Midway Atoll in June 1942 was the scene of the last American defensive stand in the pacific. The Midway Marines lost most of their aircraft and three squadron Commanders; but after the great naval and air victory known as "The battle of Midway" the United States went on the offensive.
On Guadalcanal, where marine s landed in August, Henderson Field (named for a marine aviator killed at Midway) brought together many of the corps' best fliers. Chisel-featured Captain John Smith's Wildcat fighters and suave Major Richard C. Mangrum's Dauntless dive bombers arrived at Guadalcanal; and Roy Geiger, now a brigadier general, commanded the joint service "Cactus Air Force." The year that followed is remembered as "the time of aces" because more than 30 Marines achived five or more "*kills." Marine fighters, always outnumbered, shot Japanese raiders out of the sky, while dive bombers sank Japanese ships and hit enemy positions. Two avid hunters, Captain Marion E. Carl and Joseph J. Foss, put their stalking skills to use in the skies of the south Pacific. Carl became the first marine ace in September, and in October Foss got the first on his twenty-six kills. He eventually recorded the marines' second highest total of aerial victories before recurring malaria ended his flying days. After the war, Foss formed the South Dakota Air Nationa Guard, served two terms as governor, and later became commissioner of the American Football League, and president of the National Rifle Association. When Guadalcanal was secured in early 1943, the formidable Japanses base at Rabaul became the next American target. Now, what is arguably the best recognized Marine airplane of all time-- the gull-winged Vought F4U "Corsair"--made its appearance. First Leutenant Kenneth A. Walsh, an ebllient veteran of seven years of enlisted flying service with encyclopedic technical knowledge, became the first corsair ace-- on hsi way to twenty-one victories. First Leutenant Robert M. Hanson knocked down twenty-five Japanese before he was lost during a straffing run. The most famous Corsair flier, Gregiry R. "Pappy" Boyington, was a two-fisted whiskey drinking Marine who left the Corps temporarily in 1941 to join the Flying Tigers in China where he claimed the first six of his twnety-eight kills. Back in the Corps in 1943, Maj Boyington was given a squadron of replacment pilots who had neither specific aircraft nor an assigned ground crew. They shot down fifty-seven enemy planes in the next thirty days and became famous as the "Black Sheep" Squadron (VMF-214). One of the squadron's young guns, First Leutenant John F. Bolt, Jr., destroyed six "meatballs"--slang for the red sun on Japanese aircraft. Pappy Boyington was shot down over Rabaul and captured on 3 January 1944. His mental and physical toughness as a prisoner-of-war became as much a part of his legend within the Corps as his flying skill. Boyington is generally recognized as the Marines' top ace. The most respected aviator in the Corps, however, was MajGen. Roy Geiger, widely known for his icy "two-hundred-yard stare"and omnipresnt cigar. In May 1943, he left the 1st MAW to become director of aviation for the second time. He returned to the south Pacific in the fall to take over the I marine Amphibious Corps, which moved to the Central Pacific as III Amphibious Corps. After his flying days were over, he went on to a distinguished career as a ground commander. On Okinawa in 1945, LtGen. Geiger became the only Marine officer to led a field army in combat. He was the commanding general of the Fleet Marine Force Pacific at the end of the was and eventually became the first Marine aviator to achive four-star rank albeit posthumously. Marine aviation strength during WWII peaked at five wings which included 31 groups, 145 squadrons, and 112,626 Marines. Among the new tactical aircraft in 1944 were Grumman F6FN "Hellcat" night fighters and naval versions of the North American B-25 "Mitchell" medium bomber designated the PBJ. Because of the shortage of aircraft carriers, land-based Marine air was used to neutralize by-passed eney bases in the Central Pacific. As an ever increasing number of escourt carriersbecame available, it was decided Marine planes would be placed on board. MajGen Rowell, the Marine air commander in the Pacific, opposed this plan so vociferously that he was replaced by Major General Francis P. Mulacahy. Marine fighter and composite squadrons (usually made of corsair fighters and Avenger torpedo bombers) began flying off carriers. In February 1945, six such squadrons were present when the Marines fought on Iwo Jima. The techniques of close air support were sharpened in the Western Pacific. Colonel Clayton C. Jerome and Lieutenant Colonel Kieth B. McCutcheon pushed hard to make close air support of gorund troops a primary mission. Under their tutelage Marine dive bombers and fighters supproted U.S. army units in the philippines. Fighting on Peleliu was so close that Corsairs dropped napalm on Bloody Nose Ridge before they could retract their flaps or wheels. Marine air at Okinawa in 1945 included carrier-based CAPs that held Japanese suiside planes at bay and land-based squadrons that attacked enemy ground troops with rockets, bobs and napalm. Close air support so effectivly dislodged dug-in enemy on Okinawa that aviation planners placed more and more emphasis on that mission got the upcomming invation of Japan. Okinawa, however, turned out to be the Marine's last major WWII battle. After the war, the Marine Corps aviation was cut to two skeleton wings and barely avoided being absorbed by the new U.S. Air Force. Roy Geiger, now the "Old man of marine corps aviation,"made two crucial contributions just before his death in 1947. First, his