Roy Miller High School teacher Juan Manuel Pérez received the Robert A. Gannon Award for Poetry over the weekend in Virginia.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi teacher and Gulf War veteran is receiving national recognition for turning his military experiences into poetry.
Juan Manuel Pérez, a teacher at Roy Miller High School, was honored over the weekend with the Robert A. Gannon Award for Poetry from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation in Virginia.
Third-Class Petty Officer Pérez served 10 years in the United States Navy, including as a Corpsman embedded with the 2nd Marines during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. A specialized field medic and Spanish-language translator, he served multiple duty stations and coompleted advanced medical and military training. He says his job was to care for troops in the field, even enemy prisoners of war.
“Basically we were a medical unit, kind of like a MASH unit…,” Pérez said.
Years later, Pérez says memories of war resurfaced during the COVID pandemic. Isolation and stress triggered PTSD symptoms, pushing him to write through his feelings.
“It was kind of like a cold darkness I guess you can say that…I would write a poem a day, and so I was writing a poem a day. I realized wait a minute, I’m actually writing about things that happened to me, happened during the war.”
That writing became ‘Thirty Years Ago: Life and the First Gulf War’ a collection of 50 poems and sonnets based on his wartime journal.
“I was using it to get some thoughts out of my head… the VA told me, keep writing. It won’t change it, but it helps it,” Pérez said.
Pérez received the honor during an awards dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia. The award recognizes artists and writers who preserve Marine Corps history and culture.
“For a Marine to recognize their Navy Doctor Corpsman… it is a great honor and I’m proud of that,” Pérez said.
He says if his story helps even one veteran feel understood, then every page was worth writing.
“Sometimes you think nobody wants to listen to that…, for them to honor me back, I can’t explain it,” Pérez said.
Pérez was one of 20 recipients recognized nationwide this year.