The Journal
Combating Terrorism: The 1916
Mexican Border Expedition
by William Bundschu
The Spring 2003 JOURNAL of the Jackson County Historical
Society features Combating Terrorism: The 1916 Mexican Border Expedition, by William Bundschu.
Officers of the 1st Missouri Field
Artillery, Loredo, Texas, 1916. Historians
and archivists spend much of their time looking backwards. They are focused
on preserving documents and artifacts from “the past.” They are in pursuit of
finding ways to keep our individual and collective stories alive. They
document with primary resources the events and activities of yesterday and
today for people in the future to look back upon and study. They strive to
make more meaningful the need to respect our heritage and engage people to
recognize their own role as important to history. They
also find themselves asking questions that most people might not think about.
For instance, “How has your life changed since the terrorist attacks against
the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001?” Whether directly or indirectly, significantly or imperceptibly,
our daily lives have changed and continue to be affected: We might fear for the
worse when the color-coded national security alert system is stepped-up; air
travel is more cumbersome, inconvenient, and often invasive; we worry about
having sufficient clean water and a safe, healthy food supply; we recognize
our growing reliance on foreign sources of fuel; and, we observe and may
participate in heated debate over the right and best ways to move forward.
The future will tell all. Bill
Bundschu’s Combating Terrorism: The 1916 Mexican Border Expedition
reminds us that terrorism is nothing new, and that some of the underlying
causes and strategic political motivations and objectives of today’s
terrorists are strikingly similar to those nearly 100 years ago. All of this
surely makes each one of us desire a more peaceful, cohesive world. William B. Bundschu, a lifelong resident of
Independence, Missouri, is a retired practicing attorney. He is currently
completing requirement for a Master of Arts in History at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City, the institution from which he received a Mater of Laws
(Taxation) degree. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from Duke
University. Most recently he authored his first book, Abuse and Murder on
the Frontier: The Trials and Travels of Rebecca Hawkins, 1800-1860
(Independence, Mo.: Little Blue Valley Publishing Co., 2003). Members will be
hearing more about this book in the upcoming months as the Society works to
help promote it locally. Websites
offering more information: Francisco
“Pancho” Villa
by Joe Cummings John Pershing at
Arlington Cemetery Punitive
Expedition
by Linda Nevin To
order this JOURNAL edition, subscribe or join JCHS click
here. |
