Antonio started a great military career, and he was from the first generation of Pilots who had a formal training with the Mexican Army and US Air Force. He graduated with honors and his generation was called “Los Penicilinos” (The penicillin’s). He was ranked on the 5th place from the Air Force School from 5,000 students.
By that time, World War II was on its apogee and German submarines launched an attack against Mexican oil tankers that were providing fuel and materials to the Allies. These attacks eventually caused the Mexican government to declare war on Germany; Mexico was involved on the war and was part of the Alliance, so they needed to send forces to join the battle front. Antonio was promoted to Captain and because of his high qualifications he was part of the leading team of the “The Aztec Eagles” the squad that is historically recognized as the "201".
He was trained at Majors Field in Greenville, Texas on November, 1944. Here, he and other pilots received advanced training in combat air tactics "Dog Fight", formation flying and gunnery. I remember the many big brown books he kept as beloved treasures. I liked to read them hidden on a closet to avoid being discovered… The men were honored with graduation ceremonies on February, 1945 and presented with their battle flag. This marked the first time Mexican troops were trained for overseas combat. Under the orders of General Doug McArthur, he flew in several missions flying from Cozumel Island to the Philippines. The losses where 5 as he remembered, “one was shot down, another crashed and two ran out of fuel and died on the sea”
I remember once, he shared with me, that they got specific orders to avoid combat or conflict as much as possible… and he did it, so he and his squad returned with no loses, and “It was like a pleasant vacation trip…” and at his arrival he, his team, and all the squad received a medal from the Mexican President… and before they where able to fly back to the war front, the war ended with the Iroshima atomic detonation…
By that time, Antonio was married with Guadalupe Inclán, and they procreated their first born, Marco Antonio. After a short marriage characterized by two colliding feisty tempers, he divorced Guadalupe, and by his mother recommendation, he meet Alicia Carrasco…
Sometimes we qualify success on someone’s life because of their careers, I know many people who are highly successful on some aspect of their life but on other areas, they have a really low performance. My dad, he was a very intelligent man, I remember him reading always, studying, researching, and he was a hard worker, always. Later I’ll share about some areas in which he was unable to reach his full potential, and the consequences he faced, and eventually all of us suffered because of that.
Now we will turn the history to my mother’s family side… and see what happened when those two lives meet and started a new journey…
This history will continue!
OH MY GOSH! Your life is an amazing open-book. And you even have pictures of this legacy with your papa? Amazing post, Arturo. Rich in legacy and history. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks... I'm blessed because God gave me concience to see and learn from my roots, to deliver a better legacy for the next generations...
ReplyDeleteDeja te peltico que de vez en cuando yo leo a mi papá lo que tu esribes... Y hoy fue uno de esos dÃas y el cunta la leyenda asÃ: Un 10 de mayo decidio festejar a 2 mamas y las llevo a Acapulco y esas 2 mamas fueron mi abuela Maruca y mi tÃa Sol, y estando en la playa se encontraron por casualidad con Antonio, y mi tÃa lo reconocio y le pregunto si era hijo de la tÃa Mertha y dijo que sà y asi empezaron a platicar y total que el tio Antonio las invito a cenar en la noche. Y mi papá como andaba de enamoreado( ya sabras) se fue con unas chicas de Leon Guanajuato... Y de ahi corrio la historia.
ReplyDeleteNunca me vino a la idea de como era my abuelo !! pero lastima que lo supe demasiado tarde porque la neta me ubiera tan gustado conoserlo = ) !!
ReplyDeleteA lot off kisses ... Nayeli
i love it was awsome. love,sol
ReplyDeleteHola Arturo,
ReplyDeleteQue increÃble historia la de tu padre, que irónico; tan cerca y tan lejos y no saber algo de él. Felicidades por ese proceso que viviste de saber perdonar y aceptar todo lo maravilloso que implica nuestra identidad e historias personales.
Fijate que el abuelo paterno de mi esposa murió en un buque tanque (Juan Casiano) que abastecÃa combustible a EU durante la 2a Guerra y tengo algunas fotos de él, del buque y algunas cosas personales que he ido juntando. Incluso su nombre está en Nueva York, ya que el buque fue hundido frente a las costas de Georgia el 19-X-1944, como caÃdo en servicio.
Mis hijos (3) conocen las historias de mis abuelos e incluso han visitado sus tumbas y reconocen sus propios nombres con los de sus abuelos logrando un sentimiento de identidad muy importante.
Un abrazo
that was amasing,
ReplyDeletei thuogt my dads dad was in a normal war.not in world war2!
love,sol