"AM READY." - The Advanced Base Brigade, Woodrow Wilson, and Vera Cruz
"AM READY." THE ADVANCED BASE BRIGADE, WOODROW WILSON, AND VERA CRUZ John S. Naylor – February 15, 2026 INTRODUCTION The U.S. landing and occupation of the Mexican port of Vera Cruz [2] in April 1914 is often lumped in as one of the “small wars” or “banana wars” framed by U.S. foreign policy in Latin America in the 20 th century. It’s also overlooked because it was a minor operation in comparison to the size and gravity of the Great War. While directionally accurate, this description fails to consider how it demonstrated a fundamental change in the capabilities of U.S. naval power, and as such was a milestone in the history of the Marine Corps. For the first time in its history, the Marine Corps had two regiments of Marines formed in advance of an emergency, trained as units, and fully equipped for expeditionary service. However, the Marines who landed at Vera Cruz landed with more sophisticated capabilities and competencies than on any simple expedition. While at the ...