2022 Fall/Winter Yellow Sheet : simplebooklet.com

4 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgWINTER 2022 | VOLUME LXVThe MCAA is a non–profit organization incorporated in 1972 to carry out the work and spirit of the First Marine Aviation Force Veterans Association, which was made up of Marines who served in WWI prior to 30 November 1918. Today, our membership includes active duty, retired, and honorably discharged Marines and anyone else with an interest in Marine Corps aviation – past, present and future. MCAA represents the entire spectrum of Marine Corps aviation from all ranks and skills.The Marine Corps Aviation Association’s Yellow Sheet takes the name from the old yellow–colored, printed form that pilots used to record ﬂight data after each hop.The original yellow sheet had a tear–off portion, which contained basic aircraft information with space for aircrew log book stats, ﬂight time, instrument time, number of takeoffs and landings, type of ﬂight, passengers, and other assorted information. At the end of a ﬂight, a pilot always walked into the “line shack” and reached for the yellow sheet. And that’s why the MCAA named this publication The Yellow Sheet.8 FROM THE HALLWAY Lieutenant General Mark R. Wise24 MAYDAY: VMF-422 “THE LOST SQUADRON” Colonel Richard Camp, USMC (Ret) 34 ROLLING THUNDER, THAI NGUYEN, BOB MCNAMARA, & A BRIT SPY Colonel Mike Burns, USMC (Ret) 38 COLONEL HAROLD WILLIAM “INDIAN JOE” “COACH” BAUER Suzanne Pool-CampCpl Benigno Rios, a crew chief attached to HMLA-775, MAG-41, 4thMAW, surveys a nearby aircraft while inside a UH-1Y Venom Utility helicopter at Naval Air Facility El Centro, CA, on 7 Feb 2022. Cpl Rios, alongside the reservists’ Marines from HMLA-775, practiced contingency landing drills that help to enable, support, and advance the Marine Corps’ mission. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO BY CPL JONATHAN L. GONZALEZ

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 7Lieutenant General Thomas L. “Stash” Conant, USMC (Retired) National CommanderLeadership & Board of Directors NATIONAL COMMANDER LtGen Thomas L. Conant, USMC (Ret)DEPUTY CMDR, WESTLtGen Terry Robling, USMC (Ret)DEPUTY CMDR, EAST MajGen Jon Gallinetti, USMC (Ret) TREASURER Col Romin Dasmalchi, USMC (Ret) ADJUNT Col Paul Fortunato, USMC (Ret) SERGEANT MAJOR SgtMaj Bill Oldenburg, USMC (Ret)LEGAL COUNSEL Col Art White, USMC (Ret)PREVIOUS NAT’L CMDRS LtGen Keith Stalder, USMC (Ret)LtGen John Castellaw, USMC (Ret)Gen William Nyland, USMC (Ret)WEST DISTRICT LEAD Col Earl Wederbrook, USMC (Ret)SOUTH DISTRICT LEAD Col Chris Seymour, USMC (Ret)SOUTHEAST DISTRICT LEAD Col John Gumbel, USMC (Ret)DISTRICT LEAD Col Laura Sampsel, USMC (Ret)NORTHEAST DISTRICT LEADCol Bruce Hulick, USMC (Ret)GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE LEAD Col Paul Croisetiere, USMC (Ret)MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE LEAD Col Michael Orr, USMC (Ret) STRATEGY COMMITTEE LEADCol Robert Claypool, USMC (Ret) AUDIT COMMITTEE LEAD Col Al Sullivan, USMC (Ret) AT-LARGECol Ben Matthews, USMC (Ret)Col John Ostrowski, USMC (Ret)MCAA StaffEXECUTIVE DIRECTORCol John Rader, USMC (Ret)DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND SENIOR EDITORRoxanne M. Kaufman rkaufman@ﬂymcaa.orgFINANCIAL SERVICES & MEMBERSHIPDebbie Martin «MARINE CORPS AVIATION ASSOCIATION«HEADQUARTERS 715 Broadway Street Quantico, VA 22134703–630–1903While we celebrate our 50th year as the Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) in 2022, we want to double down on our eorts to bring value to our Members and Marine aviation. As part of this, we have brought back the Life Membership Plan with enhanced benets. As a Life Member, you will be directly supporting programs that support our Marines and will receive limited Life Member merchandise, including a Land’s End polo shirt embroidered with the MCAA Life Member insignia. Our newest program that the Life Members’ fund will help support is our Aircrew Wings Program (AWP). e idea for AWP came about after a phone call in 2018, when a retired Marine reached out to the MCAA sta after learning that ight instructors were purchasing aircrew wings for their Marines because there wasn’t enough money in the coers. We did some checking and found this to be the case. We also discovered that it was dicult for instructors to nd the larger amounts of wings they needed, so they would typically have to contact a few vendors just to buy a dozen wings. After several dead ends, the MCAA sta was nally able to nd a vendor who could supply us with one hundred wings at a time. From then forward, MCAA has continually provided the training squadrons with aircrew wings for graduation. And now, a portion of every Life Membership will go to support this great program. Our Members and the Marine Corps are the underpinning of why MCAA exists, so we kept the cost of Life Membership reasonable, lowered the rate for Active Duty and Reserve Marines, and oered adjustable rates for Members over the age of 60. As a result, Members who are 59 and below will pay $750; Members who are still serving will pay $675; and if you’re over 60, please call the oce, because we have a special rate for you! For more information on Life Membership or to see the great work MCAA does, please visit our website at ymcaa.org.COMMANDER’Scall

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 9FROM THE hallwaySuch a driving, innovative departure from “the way it’s always been” has been done before, in our service and in the integration of the naval expeditionary force. e lessons these far-thinking leaders and innovators – on whose shoulders we stand - handed down to us are instructive.In the late 1930s, as today, our doctrine maximized our technological innovations. e Tentative Manual for Landing Operations was only ve years old in 1939; the Small Wars Manual was still in draft form. at latter publication, released in 1940, put forth the close air support doctrine and theory we still follow eight decades on:In order to secure the full measure of cooperation between air and ground forces, it is necessary that each understand the problems of the other. e aviator must know something of the tactics of the ground patrol, and he must be ready and willing to assist the ground commander. e ground commander should understand the hazards and limitations imposed on aviation operating over dicult terrain, and should not expect the impossible. e Small Wars Manual broke aviation into three types – reconnaissance, combat, and transport – which is not far from how we think of aviation today. For example, our current mantra of “every aircraft a sensor,” and our Commandant’s emphasis on maritime reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, echoes how we thought in the 1930s: Primary consideration should always be given to reconnaissance....at least twice the number of observation or scouting airplanes will be required. (ey will conduct) dual missions of scouting and attack operations; visual reconnaissance will be the principal method of obtaining information…As capabilities and doctrine matured, they often adopted the personae of their creators. General John A. Lejeune and the Commandants who followed him insisted that the Marine Corps think about, train for, and anticipate amphibious operations and movement to, and across, the littorals. e planners and experimenters found – in the 1930s, just as today – they needed aviation to tackle some of the problems inherent in amphibious assaults, such as attacking reverse slope artillery that naval gunre couldn’t address, or providing close air support to ground forces. Deeply impressed by the Japanese landing craft he had seen in 1937 as an ocer in Shanghai, an aggressive young Captain, Victor Krulak began a one-man campaign to bring such craft – and the doctrine to maximize their capabilities—into the Marine Corps’ inventory. He created training events as far aeld as An MV-22B Osprey pilot with VMM-261 conducts an air-to-air refueling operation in support of North and West Africa Response Force 21.2 in Moron, Spain.PHOTO COURTESY: VMM-261

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10 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgCulebra, Puerto Rico, and as close as Quantico, Virginia, putting Marines aboard ship(s) and sending them ashore over and over for months on end, and driving his men to develop, practice, and perfect the foundational amphibious warfare tactics we use today. Combat in the PacificIn the summer of 1942, Marine aviation in the Pacic began owing from ships and staging ashore, in the rst iterations of what we now call expeditionary advanced base operations and distributed aviation operations. e now-legendary Cactus Air Force on Guadalcanal, under the command of equally legendary Marine hero Roy Geiger – who took the title “ComAirCactus” – addressed and overcame the same problem that we think about today: naval forces spread across an immense ocean and 6,000 open-water miles from home bases:(W)hen the First Marine Division made its initial landings in the Solomons the ground forces were beyond the eective ight range of Marine ghters and dive-bombers. Denied escort carriers of their own and tied down to nearby, short-range land bases or to captured enemy airelds within actual objective areas, Marine aircraft had to be committed on a catch-as-can basis, shuttled in piecemeal…such a concept was at distinct variance with the expected usage if not the fundamental role of Marine aviation.Both Marine pilots and troops felt frustrated. Direct air support in the form of Marine aviation could not be supplied to the landings at Guadalcanal until thirteen days after the landing; 1st Marine Division, struggling against heavy odds to hold its perimeter, had to get along as best it could without benet of air cover. Japanese aviation superiority was such that for the rst two weeks at Guadalcanal, it was denitely a one-sided aair.Roger Willock Unaccustomed to FearIgnoring his shortage of pilots, aircraft, ammunition, fuel, water and food, General Geiger set up shop in a wooden shack and went to work. He built out the force: across islands and across services. Using Marine, Navy, and Army pilots and planes scattered across tiny strips on far-ung islands, over 60 days in the fall of 1942 the Cactus Air Force took control of the skies and of the support to General Alexander Vandegrift’s landing forces. is lesson is instructive to us today.In October and November 1942, when Enterprise limped into port for combat damage repairs, the Navy ew several squadrons of ghters and dive bombers to Henderson Field and operated very successfully side-by-side with their Marine and Army brothers, taking the ght to the enemy in the air, attacking their ships and aircraft, and providing close air support to the Marines until Enterprise was ready to return to full service.e foresight in planning these operations paid o in the next two years, as the Marines and the Navy drove across the Pacic: seizing advanced airbases on islands; owing from and to escort carriers as the situation dictated; operating carrier aircraft aboard ship as the rst true iteration of the air-ground team; carrying the ght against - and defeating - the Japanese Navy. ese operations revealed an important operational insight as relevant then as it is now, and will be into the future: expeditionary land-based and sea-based aviation operations are complementary and impose costs on the adversary, who will be on the horns of a dilemma. is is classic maneuver warfare. By 1945, that tiny force of 18,000 Marines had grown to 486,000. Even the Army followed the Marine Corps’ amphibious landing manual, ghting their way ashore onto Sicily, Italy, and France, albeit against a dierent enemy and in a dierent theater. Air-ground coordination was now theology and doctrine, written in blood. is momentum and the synergy between

