| Tango01 | 02 Nov 2017 12:53 p.m. PST |
…. Little-Known Heroes of the Italian Campaign of WWII. "There are several unique WWII units that have been well documented. The stories of all the African-American Tuskegee Airmen and the all Japanese-American unit of the 442nd Infantry can be found in books and films. Now the men who served in the U.S. Army's all Mexican American infantry unit is finally receiving recognition for their service. An original National Guard unit was composed entirely of Mexican-Americans from barrios in Texas. The men who served in the 36th Division, 141st Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company E were involved in some of most crucial battles of WWII during the Italian Campaign. The 141st Regiment traces their roots back to the Texas Revolution and is the longest serving unit of the Texas National Guard. The 36th Division or T-Patchers as they were known spearheaded the Allied landing at Salerno Italy. The unit saw action at Mount Rotondo, San Pietro and one of the most controversial and deadliest battles of WWII, the crossing of the Rapido River. In a span of forty-eight hours, the 36th Division lost over two thousand men at the Rapido River in January of 1944. It became so controversial that after the war a congressional hearing was held to see if actions should be taken on those who were in command of a unit that lost so many American lives…."
Main page
link
Amicalement
Armand
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| Disco Joe | 02 Nov 2017 1:33 p.m. PST |
Why is this also posted to the Mexican-American War Message Board? About 100 years difference between the two. |
| Choctaw | 02 Nov 2017 1:41 p.m. PST |
Yeah Armand, you should be shot for cross-posting. lol That is a great article on my fellow Texans. Those men were fighters. Thanks for the post…uh, posts. |
| Rudysnelson | 02 Nov 2017 2:57 p.m. PST |
I think they went through training at Camp Shelby MS like the Japanese-Americans and negro ground units. |
 Legion 4  | 02 Nov 2017 3:39 p.m. PST |
Didn't know about the 141. Thanks Tango ! One of my best buddies in the US Army was Pablo Martinez, from NM. He probably knew about the 141. He liked history too. He was only about 5'5" and Airborne Ranger qualified … I could trust him with my life, money, house, car, etc. Just not beer and females !  |
combatpainter  | 02 Nov 2017 3:50 p.m. PST |
More like America's invasion and unprovoked occupation of Mexican sovereign territory. |
| Tango01 | 03 Nov 2017 10:21 a.m. PST |
A votre service mes amis!. (smile) Amicalement
Armand |
| Bill N | 03 Nov 2017 4:19 p.m. PST |
You are confusing the Mexican American War for the Texas War of Independence CP. Dissatisfaction with the Mexican government in Texas went beyond the Anglo settlers, many of whom were invited in by the Spanish or Mexicans. A number of Tejanos, Mexicans who lived in Texas joined the American settlers during the TWI to fight for independence. They helped drive Mexican troops from San Antonio in 1835. Some participated in defending the Alamo during the siege. Others fought at San Jacinto. |
| ancientsgamer | 03 Nov 2017 10:16 p.m. PST |
Combatpainter, well that's glossing over some facts including claims of Texas sovereign territory by Mexico😉 |
| Lion in the Stars | 03 Nov 2017 10:23 p.m. PST |
I could trust him with my life, money, house, car, etc. Just not beer and females ! Oh, I'm pretty sure you could trust him to drink all the beer and flirt with all the females in sight! I knew a few guys like that… |
| Rudysnelson | 04 Nov 2017 6:12 a.m. PST |
The first Filibusters into Mexican territory, before the Texan revolt, were all invited there by different factions fighting for local or national power. The first Americans to Texas were also invited there.
The loss of California like Texas was part of a revolt by both Anglo-Americans and ethnic Mexicans.
The Filibuster operations post 1849 were never authorized by the USA government. |
| Legion 4 | 04 Nov 2017 9:13 a.m. PST |
Lion …  |
| Tango01 | 04 Nov 2017 11:00 a.m. PST |
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ScottWashburn  | 06 Nov 2017 12:02 p.m. PST |
One has to wonder if the army provided all Mexican-American replacements to the unit? Somehow I doubt it. Most National Guard divisions didn't retain their regional characteristics very long. So after losing all but 27 men at the Rapido, I imagine the company looked pretty generic and multi-ethnic after that. Not taking anything away from them, just sayin'. |
| number4 | 08 Nov 2017 7:15 p.m. PST |
Scott: all replacements came through the infamous "repple depple" individual reinforcement system whereby units stayed in the front line and if the request 5 riflemen, the next 5 men in the pipeline got assigned to them. A replacement could show up with the chow ration and dusk, be assigned to a foxhole and be killed in a mortar barrage a few hours later before his squad leader even knew his name |
