Season Two, Episode 07

Hector Barajas in his room at the Deported Veterans Safe House. Photo by Clarke Tolton.
82nd Airborne Divison – Fort Bragg, NC. Images courtesy of Hector Barajas.
Hector still regularly wears his dress blues, displaying various medals. Photo by Clarke Tolton.
BDU’s hang in the support house. Photo by Clarke Tolton.
Above, mid-jump, taken with a disposable camera. Below, Preparing for a jump with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC. Images courtesy of Hector Barajas.
Equipment check on the green ramp at Pope Airfield, NC. Images courtesy of Hector Barajas.
Hector’s diploma. Photo by Clarke Tolton.
Images courtesy of Hector Barajas.
After being expelled from Compton High, Hector enlisted in the United States Army. Image courtesy of Hector Barajas.

Season Two, Episode 07

Banished Veterans – Part I

Banished Veterans – Part I

A story of military vets barred from the country they served.

At age seven, Hector Barajas crossed the Mexico border into United States as an illegal citizen. His family soon settled in Compton, California, where Hector encountered crime, gang violence, and racial division. Hector escaped the lifestyle by joining the United States Army as a non-citizen, becoming a medic for the 82nd Airborne Division. But personal problems soon led him to honorable discharge, prison, and deportation back to Mexico. In the first episode of this two-part series, Hector chronicles the humanity of being banished, and how he seeks to return to the country he once swore to protect.

Photos by Clarke Tolton. All others couresy of Hector Barajas. Music by Sontag Shogun.

Transcript
Transcript
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