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12 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.org“ Let him who desires peace prepare for war.”—Flavius Vegetius Renatus 300 AD“ The prospect of Chinese use of force is much closer to us than most think.”Admiral John Aquilino, Commander, INDOPACOM, 2021air and ground carried into the postwar years, as nally planners felt they had a solution to the ship-to-shore problem: the use of helicopters, which would y o of well-dispersed carriers and drop attacking troops behind shore defenses. Major Generals Shepherd, Field Harris, and O.P. Smith, and the Commandant felt that “vertical envelopment” gave new life to the doctrine of amphibious warfare.Gail Shisler (O.P. Smith’s Granddaughter) For Country and Corpse Marine Corps, through work and grit and hard thinking, had established itself as a naval expeditionary force that could innovate successfully; Admiral William Halsey himself insisted that these World War II Marines were “the ghtingest of ghting men”. Form followed function, as the Marine Corps paired new technology with new tactics and new doctrine – as an integral member of a naval team to win our nation’s war. We can learn from this period of innovation, tactical agility, operational focus….and victory in the Pacic. Lightning CarriersOne of these ideas is the Lightning Carrier. is combines amphibious assault ships with the superior aviation capabilities unique to the F-35B Lightning II. By employing a fth-generation aircraft from amphibious ships we in a stroke nearly double the number of “carriers”—to our CVNs we add LHD/LHAs—from which the United States can employ xed-wing aviation. Lightning Carriers can reposition and have operational eects anywhere within 3.9 million square miles within 24 hours…that is naval agility.e F-35’s high-end sensor suite and electronic warfare capabilities make it less dependent on Airborne Early Warning and Control and dedicated electronic attack assets in most threat environments compared to its 4th generation ghter counterparts. We will maximize the F-35, and that means employing it integrated in a larger naval campaign.e Lightning Carrier is a naval amphibious assault ship equipped with up to two squadrons of F-35Bs, which equates to twenty aircraft per ship. Lightning Carriers can deploy independently, as part of an Amphibious Ready Group/Expeditionary Strike Group, or in conjunction with a Carrier Strike Group. Missions traditionally performed by specialized aircraft (air-to-air combat, air-to-ground strikes, electronic attack) can now be executed by a squadron of F-35s. We’ve done this before, to include the 1991 Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, with “Harrier Carriers” providing sea-based TACAIR sorties.We have also done this with F-35. We sent Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) aboard Wasp, in March and April 2019, to work this concept as part of BALIKATAN. For this exercise, VMFA-121 (-) deployed ten aircraft and ten pilots. is is the best stress-test simulation of the Lightning Carrier concept we have executed to date. To do this, -121 experimented with two combinations of aircraft; the rst was ten aircraft and second was a six-aircraft mix. is small-scale, short-timeframe experiment was a success, yielding an 87% mission capable rate and 92% sortie completion rate once those planes were launched. e success of -121’s experiment is something we can build upon.So too is VMFA-211’s deployment through 2021 aboard Queen Elizabeth, just recently ended, which was an enormous success and showed the value of allied and coalition partners’ working together. VMFA-211 was fully integrated with British forces, with our aircraft and theirs working smoothly as one force, and this shows us one of many ways ahead.BasingFrom these lessons of our history we can draw intellectual and operational sustenance for the challenges of today. e ideas pioneered by our forebears resonate: the ships and platforms are dierent, but the spirit of innovation is the same. e strength of the Marine Corps is in synergy with the Navy, in new capabilities used in new ways.In the Campaign Plan and the Aviation Plan, we outline both the Why and the How we will build the future aviation combat element (ACE) to address the threat Admiral Aquilino describes: this is why it is such an exciting time to be in Marine aviation. Everything we will do to prosecute a littoral campaign requires expeditionary basing, expeditionary command and control, and expeditionary res. Lightning Carriers can provide the reach and punch, but bases ashore will be crucial to ship-to-shore movement, sustainment, and protection. e ACE is uniquely postured to succeed in this environment – through innovation,

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 13FROM THE hallwayMarines with 3rd MAW disembark from a KC-130J Hercules during Summer Fury 21 at MCAS Miramar CA, on 7 July 2021. The importance of aerial refueling is to extend the range of an aircraft’s ability to remain in the air and combat effective during maritime operations, especially in coastal regions, which will be contested and dangerous, compelling the Marine Corps to operate in an increasingly dispersed manner. Summer Fury is an exercise conducted by 3rd MAW in order to maintain and build capability, strength and trust within its units to generate the readiness and lethality needed to deter and defeat adversaries during combat operations as the U.S. Marine Corps reﬁnes tactics and equipment in accordance with Force Design 2030. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPScollaboration, and a focus on operational agility. e Commandant of the Marine Corps has told us that:stand-in forces will be constantly present in key maritime terrain during periods of competition below the threshold of violence, deterring, and countering nonlethal coercive behavior and other malign activity directed at U.S. allies, partners, and other interests. ese same forces will remain inside an adversary WEZ to provide necessary support to naval and joint campaigning should competition escalate to war. Critically, given the vulnerability of large, xed bases, and shore-based infrastructure to long-range precision strike and the challenges of adequately defending that infrastructure, the stand-in force must be able to perform these functions from a strictly expeditionary and highly mobile posture.He pointed out another truth: many people both within and without the Marine Corps advocate for posturing, training, and deploying as we have always done….simply because we have always done it. is shuts down innovation and new thinking, the very things on which we are embarked today. Many assume we are going to do Camp Bastion again: a giant iron mountain of equipment built up over months and providing a huge, xed target. e opposite is true. We are going to be light, agile and mobile. is is expeditionary thinking. Getting Marines ashore and sustaining them there means building out expeditionary advanced bases; protecting those bases as aircraft cycle through; and withdrawing forces back aboard ship. It is this capability which makes us unique, and our campaign of learning will yield the Marine Corps’ force of the future our nation demands.

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14 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgSQUADRONnews & viewsThe John Glenn Squadron opened 2022 with a mixer on 19 January, to recognize and thank all of our great sponsors and to provide a “State of the Squadron” update as well. The Squadron Commander, Colonel Justin “Eggs” Eggsta provided a comprehensive update on the State of the Squadron. He detailed significant accomplishments in 2021, including the squadron awarding $49,000 in scholarships to STEM students in Southern Maryland’s Tri-County (Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s County’s) area. Since the start of the John Glenn Scholarship Program in 2007, the squadron has awarded $541,000 in scholarships to 129 students. One of the new initiatives underway with the squadron is the establishment of an endowment program that would support the John Glenn Scholarship Program. Our scholarship program has helped high performing STEM students fund their education. The endowment program is the natural next step to assisting more STEM students with achieving their educational goals.John Glenn Squadrone year 2020 was a hallmark year for the Squadron’s Acquisition Awards Program with the creation of two new Acquisition Awards. In order to recognize the signicant contributions of the civilian acquisition workforce to Marine Aviation, the Squadron created two additional awards to recognize outstanding contributions in testing and acquisition management. ese awards were awarded in 2021:Thomas Laux Acquisition Civilian of the Year Awarde omas Laux Acquisition Civilian of the Year Award recognizes signicant contributions by civilians in acquisition management for Marine aviation programs. Mr. Laux spent over three decades in support of acquisition programs in naval aviation. His major leadership roles included program manager for H-53 heavy-lift and VH-3D and VH-60N Executive Helicopters, Program Executive Ocer for Air, ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Air Programs) (DASN Air). Mr. Laux’s distinctive achievements and outstanding service in support of Marine aviation programs made him the ideal candidate to name this award after. e inaugural winner for theomas Laux Acquisition Civilian-of-the-Year Awardis Ms. Cora White, who is the RQ-21A IPT Lead for PMA-263 (Small Tactical UAS). Ms. White’s outstanding leadership of the Marine Corps’ only Group 3 Unmanned Aircraft System in support of four Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadrons (VMSs) and Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) signicantly improved RQ-21 sustainment eorts. rough her superior communication skills and acquisition acumen, PMA-263 was able to eectively support RQ-21 operations for three Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), the rst VMU deployment in support of Marine Corps Forces – Darwin (MRF-D), and a Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course while also supporting NSWC overseas contingency deployments for two Special Reconnaissance Teams (SRTs). Most noteworthy, was Ms. White’s business acumen in managing multiple budget appropriations that funded a diverse set of requirements that spanned capability development and operations and sustainment. Colonel Vic Argobright, Program Manager for Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (STUAS) (PMA-263) said of Ms. White’s accomplishments, “Every team has that one individual that seems to hold everything together and that as a leader you feel you can’t live without. For PMA-263, that is Cora. She is extremely hardworking and dedicated. Cora is a bulldog at getting stu done, and always puts the needs of the warghter rst. Cora is most deserving of this honor.”J.J. McCue Civilian Tester-of-the-Year Awarde J.J. McCue Civilian Tester-of-the-Year Award is named after long-time U.S. Navy Test Pilot School Helicopter Aerodynamics Instructor Jim “JJ” McCue. “JJ’s” contributions to naval aviation have also been signicant. As one of the senior instructors at Test Pilot School, JJ has had a major impact on every student who went through the school, many of whom went on to test the Marine Corps’ most modern weapons systems, and some who went on to join NASA as astronauts or mission specialists. One of JJ’s more signicant contributions to Marine Corps aviation was assisting Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) with the development of tactics for helicopter air combat maneuvering. Over the years JJ was a frequent visitor to MAWTS-1, providing rotary-wing students with instruction in helicopter aerodynamics and performance. Mr. Thomas LauxCol Vic Argobright – PMA-263 with Ms. Cora White, Thomas Laux Acquisition Civilian-of-the-Year AwardPHOTO CREDIT: PMA-263

