From a 1916 Mexican Civil War between Mexican President Carranza and his rival, Pancho Villa, Pancho Villa’s guerrilla’s attacked a U.S. Army garrison at Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent expeditionary forces to assist the Mexican government in apprehending Villa, as well as sending 75,000 U.S. National Guardsmen to help police the U.S. border. The Iowa National Guard was assigned to duty on the Mexican border near Brownsville, Texas from 1916 to early 1917.
Tom Gehring has graciously allowed us to display photos of when his grandfather, John Cope, served from Ida County in the Iowa National Guard in Brownsville, TX, 1916-1917. [Click on the photos to enlarge.] |
