Tribute to a Fallen Messenger of Peace

the 94th annual memorial for fallen pilot Emilio Carranza

Every year on the second Saturday of July, members of American Legion gather in a remote spot in the Pine Barrens to perform a sacred duty.

It fulfills a promise made to the people of Mexico over ninety years ago. It is held before a monument built with pennies collected from Mexican schoolchildren to honor a fallen hero. Not a soldier, but an airman on a mission of peace and goodwill, between two neighboring countries who had warred with one another in the past.

The pilot was Captain Emilio Carranza, only 22 years old. I have written about his mission, his death, and the monument built to honor him that stands in the Pine Barrens, not far from where his body was found, but it’s worth repeating. I won’t call him a hero; I don’t have the right to judge his service in crushing rebellions. I’m sure some Mexicans consider him one, and others consider him anything but. What I can revere is the mission of peace that took his life.

After Charles Lindbergh flew from Washington D.C. to Mexico City as a gesture of goodwill between the countries, the young pilot was chosen to return the gesture. Carranza had flown solo nonstop from Juarez to Mexico City, a journey of 1200 miles, and also from San Diego to the Mexican capital, a flight of 1575. At the time, that was the third longest nonstop solo flight in history. He made it to Washington D.C. from Mexico City, and then flew on to New York City, West Point, and Massachusetts to honor some, and to be honored. His return home during inclement weather is contested. There are stories of a plot against his life, and of a telegram from Mexican War Minister insulting his honor if he did not return immediately, but no one knows why he decided to fly back during a thunderstorm. Only that he did, and that it cost the young pilot his life.

His body was found by a family of Pineys out picking huckleberries, wrapped and carried back to a general store in Chatsworth that still stands. Veterans from American Legion Post 11 in Mount Holly accompanied his body to New York, where a Mexican military procession marched with a caisson carrying him down Broadway, to a train transport to return him to Mexico.

If you’ve driven down Carranza Road through Tabernacle, into the heart of Wharton State Forest in the Pinelands National Preserve, perhaps you’ve seen the obelisk which stands alone in a clearing of well-groomed sugar sand, and wondered why it’s there. If you pulled over before reaching your campground, you could read the historical markers that tell you of Carranza, his flight, and the monument paid for by schoolchildren to honor his memory. Carved with an Aztec eagle, and an arrow pointing skyward, it reads:

Messenger of Peace

The people of Mexico Hope that your high ideals will be realized

Homage of the children of Mexico to the aviator

Captain Emilio Carranza who died tragically on July 13, 1928 in his good will flight

On July 11th, 2022, ninety-four years after his death, I joined the crowd who gathers each year to honor his goodwill flight, and to watch the memorial service given by members of the same American Legion post who accompanied him to his funeral. Though it was a rainy summer day, we were far from alone. Members of the Carranza family, along with decorated members of the Mexican military and the consulate, joined a New Jersey State Senator to speak before the crowd, in English and Spanish, and reaffirm the goodwill between our countries.

Both the Mexican and the American flag were raised, and after the speeches, somber music played. Four men walked into the forest beyond the monument and returned carrying a litter which bore a mannequin dressed in military clothes. They circled the memorial and the officers and soldiers saluted the effigy of the fallen pilot, which had an arm bared from beneath its olive blanket. Shocking, true. But this moving tribute is not dressed up for modern sensibilities. Taps was played, and then a 21-gun salute shattered the eerie silence of the pines.

After the ritual was complete, wreaths were presented from people and organizations far and wide. The members of the Carranza family, the military, and the consulate gathered in front of the monument. Emilio Carranza’s death at the age of 22 was tragic, but the gathering was both a cause for somber reflection on his mission, and joy at the celebration of goodwill. We share a long border, one that is often politicized, but no wall can stand between us. I have friends in California who wouldn’t be able to afford dental work and health care, if they couldn’t cross south. And our fruit and vegetables would rot in the fields without the seasonal workers we depend upon, much less the thousands of trucks full of goods we trade back and forth, when the Governor of Texas isn’t playing games for political points.

I’d been meaning to attend the tribute service for years. It was well worth it, and if you haven’t visited this unique monument in the Pines, this event makes for the perfect reason to drive down on a summer day, visit the many historic ruins and natural sights in the area, then grab a bite at Hot Diggity Dog in Chatsworth, or Lucille’s Country Cooking in Lacey Township. You probably won’t run into the Jersey Devil, much less the Russian that Paulie and Christopher were looking for (Hint: try upstate New York, where that episode was actually filmed). But you’ll find good people, and a part of the Garden State that’s visited yearly by a contingent from Mexico, to honor a fallen hero on a mission of peace.