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 15SQUADRON news & viewse inaugural winner of this award was Ms. Lauren (McKay) Fean. Ms. Fean is the CH-53K Test and Evaluation Air Vehicle Lead for HX-21. She was recognized for her leadership of the CH-53K ight test program, where her professional abilities played a major role in the successful execution of a ten-week period of ight testing at Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. During this major test event, the CH-53K Test Team tested the CH-53K in brownout/Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) and validated key improvements in ight-control-law and display tuning and collected engine performance data while operating in sand and dust. What makes Ms. Fean’s story even more interesting, is that in 2007 she was awarded a John Glenn Scholarship in the rst year of the John Glenn Squadron Scholarship Program. After graduating from Patuxent High School in 2007, then-Ms. Fean went on to receive a B.S in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2011. After graduation, Ms. Fean joined the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Directorate. She served in several diverse and challenging technical roles and earned the opportunity to attend the USN Test Pilot School in the Rotary Wing Curriculum. Lieutenant General Michael A. Hough Acquisition Oicer-of-the-Yeare 2020 Lieutenant General Michael A. Hough Acquisition Ocer-of-the-Year award went to Lieutenant Colonel Robert E Wicker of the V-22 Joint Program Oce (PMA-275). Lieutenant Colonel Wicker served in several critical roles in 2020 for PMA-275. His leadership of Survivability, Futures Development and Readiness teams made signicant contributions to the V-22 Program. As the Readiness Lead, Lieutenant Colonel Wicker’s leadership helped improve sustainment eorts across the V-22 enterprise. Most notable was his leadership of the eort in developing the program roadmap for new capabilities for the MV-22. is initiative will help ensure the V-22 stays relevant through its lifecycle. Lieutenant Colonel Wicker’s eorts touched nearly every facet of the V-22 program, from procurement and elding of new capability to improving readiness on the ight line.Gunnery Sergeant Sean Joyce/Master Gunnery Sergeant Gary Leader Acquisition Sta Non-Commissioned Oicer-of-the-Year Awardis award is named after Master Gunnery Sergeant Gary Leader and Gunnery Sergeant Sean Joyce who perished when the V-22A aircraft they were crewing crashed into the Potomac River during an approach to Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico in July 1992. e 2020 Gunnery Sergeant Sean Joyce/Master Gunnery Sergeant Gary Leader Acquisition Sta Non-Commissioned Ocer-of-the-Year Award went to Sta Sergeant Ryan Haywood of the Heavy-Lift Helicopters Program Oce (PMA-261). Serving as the CH-53E T64 Integrated Product Team Lead, Sta Sergeant Haywood superbly coordinated the eorts of a widely dispersed team that was responsible for a signicant improvement in T64 readiness in 2020. rough his superb leadership, Sta Sergeant Haywood’s team reduced T64 Turn Around Time (TAT) at Fleet Readiness Center East by 40 percent, and increased engine production throughout the enterprise. Sta Sergeant Haywood’s actions resulted in the removal of the CH-53E/T64 Engine from the OPNAV engines “Head Hurter” list.Jim “JJ” McCue PHOTO CREDIT: NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER AIRCRAFT DIVISION.LtCol Robert E. Wicker, PMA-275Lieutenant General Michael A. Hough Acquisition Ofﬁcer-of-the-Year-AwardMaster Gunnery Sergeant Gary Leader and Gunnery Sergeant Sean Joyce during V-22 testing in the McKinley Climatic Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, 1991. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR.Staff Sergeant Ryan M. HaywoodJoyce/Leader Acquisition Staff Non-Commissioned Ofﬁcer-of-the-YearSenator John H. Glenn Test Pilot/Naval Flight Oicer-of-the-Year Awarde Senator John H. Glenn Test Pilot/Naval Flight Ocer-of-the-Year Award went to Major John E. Willet, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron TWO ONE (HX-21). Major Willett served as the CH-53K Project Ocer for a ten-week period of testing at Yuma Proving Grounds. is test period included operations in a Degraded Visual Environment (DVE), and validations of key improvements in ight-control-laws and displays. His personal contributions to the entire 2020 ight testing eort include many rsts for the CH-53K ight test program – test pilot in the rst CH-53K shipboard detachment, ew all DVE ight tests, and

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16 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgall external load operations into DVE. Major Willet’s superior aeronautical ability and leadership skills made a signicant contribution to the CH-53K program during a critical time in its schedule.Challenging CH-53K ight testing periods in 2020 provided many opportunities for teammates in the CH-53K program to excel. Major John E. Willet was selected as the Senator John Glenn Test Pilot of the Year for his leadership of the CH-53K Integrated Test Team that carried out a series of Major John E. Willet, HX-21Senator John H. Glenn Test Pilot/Naval Flight Ofﬁcer-of-the-Year AwardCongratulations to our 2020 acquisition award winners! Award nominations have been solicited for 2021, and we’ll provide more information on the 2021 acquisition award program in the next Yellow Sheet.Future events include our Scholarship Awards in June 2022. As soon as we have dates other events, we will provide that information to our members. Finally, the squadron would like to thank our very generous sponsors for their outstanding support. Our sponsors’ generosity has been critical to the success of our awards and scholarship programs, and we are most grateful for their loyalty and generosity!If you have any questions regarding the John Glenn Squadron or want to participate as a sponsor, or contribute to our scholarship endowment program, or want to be put on distribution for our quarterly newsletter, please contact the Squadron Executive Ocer, Hank Vanderborght - hvanderborght@goprecise.com.Photo from CH-53K Flight Tests in a Degraded Visual Environment at Yuma Proving Grounds. PHOTO BY VICTORIA FALCON, NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER.demanding test periods in 2020. Ms. Laura Fean excelled as the CH-53K Test and Evaluation Air Vehicle Lead for HX-21 during a major test program executed at Yuma Proving Grounds and was selected as the inaugural winner of the J.J. McCue Civilian Tester-of-the-Year Award.

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 19Then-Major John Glenn, Project BulletPHOTO COURTESY: JOHN H. GLENN ARCHIVES, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITYSQUADRON news & viewsThe MCAA John Glenn Squadron Scholarship Program — Giving Back!When the late Senator Glenn allowed the John Glenn Squadron to use his name, he asked that the squadron consider the development of a scholarship program that could help high school students interested in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM). Colonel Rob “Gimp” Martinez, USMC (Ret) was the rst Commanding Ocer of the John Glenn Squadron. Colonel Martinez and Commander Jim King played major roles in standing up the John Glenn Scholarship Program in 2007. at year the squadron awarded $18,000 in scholarships to six students from St. Mary’s County Tri-County Area (Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties). Fifteen years later, the squadron has awarded $541,000 in scholarships to 129 students. School. Lauren attended the University of Maryland and earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. During her sophomore and junior summers, Lauren interned with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Directorate. On her rst day as an intern, she shadowed a landing signal ocer and ight test engineer during E-2D arrested landing testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. It was that experience that inspired Lauren to pursue a career in ight test at Pax River.Lauren’s rst assignment after receiving her “Aero” degree was with the Carrier Suitability Branch, where she received experience with the F-18 and RQ-21A, as well as tests aboard CVN-77 and several testing detachments aboard LPDs. Lauren was selected to attend the USN Test Pilot School in Class 151 in the Rotary Wing Curriculum. Lauren shared that during her year at Test Pilot School, ‘…John Glenn was present in my career again, as I always saw his name on the Class 12 plaque when I went to the ight line.”After graduating from Test Pilot School, Lauren was assigned to the CH-53K Heavy-Lift Test Team. In 2018, she led the rst detachment of the CH-53K to Gunnison, Colorado, for high altitude testing, and in 2020 to Yuma, Arizona, for Degraded Visual Environment testing. For her outstanding leadership and performance during CH-53K ight testing, Lauren was selected as the inaugural winner of the J.J. McCue Civilian Tester-of-the-Year Award. When Lauren was informed by Colonel Justin Eggsta that she had been selected for the award she remarked, “Oh, I know the John Glenn Squadron, you gave me a scholarship in 2007!”In reecting on her selection for this award, Lauren shared “It’s been a privilege to work with the Marines on 53K; they are dedicated to their mission and excited to get this platform out to the eet. It was an honor to be recognized with the John Glenn Squadron J.J. McCue Civilian Tester-of-the-Year Award for my work with the CH-53K Test Team.”In 2022, the John Glenn Squadron anticipates awarding almost $50,000 in merit-based scholarships to students who are interested in pursing a STEM degree. is scholarship program is made possible by very loyal and generous sponsors. e squadron has the goal of providing more scholarships to outstanding students and citizens like Lauren. To achieve that goal, the John Glenn Squadron is going to develop an endowment program. If you are interested in learning more about the MCAA John Glenn Squadron Scholarship Program, please contact Steve “Zo” Meizoso, MCAA JGS Scholarship Chairman, stevemeizoso@teklaresearch.com.One of the six students to receive a scholarship from the John Glenn Squadron in 2007 was Ms. Lauren (McKay) Fean from Patuxent High Lauren (McKay) Fean2007 MCAA JGS Scholarship2017 USNTPS Class 1512021 J.J. McCue Civilian Tester-of-the-Year AwardPHOTO COURTESY: LAUREN (MCKAY) FEAN

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20 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgThe Joe Foss Squadron Recognizes 1st MAW Award WinnersDuring the week of 7 March 2022, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW) commanders and other leaders gathered at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan for their semi-annual Commanders’ Conference. During that week, the Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) Joe Foss Squadron hosted a social event on 9 Marchin Club Iwakuni. e Squadron took the opportunity to recognize 1st MAW squadrons and personnel for their outstanding achievements. Major General Brian Cavanaugh presented the awards to squadron and group leaders who represented the 1stMAW nominees for the national level MCAA Awards, which go on to compete at the national level. e Joe Foss Squadron would like to thank 1st MAW leadership who took time out of their busy schedules to recognize these Marines, and we wish all of Awardees best of luck as they go on to compete at the national level! Col Derek Brannon (MAG-12 CO), LtCol Timothy Farag (VMFA-121 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), SgtMaj Trevor Jennings (VMFA-121 SgtMaj), and SgtMaj Christopher Amancio (MAG-12 SgtMaj)Col Derek Brannon (MAG-12 CO), LtCol Jerry Godfrey (MWSS-171 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and SgtMaj John Horsely, Jr. (MWSS-171 SgtMaj)Col Derek Brannon (MAG-12 CO), LtCol Michael Wyrsch (VMFA-242 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and Christopher Amancio (MAG-12 SgtMaj)Col Robert Guice (MACG-18 CO), LtCol Robert Williamson (MACS-4 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and SgtMaj Joseph Alvarez (MACS-4 SgtMaj)Col Derek Brannon (MAG-12 CO), LtCol Christopher Kocab (VMGR-152 CO), and MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG)Col Robert Guice (MACG-18 CO), LtCol Jason Lambert (MASS-2 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and 1stSgt Jessica Davila (MASS-2 SgtMaj)

