‘He went above and beyond the call of duty’

On a hot summer day in July, both the U.S. and the Mexican flags were proudly raised high.

Deborah Piggins, the pastor at St. Andrews Church in Mount Holly, kicked off the 87th annual Captain Emilio Carranza Memorial Service on July 12 at the Carranza Memorial in Wharton State Forest with a prayer.

“We remember the heroic deeds of Emilio Carranza, a pioneering military aviator,” Piggins said. “A man of peace and goodwill who volunteered to help our nation, not because he had to, but because he went above and beyond the call of duty.”

On July 12, 1929, one year after the death of the goodwill airman, the Mount Holly Post conducted the first memorial service at the place where Carranza crashed, once known as Sandy Ridge, but from that time on known as Carranza Memorial Park.

At the first service, Legionnaires made a solemn pledge to conduct a trip each year to the scene of the crash and pay honor to the memory of Carranza.

Eighty-six years later, the members of the American Legion Mount Holly Post 11 continue to fulfill their pledge by holding a memorial service to honor the legacy of a man often referred to as the Charles Lindbergh of Mexico.

Carranza was commissioned by his government to undertake a goodwill flight to the United States. Wherever the young captain journeyed, he was received with enthusiasm and won the friendship of thousands, both for himself and for the great republic he was representing.

Carranza had made a safe flight and was ready to head back home when a violent storm arose over the Pine Barrens, and his silver wings dipped for the last time. Unseen by anyone in the area, the gallant captain crashed to his death.

When news of his death reached the county seat town, the Mount Holly Post quickly mobilized its resources and set out on the 25-mile trek to recover the young airman’s body and pay him due honor. A path had to be cut through the wooded region to carry Carranza’s body out.

In this desolate spot was born the Post’s program of international goodwill.

When they returned to Mount Holly, the Legion mounted a Guard of Honor around the body and was later joined by officers of the U.S. Army until the body was removed by representatives of the Consulate General of New York. A group of Legionnaires accompanied the body to Mexico City.

When the casket left Mount Holly for its last journey to Mexico City, it was draped with a United States flag from Mount Holly Post 11. That flag hangs today in Mexico’s School of Aviation.

“It is not only a tribute to a man, but a tribute to the United States and a tribute to Mexico,” American Legion Post 11 Commander Larry Gladfelter said.

A new Mexican flag was presented to Gladfelter to replace the current one as promised at last year’s ceremony.

“We are honored to have that flag. We will cherish it forever,” master of the ceremony James Giquinto said.

Speaking on behalf of the Carranza family was his second cousin Ismael Carranza.

“My family has deep and long routes in the Mexican air force, that is why it is so important to us, and we are so thankful that today we are accompanied by you all,” Carranza said.

This tragedy has become a foundation for a program of goodwill between nations.

“Dialogue between the United States and Mexico is at its best in its history, and because of this, we can be clear that Captain Carranza’s mission has been accomplished,“ Commander of the Mexican Air Force, Lt. General Carlos Antonio Rodriguez-Munguia, said.