Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Lewis | 190602-N-TR141-0013 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (June 2, 2020) Dolores Rodriguez...... read more read more
Rota Naval Base, Spain, was established in 1953, following the signing of an agreement for facilities use between the U.S. and Spain. After two years of surveys, negotiations and planning, construction began in 1955.
Bilingual personnel were in high demand for BRW, the main U.S. Navy contractor for construction of U.S. military bases in Spain. Antonio Linares, originally from Guadiz in Andalucía, and Dolores Rodriguez, from Madrid, both spoke Spanish and English and met while working at BWR’s Property Audit Department.
“She was a very able and dignified secretary,” said Antonio. “And in addition, a very pretty young lady in her 20s.”
Dolores added, “He was everything I had dreamed of.”
They got married in Madrid, three years after they met, May 31,1958, and moved to Rota. Dolores was secretary to Capt. G.M. Callison, the commanding officer of the U.S. Supply Corps, which is present-day Navy Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center (NAVSUP-FLC) Sigonella - Site Rota, and Antonio worked as an accountant at Corbetta Construction. Corbetta built the tetrapods that were placed to provide a seawall to protect the artificial harbor.
“The orderly activity of military and civilian personnel each doing their part in a very complex project” and “a happy atmosphere was prevalent all over the place,” they said was the most memorable from their time working at Naval Station Rota.
Antonio said working for the U.S. Navy gave them the professional background to earn top jobs in U.S. (ITT) and European (Alcatel) multinational corporations. And after they left Rota, Dolores was employed again by the U.S. Navy as secretary to the Commander, Mediterranean Naval Activities in Madrid.
One of Antonio and Dolores’ sons, Ignacio Linares Rodriguez, remembered reading a 2018 article from Adm. James Foggo III, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Italy, while planning a surprise for his parents 60th anniversary.
“These are the type of stories that endure, and we must never forget the links that form the strong bond between our countries and our great navies,” wrote Adm. Foggo in the article. He was referring to multiple stories of the U.S. and Spanish relationship. One being that of a Spanish mariner, Jordi Farragut, who “joined the revolutionary cause” and later fathered the U.S. first admiral and U.S. Civil War hero, David Glasgow Farragut. He went on to talk about other ways our two countries' bond has been strengthened over the years.
“I think stories like that of my parents are also part of those bonds, and are worth celebrating,” said Ignacio.
The couple now lives in Madrid and has five children and 10 grandchildren, and still have a strong connection with the United States. Four of their children graduated from U.S. universities and currently, two of their daughters and four grandchildren live in the States.
“I think the base represented many of the American values they sought and which they have since made their own. Their desire to progress, their belief in equality, fairness, meritocracy [government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability] and on hard work. These are values they have lived by and which they have passed on to us.”
Ignacio has taken vacation in Cadiz for many years, and used that excuse of having a family weekend in the area for his parents' anniversary. On a Sunday morning in June, 2019, the family told Antonio and Dolores they were going for a drive—they didn’t know Ignacio had already been working with the base for access.
Ignacio laughed, “They did not see it coming until the very last minute…Even when we stopped at the gate of the base, they thought it was a last minute idea to see if there was a chance for a pass by.”
“They -literally- ran out of words initially,” said their son, Antonio. “When they came to understand what the deal was about, you could not find two happier people on Earth.”
During a tour of the base Antonio and Dolores brought their children and grandchildren down memory lane.
“The visit brought vivid memories of the very happy years we lived in Rota,” said Antonio and Dolores.
“It was a mix of recognition and inspiration,” said Ignacio. “These were two kids, who against all odds, made it successfully. They were growing up in an underdeveloped country who have recently endured a cruel and devastating civil war and who were eager to build a new and better life for themselves. Rota was at the time a big bet; it was a pioneering project with new allies from a culture which was foreign to Spaniards. Being there with them was our way of recognizing their many achievements. Their story has always been inspirational to me and my siblings, but being there helped our sons and daughters, their grandchildren, better grasp what they had heard as family stories, and be inspired by them as well.”
Dolores showed her family the building she worked at all those years ago, and their son Antonio added, “When they arrived back to Madrid, my mother showed us a reference letter about her written by Capt. G.M. Callison. It was the original document that she kept all these years, dated Oct. 23, 1960. It is now proudly displayed at their home in Madrid.”
The family spoke highly of base personnel, Antonio (Jr.) adding, “All people we met at the base could have not been more pleasant to us…We all feel immense gratitude for the way they treated us during our visit.”
Antonio and Dolores called it a “happy and unforgettable day in the sixty first anniversary of our wedding.”
“They have faced plenty of challenges through it all and have managed to overcome all of them,” said Ignacio. “The foundation of that incredible track record has been a rock-solid relationship between the two of them. They started by themselves and it all started in Rota. 60 years later, we had to return with the perspective of a lifetime.”
After the successful and fulfilling years, Antonio and Dolores’ advice to their family and others is, “Always be decent, fair, and courageous.”
This couple’s story and the legacy they built is a great example of how Adm. Foggo described the U.S. and Spain, “Our relationships are strengthened by our history, our integrations today, and the engagements we are planning for the future.”
To read the original article by Adm. Foggo, referenced in this article, visit:
https://www.c6f.navy.mil/Media/blogs/Article/1753621/the-past-present-and-future-links-with-spain-my-trip-to-minorca-and-my-reflecti/
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2020 04:12 |
| Story ID: | 367074 |
| Location: | ROTA, ES |
| Web Views: | 502 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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