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 21SQUADRON news & viewsCol Brian Koch (MAG-24 CO), LtCol Erica Mantz (MALS-24 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), SgtMaj Yohana Contreras (MALS-24 SgtMaj), and SgtMaj Sael Garcia (MAG-24 SgtMaj)Col Brian Koch (MAG-24 CO), SgtMaj Alejandro Garcia (VMU-3 SgtMaj), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and SgtMaj Sael Garcia (MAG-24 SgtMaj)Col Brian Koch (MAG-24 CO), LtCol Thomas Farrington II (VMU-3 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), SgtMaj Alejandro Garcia (VMU-3 SgtMaj), and SgtMaj Sael Garcia (MAG-24 SgtMaj)Col Christopher Murray (MAG-36 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and SgtMaj Michael Youngblood (MAG-36 SgtMaj)Col Brian Koch (MAG-24 CO), SgtMaj John Schlaud (HMLA-367 SgtMaj), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), and SgtMaj Sael Garcia (MAG-24 SgtMaj)Col Christopher Murray (MAG-36 CO), LtCol Trong Do (VMM-262 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), SgtMaj Shonor Burton (VMM-262 SgtMaj), and SgtMaj Michael Youngblood (MAG-36 SgtMaj)Col Christopher Murray (MAG-36 CO), LtCol Matt Haley (MALS-36 CO), MajGen Brian Cavanaugh (1st MAW CG), SgtMaj Imhotep Woodby (MALS-36 SgtMaj), and SgtMaj Michael Youngblood (MAG-36 SgtMaj)

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22 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgJoe Foss Hosts 15th Annual Awards DinnerFrom Left: Col Jim Flynn, USMC (Ret); SgtMaj Joseph Alvarez; LtCol Robert Williamson; and MajGen Brian Cavanaughe Joe Foss Squadron hosted their 15th Annual MCAA Awards Dinner for 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) nominees to the national level awards. e squadron conducted the dinner on 17 September 2021, at the Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Smedley D. Butler Ocer’s Club located on Plaza Housing (Camp Foster) in Okinawa, Japan and marked the rst time since 2019 that the squadron gathered due to the global pandemic. Wing Leadership and the Joe Foss Squadron, named after the legendary Medal of Honor recipient and World War II ACE, host this awards dinner each year to recognize 1st MAW nominees for their outstanding contributions to their unit, 1st MAW, and Marine Corps aviation in general. e Awards Dinner was attended by approximately 50 active duty or retired Marines, Sailors, family members, and other supporters of Marine Corps Aviation and 1st MAW. Phil “Goose” VanEtten introduced Major General Brian “Phantom” Cavanaugh, Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing as the Guest of Honor. Major General Cavanaugh provided inspiring comments to all those in attendance, including Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG) MAG-24, and MAG-36 Commanders.e focus of the evening was the recognition of those board selected squadrons and individual Marine MCAA Award nominees from 1st MAW to the national level. Each individual nominee and commanding ocer of unit awards received a specially designed laser crafted plaque from the Joe Foss Squadron, presented by Major General Cavanaugh and the Joe Foss Squadron Operations Ocer, Jim “Hymie” Flynn.Joe Foss Squadron events started earlier that day at the beautiful Taiyo Golf Course with the Joe Foss Golf Scramble. e turnout was a fantastic mix of Marines, Sailors, Airman, contractors, and civilian work force employees from across Okinawa. It had been almost two years since the squadron hosted a golf scramble. e day dawned with perfect weather as golfers manned their carts and headed o into the Taiyo jungle and donated their time, money and golf balls to various portions of Marine Corps Installation Pacic’s signature golf course. Comprised of unusually narrow fairways and impenetrable jungle vegetation, the course proved very challenging to all but the most experienced golfers. We had six team prizes, four closest to the pins (par three’s) winners, and special recognition for the longest drive. Donations from American Engineering Corporation and MBC (Mediatti Broadband Communications, Inc.) enabled the squadron to provide prizes for the scramble and pay for the meals of our individual awardees and their guest. We could not have pulled this o without their assistance. A special thanks to the sta of the Taiyo Golf Course and the Butler Ocers’ Club. Last, but not least, thanks to our MCAA Headquarters leadership for their support of providing great gifts so that everyone walked away a winner and could belly up to the bar for free cocktails.e mission of the Joe Foss Squadron, like all MCAA squadrons across the globe, is to promote and recognize professional excellence in Marine Corps aviation, support the fraternal bond of its membership, preserve Marine Corps aviation heritage, and safeguard the future of Marine Corps aviation. We do this in many ways like the Awards Dinner and the golf scramble we just completed. In addition to promoting camaraderie and the bond of our membership, this scramble helped us raise funds to pay for future dinners and Professional Military Education sessions, and just some good ole Happy Hours lled with fun and mostly true stories. Until next time … Sayonara!

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 23SQUADRON news & viewsGolf Tournament Awards1st Place Team LtGen Stacy Clardy BGen Kyle Ellison Mr. Keith Kirkman Ms. Melinda Faires2nd Place Team Mr. Kyle Yamanoha Mr. Scott Maskery Mr. Curtis Wilson3rd Place Team LtCol Jeremy Siegel LtCol Stephen Borrett CDR Margrette Moore SgtMaj Damian Sinanon4th Place Team MajGen Brian Cavanaugh Col Scott Koltick Col Jeremy Beaven Col William Pacatte7th Place Team SSgt Jerry Farrish Sgt Jacob Leister Sgt Daniel ShiftfletTeam with the Most Stroke Ms. Yoshino VanEtten Ms. Michiyo Irei Ms. Deiko Nakanishi Ms. Erina NakanishiClosest to the Pin Hole #6 Ms. Melina FairesClosest to the Pin Hole #8 Mr. Keith KirkmanClosest to the Pin Hole #12 Michael PittmanClosest to the Pin Hole #15 Ms. Deiko NakanishiLongest Drive Scott MaskeryJoe Foss Squadron OicersSquadron CO: Currently Vacant Squadron XO: Colonel Phil “Goose” VanEtten, USMC (Ret)Squadron SgtMaj: SgtMaj Sam “Sambo” Schmidt, USMC (Ret)Squadron OpsO: Colonel Jim “Hymie” Flynn, USMC (Ret)Squadron LogO: Colonel LtCol Nathan “Chuckles” HillSquadron AMO: Major Joseph P. BallSquadron Treas: First Lieutenant t Brandon T. ColonSquadron IT/Social Media: Currently VacantDirector of Golf: Lieutenant Colonel Nathan “Chuckles” Hill1st place team4th place team7th place team2nd place team3rd place team

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24 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgMayday!Prelude: Trouble began for the twenty-three F4U1D Corsair pilots of Marine Fighter Squadron 422 (VMF-422) when they flew into an extremely severe weather front only fifteen minutes from their intermediate destination. The front rapidly developed into a violent tropical cyclone. First Lieutenant Mark W. “Breeze” Syrkin recounted, “The closer we got it seemed to be on all sides of us…from the ocean all the way up to 35,000 to 40,000 feet. He described the torrent, “as if a fire hose was being turned on the front of the aircraft.” It so restricted visibility that the squadron commander, Major John S. MacLaughlin, ordered the planes to descent to a water-level course and to follow it through the disturbance. At this point the squadron had passed the point of no return and did not have any other option but to fly through the storm. After some minutes the flight emerged from the first storm front and found that four aircraft were missing. One aircraft piloted by First Lieutenant Don Walker was able to return to the formation. VMF-422 “The Lost Squadron”COLONEL DICK CAMP, USMC (RET)e Author and e Yellow Sheet Editor would like to personally Mark Carlson who interviewed three of the survivors: Colonel Robert Lehnert, Colonel John Hansen, and First Lieutenant Ken Gunderson, as well as several family members of the squadron; he graciously allowed us permission to use quotes from his interviews/book and also assisted with verifying the accuracy of Colonel Camp’s manuscript. Carlson provided many of the photographs in the article as well. “The Flying Buccaneers”Marine Fighter Squadron 422 (VMF-422), e Flying Buccaneers”, were commissioned on 1 January 1943, at Naval Air Station (NAS) San Diego, California. e squadron would move to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Santa Barbara under the command of Major John S. MacLaughlin, Jr., a 1937 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Most of the pilots were new, having earned their wings in 1943 from NAS Pensacola or NAS Jacksonville. e squadron was declared fully operational on 24 September 1943 and in August 19 44, Major McLaughlin announced that VMF-422 would be one of the rst Marine squadrons to operate the new, agile Vought F4U Corsair. On 17 January 1944, the squadron was divided between two carriers that would sync up again near the Marshall Islands. USS Kalinin Bay sailed with the 24 new Corsairs and accompanying pilots: Major John McLaughlin; Captains Cloyd R. Jeans, John F. Rogers, and Charles Hughes; and Lieutenants Robert “Curly” C. Lehnert, Ken Gunderson, Chris Lauesen, John Hansen, Walter “Jake” A. Wilson, Bill Reardon, John Lincoln, Jules Flood, Robert K. Wilson, Sterling “Shou” Price, Caleb Smith, “Chick” Whalen, Mark “Breeze” Syrkin, Bill Aycrigg, Ted urneau, Don Walker, Robert Moran, Map of Gilbert and Ellice Islands. VMF-422’s planned course took them southeast to Nanomea and Funifuti, an 800 mile ﬂight. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK CARLSON

