The Aztec Eagles - The Mexican Fighter Squadron that Fought Japan

WWII was near its end. Germany had just surrendered in Europe. Berlin was encircled and in ruin.

Nonetheless, the once-proud Empire of the Rising Sun, now battered and overwhelmed by the U.S. in Asia and the Pacific Ocean, still posed a threat to the Allied forces.

America was still unsure of using its secret nuclear superweapon created in the Manhattan Project.

The Battle for Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles in USMC's history, loomed on the horizon while the U.S. was about to liberate the Philippines of Japanese occupation.

It was a scorching summer day of May 1945 in the Pacific when a U.S. Air Force fighter formation was on a strike mission against a Japanese military convoy.

When the objectives were identified, a squadron of P-47 Thunderbolts swooped down on the convoy. One of these fighters broke formation and went straight towards the Japanese in a veteran maneuver.

Furiously, the lone P-47 rained down hell upon the military convoy, pouring his .50 caliber rounds into the trucks in a dangerous low-level pass that exposed it to enemy fire.

With pinpoint accuracy, the aircraft hit all of the vehicles in a single run. Leaving a trail of fire and destruction behind, the pilot of the P-47 performed a celebratory victory roll, exposing himself once again to enemy fire.

Over the intercom, a U.S. pilot shouted (QUOTE): "Look at that crazy Mexican," when he noticed the performance.

It was none other than Lt. Reynaldo Pérez Gallardo, one of the 300 impulsive and brave volunteer Mexican pilots of the Legendary "Escuadrón 201", the Aztec Eagles who went to war against the Empire of Japan during WWII.