FLYING LEATHERNECKS:
"Lord, guard and guide the men who fly."
The Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball has historically enjoyed a large attendance by Marine Corps Aviators. This is primarily due to the large numbers of retired commercial airline pilots living in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys, many of whom served in the Corps as combat pilots. It is also due to the fact that many pilots, who served with USMC Reserve Squadrons, once flew out of Alameda Naval Air Station prior to the base closing. Many of these Marines forged life-long friendships with fellow Marine Aviators who now live in the California Wine Country and utilize the Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball as an annual reunion event for their Squadrons.
MARINE CORPS AVIATION CULTURE:
Approximately 40% of the Marine Corps is Aviation. In fact, the Marines have sufficient planes and helicopters to be ranked as the eighth largest air force in the world. But the Corps feels the statistic has no meaning, for it compares apples to oranges. In fact, the Corps insists it doesn't have an air force at all, in name or in function. This isn't mere semantics or a quirky tradition. It has to do with the mission of the Corps and the role aviation plays in it.
To Marines, an air force is huge bombers speeding to faraway targets protected by fighter planes. The job of Marine Aviation is quite different: to make the Marines on the ground more effective in combat. Helicopters fly Marines into battle. Planes destroy enemy emplacements, strafe enemy troops, spot for artillery, and protect the Marines from enemy aircraft.
In the Navy or Air Force, the hot shot is the fighter pilot. The Marine hot shot is still the Marine with the rifle trying to get up that hill. The only reason the Marines have planes at all - is to help him.
All Marine squadrons have an infantry or artillery officer as liaison, and pilots do tours of duty attached to ground units. They work with the ground officers who call in and direct air support. They each know the other guy's problems and how he works under fire. It pays off.
Marine Corps Aviation is distinctly different in others ways as well:
- Unlike the Army, the Marine Corps has fixed-wing, supersonic jet fighter and attack aircraft such as the F/A -18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier.
- Unlike the Air Force, Marine pilots are Naval Aviators and therefore, they must qualify to land and take off from the decks of aircraft carriers at sea.
- Unique to the Corps, would-be Marine pilots learn first the tactics and techniques of infantry at Quantico, Virginia; only afterward are they trained in the intricacies of piloting sophisticated aircraft at Pensacola, Florida and other places. This distinct difference is extremely important and the foundation of all Marine Aviation culture. As testament to the bedrock of this creed, it is not insignificant that the first Marine officer to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II, Captain Henry T. Elrod, was an Aviator, his aircraft no longer flyable, who died leading Marines as infantry on Wake Island. Every Marine is a rifleman - including pilots!
This Web page is dedicated in recognition of all Marines in Marine aviation who have fought in support of their fellow Marines on the ground since 1912. The teamwork exhibited by our Flying Leathernecks doesn't just happen...it can't be legislated by congress nor created by some instruction. Nor can it be explained why the Flying Leathernecks are so special to the Marines on the ground. The air-ground team is a marvelous marriage, more powerful than the sum of the parts, because we know that our Flying Leatherneck's most sought after privilege is to be able to fight for another Marine
In tribute to these Flying Leathernecks and Devil Dogs of the Sky here is a brief history of Marine Corp Aviation.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MARINE CORPS AVIATION:
One hundred years ago, Orville and Wilbur Wright took turns guiding their wood and fabric Flyer over the dunes of Kitty Hawk, N.C. Just over five years later, the Navy had made up its mind to acquire flying machines. Unfortunately, the then-Secretary of the Navy stated, "The department does not consider that the development of the aeroplane has progressed sufficiently at this time for use in the Navy."
The Navy persisted, and by 1912 had four aviators on its rolls. Aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss was training pilots and developing flying boats here in San Diego. Daring pilots were making carrier landings and take-offs and learning to drop bombs on ships and trenches.
On May 22, 1912, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham reported for flight training. He soloed after only two hours and 40 minutes of instruction (in a Wright Bros. Model B-1), and became Naval Aviator No. 5. In his honor, May 22 has become the official "date of birth" of Marine Corps aviation.
When the United States joined World War I in 1917, the Marines Corps had just five aviators and 30 enlisted men, including Cunningham. At war's end, Marine aviation included 282 officers and 2,180 enlisted men. Marine aviators won two Medals of Honor during World War I.
Marines learned close ground support while fighting rebels in Nicaragua, again earning awards for bravery, including the Medal of Honor for close air support.
The sudden immersion of the United States in World War II found the Marines on the front lines, defending Wake Island against a better-equipped, more-experienced Japanese force. Marine aviators led the attack in the famous Battle of Midway, an American victory despite high losses to pilots and aircraft. Marines ended World War II with 125 aces and eight Medals of Honor. The Marines' F4-U Corsair had become famous as a symbol of Marine Corps ground support and air superiority in the Pacific.
The Marines continued their close relationship of air and ground forces in Korea, deploying jet aircraft and helicopters for the first time while still making excellent use of the legendary Corsair. The introduction of helicopters in combat increased mobility in rugged terrain and, combined with field hospitals, greatly reduced the number of combat deaths in the field.
The 1960s found Marines fighting communism in the swamps and jungles of Vietnam while at the same time pioneering America's entry into space. The first U.S. combat troops brought into this Southeast Asian conflict, American Marines landed at Da Nang in 1965, supported by F-4F Phantom IIs and A-4D Skyhawks. From Hue to Chu Lai to Khe Sanh, Marines on the ground depended on their "Flying Leathernecks." And in 1962, Marine Corps Col. John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, a voyage lasting less than five hours. (In 1998, Glenn returned to space as the oldest American to do so, with 144 orbits over nine days.)
Marines have deployed to many exotic locations, from operations in Grenada and Panama to the protection of American Embassies under attack around the world, before being called upon in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and, most recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom. These operations were supported by USMC F/A-18 Hornets (refueled in flight by the Marine Corps' own KC-130 tankers), AV-8B Harriers, and squadrons of rotary-wing aircraft (including the CH-46, CH-53E, UH-1N and AH-1W).
As America moves into the 21st century, newer, more modern technology is moving into the air, with the tilt-wing MV-22 Osprey and Joint Strike Fighter concepts soon to join our armed forces. But, certainly, one thing that will never change is the United States Marine Corps partnership between those on the ground and those in the sky.
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