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 25Earl C. ompson, Royce “Tex” Watson, and Bob Scott. e rest of the squadron’s personnel were transported on USS President Monroe. USS Kalinin Bay sailed straight to the Gilbert Islands to deliver troops for OPERATION FLINTLOCK to support the invasion of the Marshall Islands via island hopping between the atoll groups and securing those locations as they went along.After the squadron received their orders, they prepared for their journey. Due to the technological limitations in 1944, ights charted for 100 miles or more over water were considered a navigational endeavor, and it was standard operating procedure for the squadron to have a specic navigational plane, or “pathnder,” to guide the Marines to their destination. is ight path would be the rst extended crossing for many of the aviators, but since their course would take them over a string of islands, the fears of getting o-course or stranded in the water were signicantly lessened. Still, the squadron as a whole had not done an over-water trip this long before.i With the safety of his squadron in mind, McLaughlin made the expected request for a navigational lead from Colonel Burke, but when Burke passed the request along to the commanding general, Merritt denied the request.ii After some of his more experienced aviators, Captains Cloyd Jeans and Charles Hughes, urged him to request again, McLaughlin went to Burke with the point that it was standard procedure to have a navigational lead when travelling so far over open water.iii Burke took the request back to Merritt, who loudly refused to issue a navigational aircraft to guide the squadron during their ight to Funafuti. Merritt insisted that he needed the aircraft for reconnaissance missions to advance the Marshall Island campaign and could not spare one.iv After being denied a second time, McLaughlin turned his attention to preparing his reports for the intended journey.Everything in the preparatory stage of the ight seemed to be going smoothly. e weather conditions that were given to McLaughlin depicted a smooth ight with light rain showers. is would have been good news, but this particular report was about a day old.v A pitstop was charted on Nanomea, which was about 463 miles southeast of Tarawa, to break up the journey. Hawkins Field, Tarawa Atoll e day after landing at Hawkins Field, VMF-422 received orders to y to the island of Funafuti, a two-leg, 820-mile, over-water ight, with a stopover at Nanomea. e pilots were briefed that the weather was good from Tarawa to a few miles north of Nanomea and from there to Funafuti they could expect scattered showers and squalls. Flying conditions in the showers would not be good. Because of the length of the over-water ight, Major MacLaughlin made a routine request for a multi-engine navigational escort, which was standard practice for single-engine ghters. e commanding general, Brigadier General Lewie G. Merritt, refused to provide the escort. Mark Carlson wrote in e Marines’ Lost Squadron: e Odyssey of VMF-422 that Syrkin heard Merritt say, “[Squadron] ‘422 can make the ight to Funafuti on their own. I don’t want to use any antisubmarine patrol planes for an unnecessary escort….” ABOVE: Major John S. MacLaughlin, commanding ofﬁcer VMF-422. Lost at sea with ﬁve other pilots of VMF-422. HOTO COURTESY: THE FAMILY OF JOHN MACLAUGHLINRIGHT: First Lieutenant Mark Syrkin, who survived ditching and three days adrift before rescue. PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKIN

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26 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.org Just before takeo the next day, the pilots were given navigational and radio code information. Syrkin noted, “We wrote down our course on our plotting boards and were told that the weather data was the same as it had been the night before.” e weather data had not been updated and the radio codes were useless, because General Merritt’s sta failed to inform Funafuti and Nanumea that a squadron of friendly aircraft were on their way—thus the incoming planes had no radio signals to guide them on their way. At 0945 on 25 January 1944, VMF-422, call sign “Buccaneer Flight,” took o on their rst leg to Nanumea (one aircraft had starter trouble and could not take o, leaving 23 aircraft). Since the ight time to Nanumea was only two and a half hours over a distance of 463 miles, the pilots considered it a relatively easy “milk run”. “The weather was perfect with visibility unlimited,” Syrkin recalled. “We left Tarawa behind at 1000 hours.” MacLaughlin organized the squadron into three flights, one of seven, two of eight, divided into four-plane divisions. Two hours into the flight and only fifteen minutes short of Nanumea, their luck changed They ran into a severe weather front, which rapidly developed into a massive tropical storm. “The closer we got, it seemed to be on all sides of us,” Syrkin said. “As far as we could see from right to left, from the ocean to 35,000 to 40,000 feet,” Lieutenant Sterling “Shou” Price observed, “it was black and as wide and as high as you could see.” Price’s description was spot-on; they were in the middle of a Pacific cyclone that spanned almost 150 miles in diameter and was 50,000 feet high. In an effort to get over the storm, MacLaughlin led the squadron upward, but as the Corsairs reached their altitude ceiling the storm still towered over them. His next decision was to descend and try to get underneath it. He ordered the pilots to drop down to 200 feet as they entered the heavy storm cloud. At this point they were past the point of no return, so their only option was to fly through the weather. Lieutenant John E. Hanson explained, “When you got down to 200 feet over the water, when an airplane turns there’s not much r o o m .” Torrential rain battered the Corsairs. Syrkin explained, “There was really no forward visibility, and we were only able to keep some semblance of formation by looking out the sides of the canopy.” The storm played havoc with their radios and instruments. “Static electricity VMF-422 took off on their ill-fated ﬂight from Hawkins Field on Betio Island, Tarawa. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. NAVY

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 27made the compass spin like a top,” Price recalled. “It was hairy inside the storm, you’re talking about fteen, sixteen airplanes all in one place…violently maneuvering, trying to avoid one another and at the same time trying to stay alive.” The squadron hit a break in the storm. “When we broke out in the middle of it,” Syrkin said, “We’ve got it made now. The skipper even said, ‘I know where we are now.’ And bam, we hit the other side of the storm and it started all over again.” At the risk of tearing the formation apart, MacLaughlin led the entire formation into a sharp turn to port and then to starboard trying to pick up the Nanomea directional beacon. “It was like a schoolyard game of ‘crack the whip,’” Lieutenant Robert C. “Curly” Lehnert explained. “Some planes could not follow the line.” Price added, “With all this maneuvering, guys got separated.” Three aircraft lost contact. “My division leader John Rogers was unable to keep formation,” Syrkin recounted. “John Hansen and Walter A. “Jake” Wilson went off with him.” Captain John F. Rogers was never heard from again. Hansen decided that his only salvation was to go it alone. “I was not about to go back down and try to join that formation.” Hansen managed to get the dial setting for Funafuti’s radio beacon from one of the other pilots. “I tuned it in, and it worked. I followed it in. My engine started to pop, but about 20 minutes later I looked out the side and there was the runway.” He landed with 80 gallons of fuel left, enough for another hour of flight. “e guys came out to nd out why I was there. I told them we had a whole squadron headed their way. ey knew nothing about it.” It was the first official notice that VMF-422 was lost in the storm. Jake Wilson was almost out of fuel when he spotted the tiny, reef island of Niutao. He made a quick decision to ditch. As his Corsair came to a shuddering stop in the waves, Wilson could see natives rushing out to him in dugout canoes. He was taken ashore and given a lavish banquet. Trouble would start later when the chief took a shine to Wilson and wanted him to marry one of his daughters. Lieutenant Christian F. Lauesen reported engine trouble and ditched. “He crashed into the ocean right into the side of one of those horrendous waves like an arrow,” Lehnert explained. “The plane never surfaced [but] after a while I saw a head pop up, but no life raft, just a yellow “Mae West” life vest.” Lehnert continued to orbit the downed pilot despite a call to rejoin the squadron. “I remember asking, ‘Are we just going to leave him?’ There was no answer.” Lauesen struggled in the huge waves. “It was heart rendering because I’m up here and he’s down there,” Lehnert remembered. “He’s waving at me and I’m envisioning that he’s trying to say, ‘Thanks for staying with me.’” The plight of his squadron mate was too much for Lehnert. “I decided to bail out [to help him].” He opened the canopy and lowered his flaps. “I LEFT: Ken Gunderson and Chris Lauesen on Midway in November of 1943. Note that Lauesen’s jacketbears the squadron’s Pirate emblem. Lauesen was lost at sea after ditching his aircraft after running out of fuel. PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKINRIGHT: General Lewie Merritt at his headquarters sometime in 1943. Merritt refused to provide VMF-422 an escort for the 800-mile overwater ﬂight. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S MARINE CORPS

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28 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgThe ObjectiveU.S. Navy Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and his subordinates: Rear Admiral Richmond Turner, commander of the Fifth Amphibious Force; Major General Holland M. Smith, commanding general of V Amphibious Corps of the Fleet Marine Force; Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, commander of the carrier forces; and Rear Admiral John H. Hoover, commander of the defense forces and land-based air, were the strategic minds behind OPERATION FLINTLOCK. Rear Admiral Hoover’s command encompassed the Marine squadrons; his objectives in the operation were to soften any enemy resistance via dropping bombs on the islands and to fully secure the island by developing Allied-run bases after the front lines had moved on to the next location.xviOn the squadron’s ninth day at sea, the escort ship was 50 miles out of Tarawa, one of the atolls in the Gilbert Islands. The Flying Buccaneers prepared to be catapulted from deck of the carrier and fly to Hawkins Field on Betio, the largest town of South Tarawa.xvii When they arrived at the airfield, they were met by the commanding oicer of the air station, Colonel Lawrence Burke. Burke served under the command of Brigadier General Lewie G. Merritt, the commanding general for 4th Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing. Brigadier General Merritt was a long serving aviator who helped to shape Marine aviation in its infancy; and he was determined to leave his mark on history. He had ambitious plans for advancing the Marine Corps in the South Pacific, and he did not take kindly to fellow oicers that questioned his ideas.xviii Brigadier General Merritt had received orders from his superior, Rear Admiral John H. Hoover, who commanded the aircraft and airstrikes component of OPERATION FLINTLOCK, to send the Marine fighter squadron about 800 miles southeast to Funafuti. The squadron was initially not going to participate in the Marshall Islands invasion proper but instead relocate out of the enemy’s reach at Funafuti for the time being. It was believed that by doing so, VMF-422 would be strategically positioned to strike in later missions. was at 2,000 feet, as slow as possible, when I jumped clear, right over Chris’ dye marker. I pulled the rip cord and out comes the parachute, no problem.” He climbed into his deployed life raft. “I made an attempt to see where Lauesen was, but I soon found out that with the waves so high, Lauesen could have been ten yards away and I could not have seen him.” e next day the weather was calm, but no rescue appeared. Lehnert did not lose faith. His hero had been Eddie Rickenbacker who was lost at sea for 24 days before being rescued. “My theory was that if Rickenbacker could last 24 days, I could too. On the third day, “I’m doing my usual light paddling and I looked out, and on the horizon, I saw something that looked like a plane.” He red a are. “e plane rocked its wings…then I was found.” e Navy PBY landed and plucked him out of the sea. e squadron continued to press on when MacLaughlin suddenly turned over the lead to Captain Cloyd Rex Jeans and then veered away. Lieutenant John “Abe” Lincoln tried to contact him by radio. “Hey, here I am boss.” When he didn’t receive a response, he eased his aircraft within inches of MacLaughlin’s plane. “I tried to get him to look at me, but there was no reaction.” Lincoln thought that MacLaughlin “was an academy guy and he knew he was going to lose 23 brand new airplanes. He just couldn’t take it.” Lincoln peeled away and rejoined the squadron. Two more pilots disappeared. Lieutenant Earl C. ompson lost contact, and disappeared forever. Lieutenant Robert P. “Tiger” Moran became separated, but managed to contact Nanomea by radio, who gave him a compass heading and advised him to bail out as soon as he sighted Nui. Moran found the island and bailed out. Unfortunately, he broke his back in the bail-out when he struck the stabilizer and drowned in the heavy surf. e natives recovered his body and buried him on the island. Still lost, Jeans issued a desperate order. “e next plane that runs out of gas, we’re all going to circle him and set one plane down after another and stay together or we’ll have planes scattered all over the Pacic.” Two pilots radioed Jeans they were running out of gas. Lieutenant William A. Aycrigg set his plane down and was last seen in his Mae West. e other pilot, Lieutenant eodore urnau ditched seven miles away and was rescued by USS Welles on 28 January. Jeans ordered the remaining pilots to ditch. ey formed a trac circle and made successful water landings: “Shou” Price: “I put all the aps down and got it as slow as I could get Four of the Flying Buccaneers shortly before being deployed to Tarawa. From left to right: Robert “Chick” Whalen, Jake Wilson, Royce “Tex” Watson and John Hansen.PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKIN.

