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92-year-old Sam Banuelos of Fresno, CA appears on episode #746 of Hometown Heroes, airing August 12-18, 2022. Banuelos, a native of Madera, CA who served with the 3rd Infantry Division, endured nearly two years as a prisoner of Chinese forces during the Korean War.

In an interview recorded during the weekly Stories of Service Class at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in Clovs, CA, you’ll hear Banuelos remember his early years in the San Joaquin Valley as the oldest of ten children. He started working in the fields at age 9, and never attended high school, because he needed to work to help support their large family. Drafted in December, 1950, he would soon find himself headed to Korea with the 3rd Infantry Division. In August, 1951, four men from his unit were killed in an ambush that resulted in Banuelos being captured by Chinese forces. Sam wouldn’t realize until taking his boots off after miles of forced marching, but enemy fire had left him with a wounded toe. Little did he know it would be almost two years until he tasted freedom again, but he would soon experience the bitter taste of a Korean winter.

“We had to cross the rivers and it felt like they cut my legs off it was that cold,” you’ll hear him recall. “But you kept on going, we have to keep on going, there was no choice”

You’ll hear him remember how he spent his days in captivity, how his captors treated him, and some of what they fed him. For one three-month stretch, he was fed nothing but turnips, and is quick to say that he still enjoys turnips today. As days turned to weeks and months, and his weight plummeted, Banuelos never stopped believing he would someday be free again.

“I was instilled to have faith in God,” he explains. “I think that did the trick right there, for me not to lose hope.”