Manuel "Manny" Sustaita
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Manuel "Manny" Sustaita was a Vietnam veteran, civil activist, and the founder of Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Though an insurance salesman by trade, he spent most of his life advocating for veterans and their families, Hispanic communities, and other underserved groups in Waco.
Sustaita was born in 1944 in Waco. As a boy he sold newspapers, shined shoes, and did other odd jobs to help support his family. In his free time, he played sports with the Waco Boy’s Club and especially enjoyed playing basketball. Though his parents did not speak English, they required their children to learn it, resulting in Sustaita and his siblings speaking what he called “neighborhood Spanish,” a mix of Spanish and English. Sustaita struggled with academics, and he dropped out of high school when he was fifteen.
Sustaita joined the National Guard at age sixteen, partially because of a desire to travel, and partially because of his love for movies like To Hell and Back and The D.I. Popular in the fifties and sixties, these movies depicted life in the military in a thrilling and heroic light, and Sustaita was moved by the example of the heroes in these films. For someone under the age of eighteen to join the military at that time, they had to have written parental consent. His father could not write, so Sustaita forged his signature. In 1963, Sustaita enlisted in the Marines. After training in San Diego, he went to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and then to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. After this first deployment, he served in Costa Rica and the Mediterranean before volunteering to join reconnaissance in Okinawa. With reconnaissance, he toured in the Philippines, Thailand, and finally went to Vietnam in 1965. Sustaita’s battalion operated out of an American air force base in Da Nang. Their primary objective was to scout for the division, and they chiefly had contact with Viet Cong guerilla units. Sustaita did one tour of duty in Vietnam before returning to the United States and serving at Camp Pendleton in California. He finally left the Marines in 1966.
When he returned to Waco, Sustaita became a life insurance salesman, drawing on his sales experience from his childhood jobs and love for interacting with people. After working for MetLife Insurance for a while, he started his own insurance company, called Multi Services Associates. He married Patricia Rivera Sustaita, and they had two daughters before getting divorced in 1981.
Sustaita made a name for himself in Waco as a civil activist. He was a founding member of the Cen-Tex Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, and he later served as its president. He served on the board of the Waco Boys’ Club and was involved with the Red Cross, but perhaps his most memorable contribution to the Waco community was his work on the Waco Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Sustaita was deeply moved the first time he visited the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Knowing that there were many people in Waco who had lost brothers and sons in Vietnam, as well as a significant number of other veterans, he resolved to build a memorial for the people of Waco. He, along with the Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, began the planning process in 1987, but due to a series of delays, the memorial was not dedicated until 2004.
After a lifetime spent serving his country and community, Manuel Sustaita died peacefully on May 20, 2020. He left behind a legacy of activism, having worked tirelessly to aid veterans, the Hispanic community, and all who needed help in the Waco area.
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Serving Those Who Served Our Country
Sustaita’s experiences and struggles as a Vietnam Veteran contributed to his motivation to aid his fellow veterans and their families in Waco. Along with Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, he helped administrate the McLennan County Veterans Association and the Organization of Hispanic Veterans, organize Veterans Day parades and services, and save the Waco Veterans Affairs Medical Center from closing its doors. | Source: Image courtesy of Nuestro Stories, photograph. Nuestro Stories, 2024. https://nuestrostories.com/2024/11/veterans-memorial-waco-founded-latino/.
First Assignment
Sustaita’s first deployment with the Marines was to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Because of his Mexican American heritage, his superiors assigned him to translate between the Americans and the Cubans, though Sustaita worried that his “neighborhood Spanish” was not good enough for him to perform well in this role. | Source: Courtesy of the Sustaita family.
True to their Motto
When he joined recon, Sustaita became part of Delta Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. The 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion’s motto, “Celer, Silens, Mortalis” is Latin for “Swift, Silent, Deadly.” | Source: Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, “3rd Reconnaissance Battalion insignia.” Wikipedia, 2024.
A Visit with the Chief
The Cen-Tex Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, of which Sustaita was a founding member, in turn was one of the founding organizations of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, or TAMACC. In 1976, Sustaita (second from the left, bottom row) visited Washington D.C. with other representatives from TAMACC at the invitation of President Gerald Ford. | Source: Image courtesy of TAMACC, “TAMACC leaders and members in Washington D.C.,” photograph. TAMACC, 2025.
Remembering the Fallen
Sustaita worked with fellow Wacoans John Householder and Guy Cox to raise money for and organize the building of a Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Waco. Sustaita drew inspiration from the National Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, which he visited on every tenth anniversary of its founding. | Source: Image courtesy of Nuestro Stories, photograph. Nuestro Stories, 2024. https://nuestrostories.com/2024/11/veterans-memorial-waco-founded-latino/.
Brother in Arms
Lance Corporal Joseph Wynn Jr., a good friend of Sustaita’s who was killed in action in Vietnam, provided inspiration for the Waco Memorial. After Wynn’s death, Sustaita struggled with survivor’s guilt, and this motivated his efforts to honor the fallen. | Source: Courtesy of the Sustaita family.
Preserving Our Past
In 2018, Sustaita discussed his life experiences and impacts on the Waco community with Waco librarian Sean Sutcliffe for the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. A four-part interview, the record spans from Sustaita’s childhood to immediately before the addition of the names of Baylor veterans to the Waco Memorial. | Source: Courtesy of the Sustaita family.
Commemorating Baylor’s Veterans
In 2018, the Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial partnered with Baylor University to add the names of seven Baylor students who died in Vietnam to the Waco Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. This was the second time names were added to the memorial, as nine names had been added in 2014 on the tenth anniversary of the memorial’s dedication. | Source: Courtesy of the Sustaita family.
Caring for the Community
In order to promote and aid Hispanic business owners in Waco, Sustaita helped found the Cen-Tex Mexican American Chamber of Commerce. Members of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce did not consider the small restaurants, barber shops, and corner stores run by Mexican Americans to be businesses and did not understand the need for a Hispanic chamber of commerce. | Source: Courtesy of the Sustaita family.
Read All About It
From a young age, Sustaita learned the value of hard work. One of the many jobs he worked as a boy was selling newspapers in town. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, February 23, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.Calm Before the Storm
The Waco Tornado of May 11, 1953, devastated the city. Those who lived through it, such as Sustaita, remember the terrifying events of that day vividly. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, February 23, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.A True Marine
Lance Corporal Joseph R. Wynn Jr., a native of Chula, Georgia and Sustaita’s closest friend, was the first loss for the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in Vietnam. Wynn had just had the opportunity to return to the United States, but he had chosen to extend his tour for an extra six months. His death impacted Sustaita deeply. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, March 1, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.Eyes and Ears of the Division
Sustaita became bored working at headquarters in Okinawa. Enamored by the possibility of parachuting and scuba diving, he requested a transfer to a reconnaissance battalion. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, March 1, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.A Stable Position
After touring in Vietnam, Sustaita was stationed at Camp Pendleton. Here, his Texas heritage landed him an unexpected assignment. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, February 23, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.Life with MetLife
Sustaita’s extensive experience as a salesman lent itself well to work as an insurance agent. However, landing an insurance job proved to be more difficult than expected. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, March 16, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.Going National
The Cen-Tex Mexican American Chamber of Commerce provided support for Hispanic business owners in the Waco area. Sustaita discusses the impact this organization had in Texas and nationally. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, March 16, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.Committed to the Club
The Waco Boys’ Club was a big part of Sustaita’s childhood. As an adult, a comment from an administrator led Sustaita to recommit to his involvement with the club. | Source: Sustaita, Manuel, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, March 16, 2018, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, Texas. Access full interview here.