Army Staff Sergeant Pete Chavira Arredondo (Ret.), a World War II Veteran of the 76th Infantry Division, 304th Infantry Regiment, a resident of Clovis, CA and previous longtime resident of Kerman, CA, having honorably served his country both at home and abroad, answered his final call to reveille on June 3, 2021.
A child of the Imperial Valley, Pete was born to parents Aurelia Lisiaga Chavira and Pedro Mora Arredondo in El Centro, CA on December 5, 1925. He was the seventh of ten children: Emiterio “Telito”, Leonardo, Aurelio “Chume”, Guadalupe, Luisita “Chita”, Juan, Maria Luisa, Maria and Loreto “Tito”.
Among the many valiant Mexican-American Infantrymen who fought in World War II, on April 5, 1944 at the age of 18, Pete chose to step forward to serve his country and volunteered in the U.S. Army in Brawley, CA, receiving his basic military training at Camp Hood, Killen, Texas. On November 23, 1944 (Thanksgiving Day), Pvt. Arredondo departed from the Boston Harbor upon the SS Transport Brazil, arriving at Southampton, England on the eve of his 19th birthday, December 4, 1944.
Having received specialized military training as a Demolition Specialist and Anti-Tank Destroyer, Pvt. Arredondo entered combat into the European Theater of Operations, serving a total of one hundred ten
days of combat duty, encompassing three major battles, including the Battle of Ardennes/Battle of the Bulge, the Battle of Rhineland, and lastly the Battle of Central Europe in the spring of 1945. Pvt. Arredondo was awarded several combat decorations including his coveted Combat Infantry Badge (21 Feb 1945), World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the Bronze Star Medal.
Despite his many lingering post-traumatic memories of the war, a most gratifying recollection was his personal participation in the US Army’s liberation of three Nazi concentration sub-camps in April 1945, whereupon he painfully evidenced first-hand the extent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi Germany regime.
Pvt. Arredondo received his Honorable Discharge from military service on May 14, 1946. Approximately four years later, on November 14, 1950, following the onset of the Korean War, he chose to voluntarily enlist into the California Army Reserve National Guard in Fresno, CA. Without any significant “break” in service to his country, on November 13, 1968, Staff Sergeant Pete Chavira Arredondo received his final Honorable Discharge from military service, having proudly served his country in uniform a total of twenty years.
In 1990, at the age of 65, Pete C. Arredondo retired from his extensive years of field labor, equipment operation and farm management in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
He is survived by his loving children, Feliz Rocha, Pete Arredondo, Estella Villanueva (Ramiro), Martin Arredondo, Thomas (Celina), Robert (Elma), Michael, and Richard Arredondo. His spouse of 23 years,
Esperanza Moreno, passed away on December 30, 2012, his son George Arredondo passed away on May 8, 2013 and his granddaughter Phyllis Aguilar passed away on December 31, 2020. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, numerous loving nephews and nieces as well as several Godchildren. His sole surviving sibling is his sister, Maria Meza, of Kerman, CA.
Private visitation was held on June 17, 2021 at Lisle Funeral Home in Fresno, CA. Mass of Christian Burial is to be held on August 5, 2021 at 10:00am at St. Mary’s Queen of Apostles Church, with inurnment to follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery with Military Honors.
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