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N0KFQ > TODAY 19.03.16 16:16l 38 Lines 1585 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 88142_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Mar 19
Path: IW8PGT<IW7BFZ<I3XTY<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 160319/1415Z 88142@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1916
First U.S. air combat mission begins
Eight Curtiss "Jenny" planes of the First Aero Squadron take off
from Columbus, New Mexico, in the first combat air mission in
U.S. history. The First Aero Squadron, organized in 1914 after
the outbreak of World War I, was on a support mission for the
7,000 U.S. troops who invaded Mexico to capture Mexican
revolutionary Pancho Villa.
On March 9, 1916, Villa, who opposed American support for Mexican
President Venustiano Carranza, led a band of several hundred
guerrillas across the border on a raid of the town of Columbus,
New Mexico, killing 17 Americans. On March 15, under orders from
President Woodrow Wilson, U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing
launched a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture Villa. Four
days later, the First Aero Squadron was sent into Mexico to scout
and relay messages for General Pershing.
Despite numerous mechanical and navigational problems, the
American fliers flew hundreds of missions for Pershing and gained
important experience that would later be used by the pilots over
the battlefields of Europe. However, during the 11-month mission,
U.S. forces failed to capture the elusive revolutionary, and
Mexican resentment over U.S. intrusion into their territory led
to a diplomatic crisis. In late January 1917, with President
Wilson under pressure from the Mexican government and more
concerned with the war overseas than with bringing Villa to
justice, the Americans were ordered home.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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