Harry Garcia's roughest days were as an 18-year-old Marine in Vietnam. What he saw the moment he arrived in 1968 is seared in his memory. "Rows of caskets were lined up for transport.
That told me everything was serious now," Garcia said in an interview. He doesn't like to talk about combat in Vietnam. But Garcia did so after losing his seat in the state House of Representatives in last week's Democratic primary election.
At age 74, he learned defeat stings as much as ever. And his failed campaign for a fifth term intersected with his memories of war. "My biggest concern in the Legislature was looking out for veterans, who are near and dear to me," Garcia said.
His three brothers also served in Vietnam. They came home alive, proud veterans like him. As chairman of the interim Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee, Garcia said he tried to be an advocate for all who served.
He will continue in that assignment until the end of the year. Then Michelle Abeyta, who routed Garcia in the primary, will succeed him in the House of Representatives. Garcia, of Grants, still has a hard time believing voters rejected him in resounding fashion.
"It blindsided me. I didn't expect to lose. And as much as I lost by, that really shocked me," he said.
Garcia figured incumbency was an enormous advantage. Before election day, he had collected $170,000 in campaign donations, much of the money coming from oil companies and political committees. Abeyta had but $36,000.
She still whipped Garcia, 57.