"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime"-MARK TWAIN

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Columbus, New Mexico

 

If someone was to ask you where the first United States Army Air base was located, would you know?  Possibly Columbus, Ohio, or even Columbus, Mississippi.  I’m thinking the odds that you would say Columbus, New Mexico would be slim.  But, thanks to a guy named Pancho Villa, Columbus, New Mexico was on the cutting edge of technology back in March, 1916. There is now a state park commerating all that took place back then.

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The first use of airplanes in warfare took place in Columbus, NM.  A very small village just two miles North of the Mexican border.  Pancho Villa led the last invasion of the Continental United States by a foreign nation, and the response was much like Pearl Harbor.

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The invasion wasn’t only against the military.

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There’s a lot of interesting displays in the museum which was recently renovated and updated.

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Imagine attempting to drive one of these across the desert landscape.

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Or, taking a ride in this. The Jeffery Quad Armored Truck.  Reminded me of John Wayne, and the movie, War Wagon.

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The incorporation of all this modern technology into the military led to anothe first for Columbus.

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There’s a lot of history on display in Columbus.  The village is about thirty miles South of Deming, and the park has a really nice campground with water and electric hookups.  If staying in the campground, a visit to the museum is free.  The museum has much more than I have touched on here, but its pride and joy is this.

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A Curtis JN-3 Bi-Plane, just like those that flew from Columbus’s air strip, searching Mexico for Pancho Villa…….jc

5 comments:

  1. One of my favorite places and just a few miles from The Pink Store, just across the border. Have stayed at the Park quite a few times.

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  2. There you go again, adding places to my list. ;-)

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  3. There you go again, adding places to my list. ;-)

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  4. Another terrific "History Lesson" by our roaming Professor...thanks for sharing...Horst sends

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  5. Thanks for the tour. My grandfather was with Pershing during that time, but I don't know much about it. Will definitely add this to my places to visit!

    -- Anne

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Thanks for looking, and comments are welcome.