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The Forgotten Eagles |
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SYNOPSIS After almost two centuries of strained political and military relations between the United States and Mexico, an active coalition was created in 1942 with the establishment of North American treaties which included the formation of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force, Squadron 201. Know as the Aztec Eagles, Squadron 201 was organized by President Manuel Avila Camacho with Mexican ground crews and pilots and with the coordination of U.S. equipment and training personnel under lend-lease provisions and other joint agreements. It ultimately became an integral unit of the U.S. 5th Air Force in the Southwest Pacific theater of operations. With P-47 fighter aircraft bearing their own national insignia, some three hundred volunteers fought against the Japanese forces on at least 59 combat missions in the Philippines and Taiwan. Upon their return to Mexico after being the first military unit to serve beyond Mexico’s borders, the squadron was honored by the governments of the United States, Mexico and The Philippines.
This cooperation of three sovereign nations was a
step of vast importance on both diplomatic and personal levels and it
produced a strong relationship and a mutually celebrated victory. |
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