Speaking in Port Lavaca Thursday, July 28, Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez (Ret.) recalled his personal journey from poverty during his childhood in south Texas through opportunities offered by an education in Texas public schools and colleges to a military career culminating in command of United States forces in Iraq. General Sanchez, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate, told the Calhoun County Democratic Club that the nation must continue policies that “allow us to break the cycle of poverty” such as that he knew in his childhood.