blunt testimony brfore congress helped stave off unification of the services. And second, he initiated a reappraisal of amphibious doctrine that led to the formulation of the "vertical envelopment." The modern era began in 1948 when marines gained jet planes and helicopters. Keith McCutcheon-who was tacturn except when the situation demanded words, at which time he could demonstrate his brilliance in both speech and writing-was an advocate for, and a pioneer in, the use of both jets and choppers. The Mcdonnell FH-1 "Phantom" was the first jet fighter used by the Mrines. Lanky and laconic Marion carl, now a lieutnenant colonel, commanded the first squadron (VMF-122) and formed the first jet aerobatics team, the "Marine Phantoms." The first Marine helicopter squadron, HMX-1, was formed at Quantico where Paisecki HRP "Flying Bananas" and Sikorsky HO3Ss became the first helicopters put into operational use. In the summer of 1950, the United States desperatly needed reinforcements to stem the communist North Korean invasion of the South, and the timely arrival of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade helped save the day. MAG-33 Corsairs flew from carriers and helped stablize the Pusan Perimeter. The 1st Marine Division, supported by the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, landed at inchon in September and caught the bulk of the North Korean Army south of the 38th parallel. The Marines next landed a Wonsan on the east caost and drove northward to the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. Chinese Communists forces unexpectedly poured over the Manchurian border and reversed the course of the fighting. As the out-numbered Marines fought their way south form the frozen Chosin, Marine F6Fns and Grumman F7FN "Tigercats" prowled the night sky; "Corsairs" and F9F "Panther" jets cleared the way during the day, and heicopters and transport planes supplied the collumn and evacuated wounded. Several Chinese divisions were destryed, but the U.N. forces had been pushed south of the 38th parellel for the second time in six months. At this juncture, the Air force's "single air managment" doctrine broke up the marine air-ground team. The USAF's Fifth Air Force took control of land-based 1st MAW aircraft for the remainder of the Korean conflict. Despite Marine objections, the new joint air campaign plan emphasized deep interdiction strikes rather than close air support. Each commander of the 1st Marine Division thereafter filed formal complaints about the quantity, quality, and timeliness of air support, but no significant change in air control was made. Helicopters proved to be versatile and effective in Korea. Bell HTLs and Sikorsky HO3Ss were succesfully used as battle taxis, airborne scouts, aerial ambulances while Sikorsky HRS transports lifted combat troops and supplies to the forward edge of the battlefield. The beating rotor blades of Col. McCutcheon's "whirlybird" squadron (HMR-161) soon became a familiar sound at the front. Major General Christian Schilt, the hero of Quilali (twenty-three years earlier) and now commander of the 1st MAW, thrilled the troops by doing nightly stunts with his tigercat and celebrated the Marine Corps birthday in 1951 with a low-level combat strike behind enemy lines. WWII ace Major John "Handsome Jack" Bolt became the only Marine et ace by bagging six aircraft while flying exchange duty with the U.S. Air Force. Major John H. Glenn, Jr., a Marine aviator adept to both close air support and dogfighting, received the nickname "Magnet" because of his propensity for drawing flak while flying low and slow during bombing runs. Assigned to USAF exchange duty, Glenn knocked down three enemy aircraft while flying F-86 "Saber" jet bearing the title "Mig Mad Marine." Later Glenn would be elected to the U.S. Senate. Second Lieutenant Frank E. Peterson, Jr., of Topeka, Kansas, flew sixty-four missions; he would later become the first black Marine general officer. Among the many Marine reserve aviators serving in the combat zone were television presonality Ed McMahon and professional baseball players Ted Williams and Jerry Coleman. The Korean conflict came to an inconclusive end in 1953. Marine aviation was not pared to the bone in the wake of that war as it had been after the World Wars. Resources were sufficient to restructure and re-equip the Marine fliers to support the Corps' expanding role as america's force-in-readiness. During the decade following Korea, the delta-winged Douglas F4D "Skyray" interceptors, compact Douglas A-4 "Skyhawk" attack jets,and sleek Chance-Vought F-8"Crusader" fighters bearing Marine markings responded to international crises in Lebanon, Asia, and Cuba. Helicopters moved into the mainstream of Marine aviation. "Vertical envelopment," whereby Marines came ashore in helicopters, was refined. Assault equipment was designed to be helilifted, the number of helicopters dramatically increased, and the Navy ordered a dozen LPH helicopter assault ships. A pair of Sikorsky helicopters, the HUS (later UH-34) "Seahorse" and the HR2S heavy hauler, represented quantum leaps in helicopter performance and made vertical envelopment practical. Speacially configured "White top" Marine helicopters began transporting the president of the United States--a high profile mission that continues to the present day. Marine helicopters lifted american citizensout of harms way and brought combat troops ashore during the Dominican Republic intervention. Between 1962 and 1965 about half the Marine helicopter squadrons rotated through South Vietnam during Operation Shufly and carried South Vietnamese troops into battle against Vietcong insurgents. 123
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