"The last time U.S. troops marched into Mexico back in the mid-1800s, our neighbor lost half of its territory in a land grab."
--Ruben Navarrette column,
on this page Thursday
What a joy it is to be read! And by you all, who are apparently avid readers. We note there are history buffs out there, doubtless as familiar with Pancho Villa and John J. Pershing as with other less flamboyant figures who blister the pages of this country's historical record.
We allowed a sentence to get through Thursday that completely ignored the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916 and 1917, during the Mexican Revolution of that decade. How does one forget a military campaign that not only included Black Jack Pershing but also a second lieutenant named George Patton?
But, yes indeed, thousands of American troops did chase Pancho Villa into Mexican territory during the campaign, and it twarn't no secret. The Americans tied into it with Mexican troops, too. As the books say, tensions were high.
And the Americans never did catch Pancho Villa. He would die a few years later in an assassination. Somebody in his crew noted his last words: "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something!"
Except if we wrote that, we might need another correction. Because Pancho Villa was hit with such large-caliber weapons, and in the head yet, that he probably didn't have enough time to think anything, much less say it. But that doesn't make for as good a story.
A big thank you to those who read this column, and let us know when we've taken a wrong step. It's a pleasure to know y'all are out there. As an old editor once told us, never fear running a correction on the editorial page. It'll be the best-read thing in the section.
Now, back to the routine . . . .
Editorial on 01/10/2020