Activist, labor leader ... swabbie? Cesar Chavez honored for his U.S. Navy service

Organizers say Thursday's honors were an opportunity to show the public that Chavez, not known for his time in the military, served in the Navy after World War II, and it helped him become the fighter and organizer he would later be known for. "Cesar belonged to a generation of Latinos and other people of color who returned home from the service after World War II determined to see that the country for which they sacrificed fulfilled its promise of equality and freedom," the Cesar Chavez Foundation said in a statement. "That motivated him to work for civil and labor rights starting in the early '50s."

Members of the military honor guard perform a gun salute as the widow of Cesar Chavez receives a flag from the U.S. Navy, honoring her husbands military service during a ceremony in Keene, Calif., Thursday, Apr. 23, 2015. The military honors were presented Thursday at the grave site of Cesar Chavez in a ceremony 22 years after the labor leaders death recognizing his service as a young man in the Navy. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

Members of the military honor guard stand during a ceremony to present the widow of Cesar Chavez with a flag from the U.S. Navy to honor his military service in Keene, Calif., Thursday, Apr. 23, 2015. The military honors were presented Thursday at the grave site of Cesar Chavez in a ceremony 22 years after the labor leaders death recognizing his service as a young man in the Navy. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

Helen Chavez, the widow of Cesar Chavez receives a flag from the U.S. Navy, honoring her husbands military service during a ceremony in Keene, Calif., Thursday, April 23, 2015. The military honors were presented Thursday at the gravesite of Cesar Chavez in a ceremony 22 years after the labor leaders death recognizing his service as a young man in the Navy. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

FILE - Cesar Chavez, civil rights advocate and United Farm Workers founder, is shown in this June 29, 1989 file photo. On Thursday April 23, 2015, the 22nd anniversary of his death, Chavez will get full graveside honors from the U.S. Navy at his memorial in California. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE - In this file photo taken Tuesday Oct, 2, 2012, is the grave site where the Chicano farmworker leader Cesar Chavez is buried in the memorial garden in Keene, Calif. On Thursday, April 23, 2015 the 22nd anniversary of his death, Chavez will get full graveside honors from the U.S. Navy at his memorial in California. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka, File)