DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this one, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Now, most folks know where World War II started for the United States — Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 1941, Japanese forces hitting American forces hard. What fewer people know is what that attack set in motion for Mexico.
Because when the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, Mexico was watching. And Mexico made a choice. The nation severed diplomatic relations with the Axis powers — Japan, Germany, Italy — right then and there.
But severing relations is one thing. War is another. Then came May 1942.
German U-boats — submarines — were prowling the Gulf of Mexico. And they sank several of Mexico's oil tankers right there in those waters. That was enough.
Mexico declared war against the Axis nations. Now, Mexico wasn't going to sit on the sidelines. After running defensive patrols looking for enemy submarines, Mexico negotiated with the United States for something remarkable — the training, right here in Texas, of the 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force.
Three hundred volunteers. And they would come to be known by a name that still carries weight: The Aztec Eagles. They arrived in Laredo in July 1944.
Three hundred men, volunteers every one of them, stepping onto Texas soil with a war still ragin' on two sides of the world. From Laredo they traveled to Randolph Field in San Antonio. Then, in August, they relocated to Foster Field — right here in Victoria.
That's where the work really began. Training at Foster Field and at nearby auxiliary fields, learning to fly and fight in ways that would matter when the time came. October 1944 — graduation.
The squadron deployed to Pocatello Air Base up in Idaho. But the weather had other ideas, and the unit returned to Texas — to Majors Field in Greenville. Then down to Brownsville for final aerial gunnery practice.
Texas had shaped these men every step of the way. Now, getting this squadron into actual combat — that took some pushing. Mexico's President Manuel Ávila Camacho wanted these men deployed to the Pacific.
Part of it was his admiration for U.S. General Douglas MacArthur. But part of it was something deeper.
He spoke of helping to liberate what he called a people with — and these are his words — a continuity of idiom, history and traditions. That's not just military strategy. That's a president carrying a sense of shared humanity into the calculus of war.
April 1945. The Aztec Eagles arrived in the Philippines. They joined the U.S. 58th Fighter Group of the Fifth Fighter Command, Fifth Air Force.
And then they flew. Ninety-six combat missions. Successful attacks on Japanese forces, mission after mission.
Think about what that is. The only Mexican military unit to see overseas combat during the entire war. Three hundred volunteers who left home, trained in the Texas heat from Laredo to San Antonio to Victoria to Greenville to Brownsville, crossed an ocean, and flew ninety-six times into the fight.
The marker calls them a source of pride for two neighboring nations. I'd say that's about right. The Aztec Eagles didn't just fly for Mexico.
They flew for something those two countries built together — right here in Texas.
What the marker says
Following the 1941 Japanese attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during World War II, the nation of Mexico severed diplomatic relations with the Axis powers (Japan, Germany, Italy). In May 1942, German U-boats sank several of the country's oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a declaration of war against the Axis nations. Following the use of defensive patrols for enemy submarines, Mexico negotiated with the U.S. for the training in Texas of the 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force. The unit became known as The Aztec Eagles. Arriving in Laredo in July 1944, the 300 volunteers traveled to Randolph Field, San Antonio, before relocating to Foster Field, Victoria, in August. Training took place here and at nearby auxiliary fields. After graduation in October 1944, the squadron deployed to Pocatello Air Base in Idaho but returned to Texas (Majors Field, Greenville) due to bad weather. The unit later reported to Brownsville for final aerial gunnery practice. Mexico's President Manuel Ávila Camacho pushed for the squadron's deployment to the Pacific, partly for his admiration of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, but also because he felt it could help liberate what he termed a people with "a continuity of idiom, history and traditions." The squadron arrived in the Phillipines in April 1945, joining the U.S. 58th Fighter Group of the Fifth Fighter Command, Fifth Air Force. During its service, the unit conducted many successful attacks on Japanese forces, flying 96 combat missions. The only Mexican military unit to see overseas combat during the war, The Aztec Eagles remain a source of pride for two neighboring nations. Texas in World War II - 2007