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 29it. I dragged the tail in the water a little way, but the minute the big heavy engine caught in the water, Bam! It was like running into a brick wall. I was out of that airplane and in my boat before the tail disappeared—a total of 40 seconds.” “Tex” Watson: “I was taking on a lot of water and I asked the good Lord for some help.” With his last ounce of strength, he was nally able to climb in the raft. “Breeze” Syrkin ditched close by. “ey thought I had gone bonkers, because I was ring my guns like a mad fool, but I was getting rid of my load of ammunition and all the heavy stu I could think of out of the cockpit.” Watson watched Syrkin ditch and exclaimed, “Look at old Breeze, he’s gone berserk!” Syrkin ditched safely and got in his life raft. “I started kicking my feet from the raft in front of me when I kicked something in the water. I looked behind me and saw a n going by! I got back in the raft real fast!” VMF-422 History and War Diary noted: “A number of sharks were observed, some making passes at the sea anchor or scraping against the boats—which did not add to the peace of mind of the occupants. Facetious names were given to the most persistent of these animals, one being readily identiable by a notched dorsal n. “Shou” Price stated that, “e sharks were getting more and friendlier as time went on. ey were rubbing their ns along the bottom of the boat. Charley Hughes still had his pistol and nally shot the one shark. e others came after the wounded one and then disappeared.” e thirteen pilots in twelve life rafts (First Lieutenant Robert “Chick” Whalen failed to get in his raft and was taken in by First Lieutenant Don Walker) spent the next two nights waiting for rescue. e rst night they clustered together using the life raft’s cord hand holds, but in the extremely heavy seas some of the holds were torn o. “e second night,” according to Price, “Was a real dinger. e weather started to get nasty again, so we held hands to keep the boats together. e waves seemed like they were 50 feet high…up one minute and down the next minute and you thought ‘Oh my God, the next wave is going to crash over the top of us,’ but the boat rode right over the top of the wave. at’s what we did all night long.” On the third day, “Abe” Lincoln, “looked up and I saw a plane.” Ensign George Davidson’s PBY Catalina, Patrol Squadron 53, on a mission to look for Japanese submarines, spotted the tiny cluster of yellow rafts. “I sent my position and asked for instructions.” After never receiving a response, “I thought it was best to go in and save them. If I had been out there, I would have expected the same.” With light fading and the waves picking up, Davidson put the big plane down. It was the rst time he had made a landing under such harrowing circumstances. “When I did come in, a wave came over the plane and my right engine disappeared. It just tore it o the plane.” e rough seas also cracked the hull and the crew had to turn to and bail out the water. “If that wasn’t enough,” Price explained, “as we were getting aboard one of the lines broke and four or ve of the guys drifted away.” Davidson was forced to taxi around for two hours until he found them. With no chance to take o and in danger of sinking, they had no choice but to wait for rescue. After several hours, USS Hobby arrived and picked them up. e U.S. Navy launched an extensive search for the missing crew members, but they were never found. e nal tragic toll was six Marines and twenty-two Corsairs lost. e six men lost were ocially declared dead by the Navy Department on 25 January 1945.Lieutenant Royce “Tex” Watson ditched at sea after running out of fuel. He spent three days at sea waiting for rescue. PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKIN

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30 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgBoard of InquiryA Board of Inquiry was held in the wardroom of USS Curtis in Tarawa Lagoon from 27 January to 10 February. Eighteen witnesses were called, and Rear Admiral John Hoover, commander of Task Group 50.2 (who oversaw Marine air operations in the region) presided over the investigation. Originally, the board faulted Major McLaughlin for ying into the storm; however, after further review for the nal report, the investigation ndings cleared McLaughlin. e leading cause of the disaster was the denial of an escort aircraft for the squadron. It also concluded that aireld operations did not carry out proper procedures and the outdated weather report contributed to the loss. e ndings and suggested sanctions went up the chain of command to Commander-in-Chief U.S. Pacic Fleet (CINCPAC) Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King and on to James Forrestal, Undersecretary of the Navy at the Pentagon. e recommendations were endorsed at each level, which resulted in letters of censure for several ocers, including Brigadier General Lewie G. Merritt. e positive outcome of what became known as the “Flintlock Disaster” was an order by CINCPAC for all single-engine planes or squadrons to be escorted on over-water ights. After the tragic ight, the squadron was issued additional Corsairs and personnel, who would go on to take a part in the capturing of the Marshall Islands. e Marshall Islands invasion went on as planned, and the U.S. military landed on 31 January.vi ere were multiple islands attacked and invaded simultaneously, with the heart of the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Island, successfully falling under U.S. control. Although the Japanese forces had lost control of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, remaining enemy soldiers were clever and refused to surrender without a ght. ese straggling soldiers dispersed cha pieces, narrow metallic strips, over the island that confused radar equipment and left the American forces without the ability to properly prepare and vulnerable to the massive bomb raid conducted by the Japanese on 12 February 1944. After this attack, eliminating the remaining hostile Japanese people from the islands became a priority for Marine aviators. e surviving Marines of VMF-422 were also tasked with the follow-up mission of fully securing the island of Engebi in the Eniwetok Atoll. e U.S. campaign had already invaded and captured the island on 18 February, and the troops were heading on to the next island. VMF-422 was tasked with ying bombing missions over Eniwetok to eliminate the weakened enemy force.vii ey were also tasked with cleaning the islands of the destruction caused by the invasion, including ordnance and corpses.viii In a cruel twist of fate, after surviving the near-fatal voyage to Funafuti, Lieutenant ureau’s aircraft folded when he attempted to take o from Abemama to continue island hopping to Engebi, and the crash killed him.ix The AftermathBrigadier General Merritt went on to play a great role in the victories of the Tarawa and later Kwajalein Air Campaigns, and he was awarded a Bronze Star for his eorts.x Over his career, he did many things to further aviation, and this mistake that needlessly lost 6 Marines their lives and 23 new aircraft did not seem to aect his career. He was promoted to the rank of major general, and then he retired to work as an attorney in South Carolina.xi An aireld at MCAS Beaufort was named in his honor.After serving with VMF-422, John Hansen continued to serve in the Korean and Vietnam wars and retired at the rank of colonel after 32 years. He enjoyed his retirement career as an international tennis ocial and had national recognition for his own tennis skills.xiiLEFT: Captain Charley Hughes, who was following the Nanumea radio range as they entered the cyclone. PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKIN CHRIS HUGHESCENTER: Captain John Rogers was among the group separated from the main formation after emerging from the bottom of the storm. He was lost at sea. PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKIN RIGHT: After the disappearance of Major MacLaughlin, command of VMF-422 fell on the shoulders of Captain Rex Jeans. He made the critical decision that the rest of the pilots should ditch together.PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW SYRKIN

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 31Mark Syrkin earned a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his service in World War II. He continued to serve in the Korean War as a combat ghter pilot and retired at the rank of major. He earned the Air Medal for his service as well.xiii Syrkin, many years later fumed, “We knew whose fault it was. It wasn’t Major MacLaughlin’s fault. It wasn’t even the brieng ocer at Tarawa who’d told us the weather all the way to Funafuti was clear with scattered rain squalls. We were thrown into the storm by the orders of one man. We knew exactly who to blame for the disaster.” Robert Lehnert earned the Navy and Marine Corps medal for his decision to stay with Lauesen. He also earned the DFC for his contributions to World War II. He continued to serve in Korea, where he received a second DFC and Vietnam, and retired at the rank of colonel.xiv He TOP LEFT: Mississippian Jake Wilson found himself stranded on an island with friendly girls who wanted to marry him.PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW SYRKIN TOP CENTER: Lieutenant John “Abe” Lincoln was the ﬁrst of the downed pilots to spot the rescue aircraft.PHOTO COURTESY: ANDREW SYRKIN TOP RIGHT: VP-53 pilot George Davidson was ordered to search for Japanese ships and submarines west of Funafuti on 28 January. Instead, he found the missing Marines and deliberately landed his PBY in the turbulent ocean to rescue them.PHOTO COURTESY BARBARA DAVIDSON ABOVE: The surviving pilots of VMF-422 assembled after the USS Hobby delivered them to Funafuti.Six of the original ﬂight of twenty-three pilots had died.PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW SYRKIN BELOW: Survivors John Hansen and “Tex” Watson at Funafuti after rescue.PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW SYRKIN

