The focus of the Punitive Expedition now changed from actively seeking out Pancho Villa to a more defensive position of protecting the troops from Carranza's forces. A new enemy, boredom, now tormented the troops. During the warmer months, the troops faced an almost daily dose of dust storms and swarms of flies. Organized recreation was virtually nonexistent for the men on duty in Mexico. In the absence of a USO or YMCA, soldiers organized baseball games, boxing matches, and hunting expeditions. Gambling was also another diversion for the troops since they had nowhere to spend their army pay. As long as no disorder resulted from the gambling, Pershing and his staff made little effort to discourage it.
Another feature of the camp at Colonia Dublan were the numerous Mexican prostitutes who followed the troops. To prevent the men from leaving camp, Pershing had the prostitutes rounded up and placed under guard in a specially created barbed-wire stockade. Soldiers wishing to visit the stockade were required to show the guard on duty that they had the necessary fee that was regulated by the provost marshal. After completing business with one of the visiting ladies, a soldier was required to take a prophylactic provided by the army. The result of this strict sanitary measure was one of the lowest venereal disease rates an army has ever known.
On January 18, 1917, General Funston informed Pershing "that it was the intention of the Government to withdraw from Mexico at an early date." Pershing "recommended that the date of the beginning of the movement from Dublan, Mexico, be not later than January 28, 1917, the withdrawal to be entirely by marching, and the command to assemble at Palomas, Chihuahua, and march across the border together." The recommendation was approved, and the Punitive Expedition officially ended on the afternoon of February 5, 1917. Shortly after the withdrawal, various units of the National Guard were returned to their homes. Small forces were maintained in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to "prevent further trouble from scattered bands of outlaws"
As a token of appreciation, the United States Congress approved the issuing of the Mexican Service Badge, then the Mexican Border Service Medal. Eligibility for the Mexican Service Badge, according to War Department General Order 155, December 1917, was authorized by the President for issue "to all officers and enlisted men who are now, or may hereafter be, in the military service . . . in Mexico as members of the Vera Cruz expedition . . . in Mexico as members of the punitive or other authorized expeditions . . . those who participated in an engagement against Mexicans . . . and those who were present as members of the Mexican border patrol." Individuals not eligible for the Mexican Service Badge were authorized by Congress on July 9, 1918, to receive the Mexican Border Service Medal. Its purpose was to recognize the National Guardsmen and regular army troops mobilized to patrol the Mexican border between 1916 and 1917.
Despite its failure to capture Pancho Villa, the Mexican Punitive Expedition can be deemed a success. Secretary of War Baker praised the efforts of Pershing and his men by stating that "its objective, of course was the capture of Villa, if that could be accomplished, but its real purpose was a display of the power of the United States into a country disturbed beyond control of the constituted authorities of the Republic of Mexico as a means of controlling lawless aggregations of bandits and preventing attacks by them across the international frontier. This purpose is fully and finally accomplished."
Most important, the Mexican Punitive Expedition provided military training experience for the eleven thousand regular soldiers who made up the expedition. Pershing's experience during the Punitive Expedition and the death of Funston on February 19, 1917, made him the obvious choice as commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. Many of the same men who served with Pershing in Mexico accompanied him to France.
Hostilities in Mexico continued well after the Americans left. On March 11, 1917, Carranza was officially elected the new president of Mexico but continued to fight off overthrow attempts by Villa and Emiliano Zapata. On April 10, 1919, Carranza had Zapata assassinated. A year later Carranza himself was assassinated after fleeing Mexico City during a rebellion. Pancho Villa met a similar fate on July 20, 1923. Around the same time, the army disbanded troops stationed along the Mexican border, thus bringing to a close a turbulent period in Mexican-American relations.
Additional Sources:
htg-is.vianet.net
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil
www.probertencyclopaedia.com
www.texancultures.utsa.edu
www2.powercom.net
www.ku.edu
www.americaslibrary.gov
www.army.mil
16thinfantry-regiment.org
www.lib.msu.edu
www.hsgng.org
www.sp.utexas.edu
www.cavalry.org
