Wikimedia Blog/Drafts/Tony the Marine

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Tony the Marine (WIP)

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Antonius "Tony the Marine" Santiago

In 2004, Antonius Santiago began editing Wikipedia. He started by expanding upon the work of others - not least, that of his son's. Since then, researching, broadening and polishing articles on Puerto Rican military officials has become a passion for Santiago. Six years after his initial edit, the Puerto Rican Secretary of State named Santiago, aka Tony the Marine, the nations foremost military historian.

A Vietnam veteran, father of three, and loving husband of 40 years, Santiago's contributions are a direct product of his experiences. Born in the South Bronx to Puerto Rican immigrants, Santiago experienced what it was like to grow up Latino in America. In 1969 he was accepted into Columbia University, but chose to serve as a marine, where he served until 1975. Despite growing up in New York City, Santiago always expressed interest in his parent's homeland of Puerto Rico. His time in the military made him revaluate the role of Latinos in the United States, which, in turn, led him to view American politics on Puerto Rico differently.

Santiago’s contributions focus on Puerto Rico’s military forces, something that prior to his involvement had very patchy coverage. “I have written over 500 articles on Wikipedia because of the principles that Wikipedia was founded on,” he says. “To be able to share my knowledge with hundreds of people for free is beyond my comprehension; only Wikipedia can make that possible.” Santiago’s Wikipedia debut was a bit unconventional, considering that he began editing before he was a user. “I didn’t start by using it as a resource. I wanted to fix and add to the articles which my son had written,” he said. “When I saw the possibilities that Wikipedia presented, I started writing more articles.”

Santiago has met a number of high-profile people thanks to his work on Wikipedia.

Santiago's goal has been to “make people aware of the good things that Latinos have done." "We’re living in an era, especially in the United States, where the anti-Latino sentiment is very high.” "Most people do not know the contribution that Latinos have made. Wikipedia has provided me with the tools to help that cause." Santiago’s work has not gone unnoticed. He often catches the eye of Puerto Rican journalists and state officials. “I wrote an article once about Medal of Honor recipients who had died and the families got together because of that,” said Santiago. “It came out in the newspapers. It made the headlines. That makes me proud of my work, and it makes me proud to know it’s making a difference."

Santiago’s selfless approach is the underlying factor to everything he does. "As a father and a grandfather I can appreciate that for the first time in history there’s somewhere providing children around the world with the tools of knowledge, allowing them the opportunity to use what they have learned to make this a better world. Now I’ll tell them, 'your donations to Wikipedia regardless of the amount, you will be making a difference in this world. "It’s not about me. It’s about Wikipedia and the opportunities it provides and the impact it has allowed me to make on people. “I write for the love of it, you know, and for the love of my people. It’s an opportunity to educate people.”