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32 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgReferences Carlson, Mark. “e Marines’ Lost Squadron: e Odyssey of VMF-422.” 14 Feb 2022. Military Aviation Museum. YouTube publication. 1:05:04. Youtube.com. Accessed 10 Feb 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFN8fRtCPQg.Carlson, Mark. e Marines’ Lost Squadron: e Odyssey of VMF-422, by Mark Carlson, Sunbury Press, Inc., Mechanicsburg, PA, 2017. “Cloyd R. Jeans,” e Hall of Valor Project, accessed 11 Feb 2022, https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/44359.“Col Robert C. Lehnert, USMC.” National Flight Log Entry. Accessed 10 Feb 2022. http://navalaviationfoundation.org/ways-to-give/national-ight-log/national-ight-log-entry/?id=2158. Emmott, N.W. “e Mystery of Squadron 422.” Accessed 16 Jan 2022. https://navworld.com/navhistory/emmott1.htm. Hansen, Col John. Discussion of VMS Squadron Proceeding on Over-Water Flight in Central Pacic, when Airplane Completed the Mission, the Water Landings and the Rescue. By Neil Gross. Department of the Navy, 4 Oct 1980.Heinl, Jr. LtCol Robert D. and Crown, LtCol John A. e Marshalls: Increasing the Tempo. Historical Branch, Headquarters USMC, 1954. https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Marshalls/USMC-M-Marshalls-2.html. Sheldon, Matt, dir. e Flintlock Disaster. 2012; San Pedro, CA: Triple reat Television. Vimeo video. https://vimeo.com/53437571.Syrkin, Mark W. “e Lost Squadron.”Air Classics,09, 2005, 29-41,https://www-proquest-com.lomc.idm.oclc.org/magazines/lost-squadron/docview/235443562/se-2?accountid=14746.“VMF-422.” Marines.togetherweserved.com. Accessed 11 Feb 2022. https://marines.togetherweserved.com/usmc/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=PublicUnitProle&type=Unit&ID=13627.Whittle, LtCol Frederick J. and Kullberg, LtCol Andrew D. “Major General Lewie G. Merritt: Marine Corps Aviation Pioneer Citadel Class of 1917.” Yumpu.com. Accessed 11 Feb 2022. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/8100702/article-on-major-general-lewie-g-merritt.Endnotesi. Col John Hansen, interview by Neil Gross, Discussion of VMS Squadron Proceeding on Over-Water Flight in Central Pacic, when Airplane Completed the Mission, the Water Landings and the Rescue, Department of the Navy, 4 Oct 1980, 4.ii. e Flintlock Disaster.iii. Mark W. Syrkin.iv. e Flintlock Disaster.v. Carlson, “e Marines’ Lost Squadron: e Odyssey of VMF-422.”vi. George W. Garand and Truman R. Strobridge, 405.vii. Carlson, “e Marines’ Lost Squadron: e Odyssey of VMF-422.”viii. George W. Garand and Truman R. Strobridge, 409.ix. Mark W. Syrkin.x. LtCol Frederick J. Whittle and LtCol Andrew D. Kullberg, “Major General Lewie G. Merritt: Marine Corps Aviation Pioneer Citadel Class of 1917,” Yumpu.com, accessed 11 Feb 2022, https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/8100702/article-on-major-general-lewie-g-merritt. xi. Carlson, “e Marines’ Lost Squadron: e Odyssey of VMF-422.”xii. Teresa Stepzinski, “World War II Hero John E. Hansen of Fleming Island Dies at 93,” e Florida Times-Union: Jacksonvill.com, 9 Oct. 2013, accessed 11 Feb 2022. https://www.jacksonville.com/article/20131009/NEWS/801245259. xiii. “Mark Warren Syrkin,” Arlington National Cemetery Website, accessed 11 Feb 2022, http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mwsyrkin.htm. xiv. “Col Robert C. Lehnert, USMC,” National Flight Log Entry, accessed 11 Feb 2022, http://navalaviationfoundation.org/ways-to-give/national-ight-log/national-ight-log-entry/?id=2158. xv. “Cloyd R. Jeans,” e Hall of Valor Project, accessed 14 Feb 2022, https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/44359. xvi. LtCol Robert D. Heinl, Jr. and LtCol John A. Crown, e Marshalls: Increasing the Tempo, Historical Branch, Headquarters USMC, 1954, 9.xvii. George W. Garand and Truman R. Strobridge, 401.xviii. e Flintlock Disaster. xix “Mark Warren Syrkin,” Arlington National Cemetery Website, accessed 11 Feb 2022, http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mwsyrkin.htm. xx. “Col Robert C. Lehnert, USMC,” National Flight Log Entry, accessed 11 Feb 2022, http://navalaviationfoundation.org/ways-to-give/national-ight-log/national-ight-log-entry/?id=2158. xxi“Cloyd R. Jeans,” e Hall of Valor Project, accessed 14 Feb 2022, https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/44359. is a Life Member of the Marine Corps Aviation Association.Captain Jeans was awarded the Legion of Merit for his ability to take over and make the hard decisions during this disastrous ight. He went on to earn the DFC for his eorts in World War II.xvMajor John MacLaughlin was posthumously given the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. VMF-422 was reconstituted after the disaster under the command of Major Elmer Wrenn with Jeans remaining as Executive Ocer. By April 1944, the squadron was ying out of Engebi in Eniwetok Atoll on interdiction missions against Japanese bases and shipping in the Marshall Islands. As a side note, the Buccaneers hosted Charles Lindbergh during his short time in the region in September, and he accompanied them on three strike missions to Wotje Island. e Buccaneers operated from Okinawa between May and September 1945, contributing to the defense of U.S. forces in the Ryukyu campaign. In that time, the squadron was credited with 15 Japanese planes shot down.

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and 3,600 statute miles; beginning from Long Island, NY and landing in Paris, France. Lindbergh, the ‘Lone Eagle’, is a legacy member of e Distinguished Flying Cross Society. e Distinguished Flying Cross Society itself (DFCS) was founded in 1994, as a 501(c) (19) nonprot organization, headquartered in San Diego, CA, and is made up of those men and women who were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and their relatives. e Society currently has more than 6,000 members and was founded on the fraternity and fellowship among military iers. It seeks to preserve the rich heritage and historical narratives of those who are recipients of the DFC and to educate the general public, especially the youth of America, on the values of courage, patriotism and character; those very characteristics upon which America was founded. By doing so, it elevates the awareness of the award itself and demonstrates to the public that The DFC has been awarded to pilots and air crew in all ve of our services (United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force and the United States Coast Guard). Recipients represent a diversity of backgrounds, ethnicity, rank and gender whose aerial achievements were chronicled from the chaos of combat, to epic rescues, out to the very edges of space. e Distinguished Flying Cross medal was established by an Act of Congress on July 2, 1926 to recognize the heroism of World War I pilots. However, the rst Distinguished Flying Cross citations were presented to civilian Pan American Flight crews on 2 May, 1927 by President Calvin Coolidge, for their ve ship, 22,000 mile ight. President Coolidge presented the rst Distinguished Flying Cross medal, on 11 June, 1927, to then Captain Charles A. Lindbergh of the Army Air Corps Reserve, for his solo ight of 33.5 hours a very small cross section of ordinary Americans can and have accomplished extraordinary things under extremely dicult conditions while in ight. e Character Development Program (CDP), produced by the Medal of Honor Foundation as an educational outreach, has recently been recognized by the DFCS as an extremely worthy cause and eorts are underway to lend the support of our membership toward that eort. An active scholarship program exists for the descendents of DFCS members. If you are a DFC recipient and would like to see the historical narrative of your award preserved to serve as an inspiration for future generations, go to the DFCS website at (www.dfcsociety.org) for information and requirements for joining our ranks. Families of a deceased DFC recipient are also encouraged to enroll their loved one posthumously and become an Associate member. For additional information, call our Toll-free number at 1- 866-332-6332.The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is our nation’s highest award for aerial achievement. As a valor decoration, it ranks fourth in order of precedence, and is awarded to recipients for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial ﬂight. Call to Action All DFC Marines!

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34 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgWe were “in the barrel” that night, heading north on a Rolling under mission to the ai Nguyen ermal Power Plant. e load was 11 Mk-117 750-pound bombs and two drop tanks. Take-o was to the south with a left turn out over the Gulf and climbing to cruise altitude while heading to the Khe Sahn TACAN in Northwest South Vietnam. It’s a “Western Track” tonight, up through Laos and updating present position (PP) on mountain tops and anything else that shows up from 25,000 feet altitude.Anyone who remembers Lima Site 85 in Northeast Laos, aka TACAN Channel 99 on your radio dial, raise your hand. Lima Site 85 was the Top Secret CIA/USAF base on a 5,600 foot mountain peak. It had a TSQ-81 radar for RBS bombing, in addition to the TACAN station. It was only 135 nautical miles southwest of Hanoi. It was overrun by North Vietnamese Army(NVA) commandos on 12 March 1968, and only 6 of the 18 CIA and U.S. Air Force personnel escaped with their lives.is was a good PP update before heading into North Vietnam. Our route took us due north toward the Chinese border, crossing the Red River around Yen Bai, then a right turn to the east when well short of that magical forbidden border-barrier, and then another right turn to the south when due north of ai Nguyen. e attack heading was about 160, using ud Ridge as a shield to our right (west). You can see from the chart that the power plant is only 30 miles north of Hanoi. It’s IFR and has been most of the way into the target area. e bad guys are hosing away to their heart’s content, but our “secret weapon” was working its magic. e “Cotton Picker” of Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VMCJ-1), an EA-6A, has positioned himself directly behind us in order to eectively jam the main lobes of the enemy radars pointed at us. ey “hung it out” in direct violation of orders not to place themselves between SAM sites and the Chinese border. ose lads were It was a dark and stormy night, but then again, the nights in North Vietnam in October and November of 1967 were mostly dark and stormy. We were working the Night Watch out of DaNang, appropriate for the Bats of Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 242 (VMA(AW)-242). At the time, my partner was Major Andy Martin and Captain “Bones” Burns was the name, and bombing was the game.Rolling Thunder, Thai Nguyen, Bob McNamara, & A Brit SpyCOLONEL MIKE “BONES” BURNS, USMC (RET)“Home Sweet Home”, VMA(AW)-242 HQ at DaNang.

