Posted on 03/19/2024 4:36:01 PM PDT by Mariner
Good on your grandfather.
you gave me a nudge to chase my g’father’s military records.
I have photos of him in uniform with his brother-in-law.
I have photos of him in his western gear.
Family story is he was a cook on a wagon train.
I question some(a lot) of the family stories.
He was born in 1896, not sure how many wagon trains there were by then.
He was also real young to be chasin Villa in 1912 - he would have been 16.
As an aside.
I never held it against Hillary when she claimed her mom told her she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary.
Turns out, Sir Edmund climbed Mt. Everest years after she was born.
If Hillary was telling the truth about the story, who fact checks their mom?
I gave her the benefit of the doubt, as I know how the stories in my own family got discombobulated.
The stories of my dad’s service during WW2 were way wrong as I recently chased and got some of his service records.
If i run across anything, I’ll post back here.
Thanks for the history lesson.
Just after Mar 9th, 1916, A US Army major named Frank Tompkins received permission from his CO to mount up a troop of 32Four US cavalry to pursue 400 battered Villistas across the Mexican border after the Columbus raid, where about 70 of Villa’s men had been killed by US Army troops and civilians. When they encountered Villa’s rear guard, established to cover their retreat, they halted and began picking of Villa riders with their 1903 Springfields from up to 1500 yards away.
Tompkins sent a note to his CO to continue in hot pursuit after the Villistas. He received it and chased them FIFTEEN MILES into Mexico, reinforced by another 27 riders. Tompkins wondered why they didn’t stand and fight, outnumbering his force greatly, but he decided to take full advantage of their hesitancy. They killed between 75-100 of Villa’s men, and Tompkins and one of his men received minor bullet wounds.
Tompkins CO, Col. Slocum, recommended Tompkins for the Medal of Honor, but the award was downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross, which still ain’t exactly chopped liver.
Yeah I lived near a restaurant named Pancho Villa when I was a kid.
Amazing story. The defense of Columbia from people starting from asleep in bed was amazing.
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