Cesar Julio Romero Jr. was born in New York City on February 15, 1907, the son of Cesar Julio Romero Sr. and Maria Mantilla. His mother was said to be the biological daughter of Cuban national hero José MartÃ. His father was born in Barcelona, Spain and immigrated to the United States in 1888, where he was an import/export merchant. His mother was a concert singer.
On October 22, 1942, he enlisted in the Coast Guard as an apprentice seaman. His enlistment made national headlines. He served aboard the USS Cavalier, a Coast Guard-manned assault transport and saw action at Saipan and Tinian. Romero made a concerted effort to operate as part of the regular crew and didn’t ask for any special considerations. He won the respect of his shipmates who considered him one of the best winch operators they’d ever worked with. Romero’s duties including shifting 18,000 lb barges from the transport ship into the water during assaults, operating as a powderman on the forward gun, and others. During downtime, Romero entertained the crew with a variety show.
By April 1944, Romero advanced to seaman first class and later made chief boatswainâs mate. He was discharged in 1945 at the end of the war.
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