issues of having to counter threats against his family and ill-willed opinions of him for arresting and deporting "his own kind."

Author: Sergio Tinoco
Publisher: Austin Macauley
Published: 02/26/2021
Pages: 198
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.63lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.42d
ISBN: 9781645757887

About the Author
Tinoco, Sergio: - Sergio Tinoco was born in the city of Pharr, Texas, to a single mother. Raised in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, until he was old enough to start school in the United States. At such a young age, Sergio had to be raised by his maternal grandparents in Weslaco, Texas, as his mother continued to live in Mexico. His journey in search of the American dream began as a poor migrant worker picking crops since he was seven years old. In order to break the family cycle of farm labor and being dependent of government welfare programs, he joined the U.S. Army immediately after graduating high school. Sergio was able to serve ten years on active duty with an unforgettable deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina shortly after the Bosnian War. His experiences during this deployment set the foundation to many challenges relating to PTSD. After completing his military service, Sergio sought to continue his service to country within the one agency that would bring about even more issues for him; the United States Border Patrol. Being of Mexican descent and having family in South Texas and in Mexico created new challenges of having to counter threats against his entire family and ill-willed opinions of him for being an agent who arrests and deports 'his own kind.' Sergio continues to serve as a border patrol agent, has completed a master's degree in organizational management, is a motivational speaker and currently writes a column for Homeland Security Today.