Eastern Kentucky University
On Eagles Wings: The Training and Effectiveness of the 201st Mexican Fighter Squadron in World War II
Institution
Eastern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Todd Hartch
Abstract
This paper examined the recorded events and personalities of the 201st Fighter Squadron, the only Mexican military unit of any kind to serve outside the Republic of Mexico. It was the intent of the author to shed new light on a virtually unknown unit of WWII, and to add to the discipline of History by revealing the trials and triumphs of a relatively unrecorded unit. Since these men were and still are the only veterans of foreign war in Mexico, it was the hope of the author to chronicle the lives and exploits of these men as they served in the Pacific, and to attest to the significance of that service. It was also the aim of the author to record some of the limitations and prejudices facing a non-American unit deployed with American counterparts. The paper focused on the insufficient training of the unit as a token response to the Mexican Government. The author contended that most, if not all of the losses of the unit while in the Pacific could be attributed to the lack of adequate training in the initial phase of the unit’s formation. The author found that the unit was, to the American military, merely a token to appease both the American and Mexican governments. In view of today’s coalition efforts in the Persian Gulf, This paper is especially significant in that it exposes some of the discrepancies facing a Non-American unit serving under American military command.
On Eagles Wings: The Training and Effectiveness of the 201st Mexican Fighter Squadron in World War II
This paper examined the recorded events and personalities of the 201st Fighter Squadron, the only Mexican military unit of any kind to serve outside the Republic of Mexico. It was the intent of the author to shed new light on a virtually unknown unit of WWII, and to add to the discipline of History by revealing the trials and triumphs of a relatively unrecorded unit. Since these men were and still are the only veterans of foreign war in Mexico, it was the hope of the author to chronicle the lives and exploits of these men as they served in the Pacific, and to attest to the significance of that service. It was also the aim of the author to record some of the limitations and prejudices facing a non-American unit deployed with American counterparts. The paper focused on the insufficient training of the unit as a token response to the Mexican Government. The author contended that most, if not all of the losses of the unit while in the Pacific could be attributed to the lack of adequate training in the initial phase of the unit’s formation. The author found that the unit was, to the American military, merely a token to appease both the American and Mexican governments. In view of today’s coalition efforts in the Persian Gulf, This paper is especially significant in that it exposes some of the discrepancies facing a Non-American unit serving under American military command.