How Mexico’s Aztec Eagles soared for America in World War II
Photo: U.S. Army Air Force. Public Domain
On June 1, 1945, in the last days of World War II, a formation of four P-47D Thunderbolts maneuvered into position for a dive-bomb attack against a Japanese ammunition depot in the Philippine island of Luzon. At the controls were four Mexican pilots from Squadron 201, the Aztec Eagles.
Because the depot was nestled into three high cliffs and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, the mission was potentially suicidal. The depot’s protected position meant that the pilots would have to dive bomb from high altitudes, at a nearly vertical angle, and then pull their heavy planes up and out after they dispatched their bombs. To make matters more challenging, none of the pilots had ever conducted dive-bombing outside of training. Their baptism would come under live fire from a seasoned and deadly Japanese enemy. The slightest mistake could leave them destroyed by anti-aircraft fire, or crashing into the Pacific Ocean at 350 miles an hour.
One of Squadron 201’s pilots, Col. Carlos Garduno Nunez, explained, “First I dropped my bombs and I got out straight away, grazing the sea.” The g-force at the end of the steep dive caused Garduno to blackout. Only when his vision returned, and his plane was rising again, did he realize the mission had been a success. Attacks like that won the respect of American soldiers.
Squadron 201 became the first and only Mexican military unit to fight outside the Mexican Republic.
It may seem surprising that Mexico would enter WWII to fight with its cousins to the north. In 1944, even with most of the world aligning against the Axis powers, Mexico’s allegiance to the United States was far from a sure thing.
"In those days," Col. Garduno said, "Mexico still had a tremendous resentment toward the United States for the Mexican War of 1846 and 1847 and for the American occupation of Veracruz in 1914 during the Mexican Civil War. So about 90% of the population of Mexico was against cooperation with the United States during World War II.”
That sentiment changed over two weeks in mid-May 1942, when German submarines launched separate attacks against two Mexican oil tankers off the coast of Florida, killing at least 20 Mexican sailors. Adding urgency to the situation, the Mexican army had learned of a Japanese plan to invade the southwestern United States by landing troops on the beaches of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico, and pushing north into Arizona. On May 28, 1942, Mexican President Avila Camacho declared war on the Axis powers, and Squadron 201 was born.
Squadron 201
The men of Squadron 201 left Mexico for the United States on July 24, 1944. After a brief stop in Laredo, Texas, they continued on to Randolph Field in San Antonio for flight training with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). After medical examinations and weapons and flight proficiency tests, they received another five months of extensive training in armament, communications, or engineering, as well as combat tactics, formation flying, and gunnery.
Attached to the U.S. Army’s 58th Fighter Squadron during the liberation of Luzon in the summer of 1945, the Aztec Eagles flew P-47D Thunderbolt single-seat fighter aircraft on tactical air support missions.
Noted for their bravery and skill, and supported by more than 250 ground crewmen, the 31 pilots of the Aztec Eagles flew some 90 combat missions, logging nearly 2,000 flight hours and dropping nearly 1,500 bombs. They also flew 53 ground support missions for the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, four fighter sweeps over Formosa, and dive-bombing missions.
U.S. Gen. Henry H. Arnold credits Squadron 201 with putting 30,000 Japanese troops out of combat and destroying enemy buildings, vehicles, anti-aircraft and machine-guns emplacements, and ammunition depots.
After the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the beginning of August 1945, hostilities wound down quickly around Manila. On Sept. 25, 1945, the Aztec Eagles dedicated a monument in Manila to the five pilots they had lost. Less than a month later, Squadron 201 left the Pacific for good.
Returning to Mexico City on Nov. 18, President Camacho hailed them as heroes in front of massive crowds that had turned out to see them. “I can vividly remember our welcome home to Mexico,” Capt. Luis Pratt said in 2003. “As we traveled through the towns toward Mexico City, we were greeted by cheering crowds and confetti and marching bands.”
In addition to winning the admiration and appreciation of their own countrymen, the unit brought tremendous American and international respect to the Mexican air force. Gen. Douglas MacArthur recognized their service and, in 2004, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo awarded them with the Philippine Legion of Honor, complete with the rank of Legionnaire.
Because of its contributions to the war effort, Mexico received one of the first rotating seats on the United Nations Security Council alongside the permanent members (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and China).
Each year, in February, military members and their families gather at a monument in Mexico City to pay tribute to the pilots and service members of Squadron 201 of the Fuerza Aerea Expedicionaria Mexicana, the Aztec Eagles, who played a critical role in the U.S. victory in the Philippines during World War II. Squadron 201 is still regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest military units of all time.
Today, around 10 or so members of Squadron 201 are still alive. Col. Garduno recently turned 100. With the unit’s numbers dwindling, the Aztec Eagles now likely receive more attention in the United States than in Mexico.
The few remaining members do what they can to keep the memory alive. In addition to the gathering each February, "We all get together for International Remembrance Day on Nov. 10," Garduno said. "It's just a very important day for us."
For more information and some great photographs of the Aztec Eagles of Squadron 201, see the following articles:
SQUAD 201 by Hector Davila
https://www.vuela.com.mx/am/articulos/8154-escuadron-201.html
When the Mexican Air Force Went to War Alongside America by Richard Parker
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/magazine/world-war-ii-mexican-air-force.html
'Aztec Eagles' A Dying Breed; Only 10 of 300 Still Living by Rudi Williams
https://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=28282
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Each year, in February, military members and their families gather at a monument in Mexico City to pay tribute to the pilots and service members of Squadron 201 of the Fuerza Aerea Expedicionaria Mexicana, the Aztec Eagles, who played a critical role in the U.S. victory in the Philippines during World War II. Squadron 201 is still regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest military units.