the flew support missions in the dangerous mountains of northern Luzon, to help the guerrillas and regular troops who were fighting the Japanese soldiers who had fled there.
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"Only 10 of us are still alive," Garduno said sadly during an interview at the Hyatt Regency Orange County Hotel here during DoD's Hispanic American Heritage Month observance (in 2003)
The Mexican war hero said the Mexican Fighter Squadron 201, "El Escuadron 201," was composed of more than 300 volunteers – 36 experienced pilots and the rest ground crewmen. The ground crewmen were electricians, mechanics, radiomen, and armament – "all the specialties that are required for a typical fighter squadron," the colonel said.
The Aztec Eagles were attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces 5th Air Force's 58th Fighter Group during the liberation of the main Philippine island of Luzon in the summer of 1945.
The pilots flew P-47D "Thunderbolt" single-seat fighter aircraft carrying out tactical air support missions. "We flew close air support missions for American and Filipino infantry troops on the ground, and had to hit where we saw a smoke bomb go off," Garduno said. "Otherwise, we could have hit friendly troops, because the difference in distance was about 300 yards between the enemy and the friendly troops.
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