Postcards from Pancho Villa - Part 2 of 3

EL PASO, TEXAS (January 18, 1917) -- By the time winter weather hit El Paso in ernest, it was clear to the men of the Michigan National Guard that the excitement of chasing Pancho Villa below the border was unlikely to result in active service. Joseph L. Bachus and the men of the 31st Michigan Infantry Regiment expected orders to return home, and those orders reached the men in the later half of January 1917. On January 18th, the men struck their tents, cleaned up the camp, and packed their gear with only a handful of postcards to provide glimpses of the excitement and savagery of the Mexican Revolution that was unfolding below the Rio Grande.

Here are a few more of those postcard glimpses that Joe brought home in his duffle bag --

9. Gen. and Mrs. Villa (1-1-1914, W.M. Horne Co. El Paso, 600)

10. Triple Execution in Mexico (W.M Horne Co, Copyrighted, El Paso, Tex.)

11. Villa's troops in action (Kavanaugh's War Postals)

12. Mexican Soldiers on the Border (Kavanaugh's War Postals)

The Michigan Guardsmen and other Guard units that served on the Mexican Border during the Pancho Villa Affair may have been disappointed by the lack of direct combat action, but their efforts probably kept the Mexican Revolution from spilling across the border with much energy. And even though Gen. Pershing's wild goose chase through Northern Mexico was unsuccessful in capturing or killing Villa, the United States Army and the supporting Guard units began to sharpen their skills and modernize their equipment -- a process that would prove beneficial in the coming months as America entered the Great War.

NEXT TIME: "Postcards from Pancho Villa: Part 3 of 3"

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