When most of you think of World War II, you probably don't think of Mexico, though this
vast Latin American country contributed labour and lives to the Allied cause, and Mexican
sacrifices certainly don't get the attention they deserve. Here, on The Front, we're all
about reviving the lesser-known stories of war, and in this video, we're reviving the
story of Mexico in the Second World War.
Hold onto your taco
As with all things history, it's important to understand the context of the time, and
for this video, it's especially important we understand the basics of the relationship
between the US and Mexico preceding the latter's declaration of war.
If the Mexican–American war some 100 years prior wasn't enough, the fact that Mexico,
under their reformist president Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, nationalized their oil industry
just a year before the start of the war certainly made the Yanks a little crabby. Though, there's
more to it than that. Like many countries, those of Latin America had no problem trading
with ze Germans before ze Germans sunk their ships or otherwise poked the hornet's nest.
In saying that, trade routes between Europe and Latin America were disrupted by the war
in Europe before Mexico broke relations with Axis powers in the wake Pearl Harbour, so
it's fair to say they had nothing to lose making it official. Also, in light of these
same trade routes disruptions, Latin America had no choice but to rely on the US for trade,
so breaking relations with and later declaring war on Axis was as much a move to strengthen
Mexico's relations with the US as it was to stand up to the fascist threat. On Mexico's
declaration, it was announced formally after German U-boats put two Mexican oil tankers,
Potrero del Llano and the Faja de Oro, under the waves in the Gulf of Mexico in May 1942
and didn't apologize for it. See, it always involves bloody oil.
In 1942, Mexico's next president, Manuel Ávila Camacho, who took the mantel from Lázaro
Cárdenas del Río in 1940, made it compulsory for able young Mexicans to get some military
experience, though he emphasised they wouldn't have to go overseas and get shot, only contribute
to material and learn how to shoot someone else, in case the war ever made it to home
soil.
President Camacho later gave some ground, however, allowing the US military to conscript
Mexican nationals living in the US, and it's estimated that between 15,000 and 30,000 of
Mexicans in said circumstance were drafted into the US military, with some of them volunteering
their service in return of citizenship. Of these, almost 15,000 to 30,000, 1,500 became
casualties in some capacity. Also, it's important to note that between 250,000 and 500,000 Mexican
Americans — US citizens with Mexican heritage — fought for the US military in World War
II.
Wishing to place his own pieces down on the wartime strategy board, earn himself a seat
in the post-war negotiations, and keep Mexican civilians invested in the war, President Camacho
mustered the Águilas Aztecas or the "Aztec Eagles," the sole fighting arm in what became
the Mexican Expeditionary Force, in July 1944. As we've covered in a previous video on its
contribution to the war, Brazil was the only other Latin American country to muster an
expeditionary force.
Back to Mexico, the Aztec Eagles, known officially as the 201st Fighter Squadron, was — you
guessed it — an air force fighter squadron, and it was Mexico's only expeditionary unit
to fight alongside the Allies in the Second World War. While the squadron was composed
of 307 volunteers, only 30 to 31 of them were pilots, while the remaining 270 were ground
support crew.
On the 24th of July 1944, the Aztec Eagles started training in a US airbase in Texas
and continued training at that and various other bases for around three months before
moving on to Majors Field for advanced combat training. By February 1945, the squadron had
graduated from Majors Field, and in March, the unit was en route to the Philippines,
arriving in Manila at the end of April and being assigned to the US Fifth Air Force's
58th Fighter Group, which was based elsewhere on the island of Luzon.
From there, the squadron was in the air quite a bit, first in borrowed craft and then in
Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolts, totalling over 1,900 hours of flight time and flying
in over 90 combat missions. Of those 90 missions, 43 were ground support missions for the US
25th Infantry Division, 37 were additional training missions, four were fighter sweeps,
and just one was a dive-bombing mission. While fighting in the Philippines against the Japanese,
five Aztec Eagles pilots lost their lives — bear in mind this was around one-sixth
of the squadron's pilots! — and a further three perished in training accidents. Despite
this, the Aztec Eagles put some 30,000 Japanese "out of action," though this wasn't just the
pilots; those ground support troops — they got some blood on their hands too.
In 2003, retired Aztec Eagles pilot Carlos Garduño Núñez was part of Asociacion Mexicana
de Veteranos II Guerra Mundial or the "Mexican Association of World War II Veterans," which
by that year had just ten living members. In an interview with American Forces Press
Service reporter Rudi Williams, Garduño said, "I joined the squadron of Aztec Eagles because
as a professional military man, I was dedicated to serving my country [...]. Professional
men have to accept the call to duty."
Garduño also noted, "In those days, Mexico still had a tremendous resentment toward the
United States for the Mexican War [...] and [...] the American occupation of Veracruz
[...]. So about 90 per cent [...] of Mexico was against cooperation with the United States
[...]. As small as Mexico's contribution was compared to the big nations, it was very significant.
[...] [R]egardless of past conflicts we had with the United States, the important thing
is to be together [as we were] in the Second World War. Unity, cooperation and integrity
for our beliefs in freedom are the important thing."
Miguel Moreno Arreola, another Aztec Eagles veteran concurred, saying, "[W]e're very proud
to have served with the American veterans in World War II."
While the Aztec Eagles are deserving of far more attention than we have time for in this
video, two of Mexico's greatest contributions to the Allied cause were its labour efforts
under the bracero program and its efforts in what came to be known as the "Mexican Miracle."
The bracero program was an initiative of the August 1942 Mexican Farm Labor Agreement between
the US and Mexico which basically allowed Mexican labourers to work on farms in the
US for a whopping 30 cents an hour... without having to worry about being drafted into the
US military. Some 300,000 Mexicans laboured in the US in 1942 alone, though the program
actually continued for almost twenty years after the war, and this, of course, gave rise
to some pretty controversial issues.
As for the "Mexican Miracle," Mexico stepped up its game to provide more cadmium, copper,
graphite, lead, mercury, and zinc to the US than any other country in Latin America, and
this raised Mexico's industry to unprecedented levels. It was both a "miracle" for the US,
who were sorely in need of raw materials, and Mexico, which, under President Camacho,
was able to pay off foreign debts, pay workers more, and otherwise improve Mexico's economy.
While it was indeed "jumpstarted" in World War II, the "Mexican Miracle" was realistically
a period of economic growth lasting from the 1940s to 1970.
Mexicans worked for and died for the Allies, but it was Mexico's cooperation with the US
which mustn't be forgotten, especially given the tension between Mexico and the US today.
Up to 30,000 Mexicans fought alongside US soldiers under the US military in World War
II. Up to 500,000 US soldiers with Mexican heritage fought for their old land and new.
Mexican pilots touched wings with US pilots all through the Philippines, and those Mexican
pilots, at least — veterans like Carlos Garduño Núñez and Miguel Moreno Arreola
— were proud to have done so. Despite the controversies of the bracero program, Mexicans
still answered the call, and without Mexican industry, the US may never have been able
to sustain its voracious military production.
Though what do you think? Were you aware Mexico participated in World War II? Do you think
Mexican contributions weren't all that significant? Do you think the bracero program caused more
problems than it solved? Please share your thoughts down in the comments.