Pancho Villa
José Arango grew up during the presidency of Francisco Madero Hernandez, who was a hero to him. He saw him as proof that people from the greater Mexico region can rise above simply being 2nd class citizens in the United States. After a troubled adolescence instilled with a strong sense of patriotism, Arango decided to buckle down and turn his life around. At the outbreak of the Colombian-American War, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. military, but was turned down when a recruitment officer was made aware of his criminal record. While he could not deny the officer’s reasoning, he had to find another way to serve that would put him under less scrutiny.
He found his answer in the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, then known as Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. He joined on June 2nd, 1900, applying under the name Francisco Villa, the surname of his grandfather. While in the Rough Riders, Villa had a chance encounter with the one person that would shape his career the most; Francisco Ignacio Madero, the son of his boyhood idol. Madero, who was referred to often as “Sergeant Iggy” by his men, took Villa under his wing, as he took a liking to the resourceful, albeit rough, recruit. After Villa rescued Madero from an encirclement in Panama, the two became practically inseparable for the rest of the conflict . It was Iggy who would give Villa his nickname of “Pancho”.
After the war, Madero finished his graduate degree, and strongly pushed Villa, who had become like a brother to him, to attend school. He also arranged a meeting between him and Former President Hernandez, who found the young man fascinating. He paid to have Villa’s documentation altered, formally separating the young criminal from the war hero he had become. He also offered to help fund Villa’s education, in part due to his gratitude for saving his son’s life. Hernandez later elaborated on the move in his memoir, explaining that he saw in Pancho the perfect right hand man for his son on his path into politics. This foresight rang true after his passing, as when Ignacio was elected president in 1917, it was Villa who he appointed as his secretary of war. While it was not the most successful presidency, Secretary Villa was well liked in Washington, and had a better reputation as a politician than he had as a soldier.
Villa’s twilight years were spent largely in the military industrial sector, working as a special lobby consultant for Mexican munition companies like Mondragón Balística. At the onset of the Great War, he immediately requested a special military position, in spite of now being in his early 60s. The plea was answered with a truly fated posting by President Rockefeller, recommissioning the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, and elevating Villa to a Colonel. Villa drills his troops not only on the techniques he once used against Colombia, but also those he used in his youthful days of mayhem. Today, La Patrulla Pancho is an elite motorcycle cavalry regiment, ready to raid America’s enemies at a moment’s notice.
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