• Greenbrier Cemetery
  • Wilson Chapel Methodist Church
  • Marian Anderson High School
  • Alfred M. Hallmark
  • No 57: Old San Antonio Road
  • Zephyr Cemetery
  • Zephyr Gospel Tabernacle
  • First Baptist Church of Zephyr
  • Military Road
  • Zephyr Presbyterian Church
  • Burkett Pecan Tree
  • Hittson Ranch
  • Callahan City Cemetery
  • Admiral Baptist Church
  • Belle Plaine Cemetery
  • Ross Cemetery
  • The Prew House
  • Brooke Smith
  • Minnie Fisher Cunningham
  • Ebenezer Baptist Church
  • Dodge
  • Site of Andrew Female College
  • Glendale Cemetery
  • Community of Fodice
  • Pegleg Crossing on the San Saba
  • B. T. Brown House
  • German Methodist Church/First Fire Station
  • Providence Church and Cemetery
  • Packsaddle Mountain
  • Homesite of W. F. Heller, Pioneer Farmer
  • The Bosque-Larios Expedition
  • No. 60 Old San Antonio Road
  • No. 56 Old San Antonio Road
  • No. 59 Old San Antonio Road
  • Texas Central Railroad
  • Center City Community
  • Orla
  • Fairview Cemetery
  • Anderson County in the Civil War
  • Leander
  • Oveta Culp Hobby and the Women's Army Corps
  • Jacob Haller House
  • James M. Holt
  • Washington-on-the Brazos
  • Donigan House
  • Fort Worth Stock Yards Entrance
  • Smithfield Baptist Church
  • Elite Cafe
  • Joseph Brooks Home
  • Phair Cemetery
  • Witting School
  • Pioneer Bank Building
  • Whitney Memorial Park
  • Site of Alvarado School, Church and Union Building
  • Two Sheriffs of Mason County
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
TEXAS HISTORICAL MARKERS

​201st Fighter Squadron, Mexican Expeditionary Air Force
​(The Aztec Eagles)

V
I
C
T
O
R
I
A

C
O
U
N
T
​Y
Picture
Marker No: 13906
27 x 42 Aluminum  Subject Marker
Geographic: 28.847717, -96.924240
Location: ​Victoria Regional Airport
Marker Text: ​Following the 1941 Japanese attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during World War II, the nation of Mexico severed diplomatic relations with the Axis powers (Japan, Germany, Italy). In May 1942, German U-boats sank several of the country's oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in a declaration of war against the Axis nations. Following the use of defensive patrols for enemy submarines, Mexico negotiated with the U.S. for the training in Texas of the 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force. The unit became known as The Aztec Eagles.
        Arriving in Laredo in July 1944, the 300 volunteers traveled to Randolph Field, San Antonio, before relocating to Foster Field, Victoria, in August. Training took place here and at nearby auxiliary fields. After graduation in October 1944, the squadron deployed to Pocatello Air Base in Idaho but returned to Texas (Majors Field, Greenville) due to bad weather. The unit later reported to Brownsville for final aerial gunnery practice. Mexico's President Manuel Ávila Camacho pushed for the squadron's deployment to the Pacific, partly for his admiration of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, but also because he felt it could help liberate what he termed a people with "a continuity of idiom, history and traditions."
​      The squadron arrived in the Phillipines in April 1945, joining the U.S. 58th Fighter Group of the Fifth Fighter Command, Fifth Air Force. During its service, the unit conducted many successful attacks on Japanese forces, flying 96 combat missions. The only Mexican military unit to see overseas combat during the war, The Aztec Eagles remain a source of pride for two neighboring nations. (2007) 
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Greenbrier Cemetery
  • Wilson Chapel Methodist Church
  • Marian Anderson High School
  • Alfred M. Hallmark
  • No 57: Old San Antonio Road
  • Zephyr Cemetery
  • Zephyr Gospel Tabernacle
  • First Baptist Church of Zephyr
  • Military Road
  • Zephyr Presbyterian Church
  • Burkett Pecan Tree
  • Hittson Ranch
  • Callahan City Cemetery
  • Admiral Baptist Church
  • Belle Plaine Cemetery
  • Ross Cemetery
  • The Prew House
  • Brooke Smith
  • Minnie Fisher Cunningham
  • Ebenezer Baptist Church
  • Dodge
  • Site of Andrew Female College
  • Glendale Cemetery
  • Community of Fodice
  • Pegleg Crossing on the San Saba
  • B. T. Brown House
  • German Methodist Church/First Fire Station
  • Providence Church and Cemetery
  • Packsaddle Mountain
  • Homesite of W. F. Heller, Pioneer Farmer
  • The Bosque-Larios Expedition
  • No. 60 Old San Antonio Road
  • No. 56 Old San Antonio Road
  • No. 59 Old San Antonio Road
  • Texas Central Railroad
  • Center City Community
  • Orla
  • Fairview Cemetery
  • Anderson County in the Civil War
  • Leander
  • Oveta Culp Hobby and the Women's Army Corps
  • Jacob Haller House
  • James M. Holt
  • Washington-on-the Brazos
  • Donigan House
  • Fort Worth Stock Yards Entrance
  • Smithfield Baptist Church
  • Elite Cafe
  • Joseph Brooks Home
  • Phair Cemetery
  • Witting School
  • Pioneer Bank Building
  • Whitney Memorial Park
  • Site of Alvarado School, Church and Union Building
  • Two Sheriffs of Mason County
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • New Page