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Originally Posted by Kongo Otto
We can only hope that the U.S. and the Allies will more publicly acknowledge Mexico's assistance during WW II.
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Let us also never forget the day L. Ron Hubbard, then commanding a light subchaser based out of Oregon on its maiden voyage (to San Diego, for rebasing), fired on the Mexican island of Matagordo, causing a minor diplomatic brouhaha. Hubbard had floated several targets off the coast and had his crew fire on them for practice, the rounds crossing over sections of unoccupied beach in the process. Technically, Hubbard had fired on the sovereign soil of an American ally.
Hubbard had gotten lost on the way to San Diego and anchored off Matagordo thinking it was a US possession. This incident, combined with a previous screw-up just days before, cost Hubbard his combat command.
Even more amusing was the aforementioned previous incident.
Hubbard's sonarman detected what turned out to be a magnetic shoal. In classic "1941" war-scare fashion, Lt. Cmdr. Hubbard not only expended his supply of depth charges but reloaded twice from local munitions tenders, while also managing to call in several other coast-defense vessels and even a couple of blimps. During the three-day "battle" a small fleet with air support was thus engaged blasting the bejeezus out of absolutely nothing.
To the day he died, Hubbard maintained that he sank at least two Japanese subs during that battle, although his own immediate claims as noted in his captain's log show no clear evidence of such beyond a claimed "oil slick" that no one else in the mini-fleet saw. -:hmm: