Mexico remained neutral in WWI. The Germans offered Mexico a military alliance in the famous Zimmerman telegram in 1917. The Germans promised to return all U.S. land in the Southwest to Mexico after Germany won the war. Mexico declined.
In WWII, Mexico supported the allied cause but remained neutral. In early May 1942, German submarines sank two Mexican oil tankers in the Caribbean. Mexico’s protest went unanswered. On 22 May, 1942, Mexico declared war on Germany.
For the only time in the nation’s history, Mexico sent military troops to fight outside the country’s borders. Mexico assembled the 201st Fighter Squadron. The squadron counted over 300 members. Thirty-six of them were pilots. They named themselves the “Aztec Eagles”. They trained in Texas with U.S. supplied P-47 Thunderbolt fighters. In April of 1945, the combat-ready squadron arrived in the Philippines and flew along with the United States Army Air Force. Aerial combat was largely over by the time the Aztec Eagles arrived. They were assigned missions to bomb and strafe Japanese troops. Before the end of the war, the Mexican force had lost eight pilots. Five were killed in combat, and three died in training accidents.
Today the Mexican Air Force has no combat aircraft. The Aztec Eagles live on as the 201st Squadron now flies the T-6C Texan II trainer aircraft.
The Aztec Eagles were not the only Mexican contribution to the war effort. When young American men left the farms to go to war, a critical shortage of farm labor was quickly evident. In Mexico, farm labor was unaffected by the war and the country had an abundance of available farm labor. The two countries entered into the “Bracero” program. The word Bracero translates into “one who does manual labor with his hands”. It was generally applied to farm workers. The Bracero program started in 1942 when many thousands of Mexican workers were admitted into the U.S. Primarily, they harvested crops and did railroad work. At the end of the harvest season, the workers went back to Mexico to return the next Spring. The program worked well. The workers made a higher salary than they would have earned in Mexico. Additionally, the employer was required to send 10 percent of the worker’s wages to his bank in Mexico for the family. The Bracero program continued until 31 December, 1964. By the time the program ended, 4.5 million “guest workers” had worked in the U.S. It ended for a variety of reasons. Agricultural unions objected to the lower salaries being paid to the Mexicans. Human rights groups claimed widespread abuse of the workers. Some of the employers had not been sending the required 10 percent to the Mexican bank accounts. Public sentiment was beginning to see immigration as a threat.
The Mexican effort in WWII was small. There was never any threat that Germany would invade Mexico. Nonetheless, Mexicans stood shoulder to shoulder with the forces of freedom. They did their part. It may have been small in numbers, but it swelled in national pride.
“Going in one more round when you don’t think you can. That’s what makes all the difference inyour life”. Rocky Balboa, 2006
By Paul Warrick: July 8, 2026 – Great Falls, Mt