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36 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orggood at what they did, and saved many an A-6 aircrew with their electronic-warfare jamming prowess.So, I’m ddling around and jump on something that looks like a pretty good radar return. e computer, INS, and search radar are working ne. e track radar remained in the o position, I’m taking no chance on it running away and spoiling the computer generated release point. Away go the 11 bombs and away we go toward home, now ying for Mom and the kids. It’s a right break up, up, and away over ud Ridge, then back down on the deck until safely out of Dodge. Return to base was uneventful, and it was about a three-hour hop.A couple of days later someone says, “you need to go to Ops and see your BDA photo”. Never having seen a post-strike photo of one of our targets, and never, ever seeing one again, I beat feet over to Ops. Sure enough there were 11 bomb craters on our run-in heading, and they had been walked through the tall rigging of the transmission towers and power lines of the plant. e main block house was a bit to the right (west) of the string of bombs. Hooray for the good guys! We nd out that the Air Force had been running post-strike missions of Navy and Marine A-6 targets, in anticipation of their F-111 aircraft coming into ailand. ey were interested in what the circular error of probability (CEP) of the Intruder was, in hopes that the F-111 bombing accuracy, with their similar systems, could better that mark. e F-111s essentially did their operational evaluation in combat, with disastrous results, and were pulled out of country in short order. ey performed well when reintroduced into combat two to three years later, but that’s another story for another day.It was a few nights later and Andy says, “lets mosey over to the nearby and very upscale First Marine Aircraft Wing O’ Club for a brewski and a steak”. We’re big-dogging it at the bar with a before-dinner drink when the gent on the other side of Andy strikes up a conversation. He’s a civilian, with a decidedly British accent. Anyway, I’m listening in on their conversation, when this short, pale Brit says, “ if you’re Major Martin, then the lad next to you must be Captain Burns”. Next came one of those Leemer Moments with a cold-shot straight to the heart when he says, “the NVA know who got the ai Nguyen power plant several nights ago, and it will not go well for you two if you get shot down and captured anytime soon. at Russian-built plant provides about half of the electricity to Hanoi”. Who this mysterious Brit was, will never be known for sure! Maybe he was in charge of manifesting British ships into and out of Haiphong harbor during the Southeast Asia War Games? Strange war, strange “allies” those Brits. Likewise for the French and some others.Fast forward a few more days and Ops says, “you and Andy will be brieng Secretary of Defense Robert Strange McNamara and his “Whiz Kids” when they swan through DaNang day after tomorrow. Brief the Power Plant mission”. “Bob’s Traveling Circus” lands on the Air Force (east) side of the aireld. ey station MPs and Marines at double-arms interval on both sides of the road, all the way to our west-side MAG-11 chow hall, where the brieng takes place. I am pretty sure that it was to protect him from friendly-re, as no way the NVA were going to take this guy out! He was doing them far too much good in his present billet. e SeaBees or the Marine Engineers built the Mother of All Four-Holers for his royal highness. It was trucked in on a at-bed. It had wash basins, mirrors, 2-ply toilet paper, and all of the amenities. No Maj Martin (right) & 1stLt Burns Sandbagging It.

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 37one in his party even used it, and it was hauled away as soon as he departed the area. It was absolutely a splendiferous thing of beauty and functionality, and would have been a welcome addition to our MAG-11 compound. Alas & alack.So the brieng begins. Andy is giving it his best General Frank Savage (Twelve O’clock High) command brief. With a slap of the pointer on the target map he says, “I give you the ai Nguyen ermo-Nuclear Power Plant” (in the movie it was the Schweinfurt Ball Bearing Factories). His studly Captain B/N, who is simply arm-candy and along for the ride at this momentous brieng, cringes and looks for a reaction in the crowd of distinguished Worthies and Grand Poobahs. Anyone, anyone? Nothing, absolutely nothing. ey were all either jet-lagged and in a daze, comatose, or simply bored to tears.Anyway, it’s back on the aircraft for McNamara and his merry band, and they hustle back to DC to continue running the war in the darndest fashion one can imagine. Remember, this is the same McNamara that told USS Oriskany aircrews in 1965 to “expect unlimited losses in the pursuit of limited gains”. It was a heck of a way to run a war. And when the former Secretary of State Dean Rusk was asked by a TV reporter: “it’s been rumored that the US provided the North Vietnamese government with the names of targets that would be bombed the following day. Is there any truth to that allegation”? Rusk responded, “Yes, we didn’t want to harm the North Vietnamese people, so we passed the targets to the Swiss embassy in Washington with instructions to pass them to the North Vietnamese government”. Yep, one heck of a way to run a war me thinks!For the record, and having majored in Physics at the MIT of e South (the University of Southern Mississippi) I am pretty darn sure it was not a thermo-nuclear power plant. And the Rolling under Air War over the North continued. From 23 October to 20 November 1967 (29 days) the US had 48 aircraft shot down, 39 of them in Route Package Six. All gave some, some gave All, so bless ‘em All!

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 39The Naval Academy was playing Penn State and excitement roared from the crowd. It was a six to six tie in the 4th quarter when a Navy end-run was in action. Immortalized in the yearbook were these words: “e ball spun through the air. Far down the eld, eight eager hands reached desperately for it. It touched ngertips, balanced there, and settled into the arms of Joe Bauer, who left all pursuers and carried it the length of the gridiron for a touchdown.” Navy won the game with Bauer’s perfectly executed catch. A born athlete, a high achiever, and a national aviation hero—that was Harold W. Bauer, better known as “Indian Joe”.On 5 June 1930, Harold W. Bauer graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in the upper ranks of his class. His selection of the Marine Corps over the Navy was a calculated move with the goal of playing for the Marine Corps’ football team. is goal was achieved on his rst assignment with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines at Quantico, Virginia, when he coached and played on the 1931 and 1932 Quantico teams. For two seasons, the Naval Academy requested that he return to serve as assistant coach for their basketball team. e skills he exhibited in sports would help shape his future in aviation. Max Brand keenly illustrated the analogy in his book Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal: “Bauer’s football background helped in charting air battle formations. He knew the importance of quick thinking and surprising the enemy; in the air he made his squadron his team and instilled in it that seless devotion to the game. … he turned sport into war and war into sport.” Besides his athleticism and quick wit, Joe topped it o with his cheerfulness, enthusiasm, and good humor. is was an irresistible package to the beautiful Harriette Hemman, whom he married on 1 December 1932. A few months later, Bauer decided he wanted to become an aviator, but rst he had to serve his sea duty on USS San Francisco (CA—38) on the West Coast. In December 1934, the Bauers moved to Pensacola, Florida, for Joe to start his aviation training. He quickly mastered ying the various planes available, including the 02U Vought Corsair and the TM4 Hornet. In April 1936, he, Harriette, and their infant son William returned to Quantico, where Joe was assigned to Marine Observation Squadron Seven (VO7-M) and Marine Scouting Squadron One (VS-1M). With the distant rumble of impending war in the summer of 1940, Bauer was ordered to San Diego, California, to serve as the executive ocer of Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221), where he would train pilots for carrier exercises on USS Lexington and USS Saratoga.War came sooner than expected—7 December 1941. Bauer was as shocked as everyone when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor as well as the air bases at Ford Island, Kaneohe Bay, Ewa, Bellows, Wheeler, and Hickam—or as he put it, “when the lid blew o.” e next day VMF-221 was ordered to embark on USS Saratoga and sail from San Diego to Pearl where they arrived 16 December. ey were “stunned at the severity of the damage accomplished by the Japanese,” as Bauer explained in his war diary. eir next orders were to prepare and refuel for their voyage to support the besieged Marine forces on Wake Island. Bauer said they were willing to be “sacriced”, despite seeing the futility of the rescue mission: “We felt a sense of pride in our position for being called on to aid the gallant defenders of Wake and were completely resigned to our fate.” However, their mission was suddenly canceled because of the risk of losing the remaining U.S. aircraft carriers. Saratoga changed course to Midway, where VMF-221 arrived on Christmas Day 1941. Bauer found the airdrome on 1stLt Bauer. Photo Courtesy: U.S. Marine Corps

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40 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgthe island to be an ideal spot to train his squadron. Although there were a few times when a Japanese submarine surfaced to shell the island, for the most part the squadron could focus on training while maintaining a constant alert. In early February, newly promoted Major Bauer and twelve pilots were ordered to return to Honolulu. ese Marine aviators would form the core of VMF-212, “the Hell Hounds”, and Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232 (VMSB-232). When they departed Midway on an Navy PB2Y, Bauer recounted that they all had fond memories of their time together with the gooney birds on the island. e end of March found Bauer aboard USS Enterprise with his new squadron as part of a task force heading towards Tontouta, New Caledonia, until the aireld was nished on the island of Efate, New Hebrides. On 10 May 1942, Bauer led his 21 pilots, on their rst ight o of an aircraft carrier, and then ew over 400 miles to Tontouta. ey would train there for the next 28 days and grow lean from eating bland dehydrated potatoes and chili hash. A marvelous leader as well as a great pilot, Bauer was worshipped by the younger men, who referred to him as the “Chief” or Coach.” One pilot recalled his rst sight of Bauer: “Seeing him getting into his F4F Wildcat, one got the impression that he was ‘wearing’ the aircraft! He was such a large man. . . he ew with great skill and dexterity”. Teaching them every trick in the book, the Coach had them doing snap rolls, wing-overs, cut-gun landings, and the critical “overhead pass”. Because the Japanese Mitsubishi “Zero” ghters were lighter and faster than the more heavily armored Grumman Wildcats, Bauer discovered the sequence of maneuvers needed to take down a Zero “Kite”: rst, get altitude over the Zero, then roll over and dive with speed turning head-on into the enemy plane, then drill it with your four .50-caliber machine-guns until it exploded in re. A veteran Marine pilot said, “Either Bauer invented the overhead pass, or else he was the rst to show what really could be done with it.” Only skilled pilots with lots of training could pull o such aerobatic excellence; but this is what Bauer instilled in his men—fast reaction and even faster thinking. As one -212 pilot, Larry Faulkner, recalled they all made mistakes: When he rolled his plane over,” he left his brains farther behind, but managed a fair landing nally and waited for the Coach to say something, because I knew that he’d counted every wobble I’d made in the sky.” Sometimes he would be forgiving other times he would chew them out for their failures and “he could certainly make himself clear,” Lieutenant Robert Flaherty explained. “Nobody minded his tough way of talking, though, because it was better to learn through the Coach than through Jap gunre. … He was simply comparing you with the man he wanted you to be.” Telling how to do it wasn’t enough for the Coach; he would take a trainer SNJ Texan up to dogght with a green pilot to show him how to outmaneuver a superior plane— “always be aggressive. . .get hold of the other fellow in the air and never let go of him until he’s dead or gone.” Equally important as teaching the ne points of

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 41dogghting, Bauer gave his men the courage and morale to ght when the odds were stacked against them: “We must take things as they come. . . and keep our minds open and our spirits high.” Unaware of his future fate, Bauer reassured his men not to worry if they had to bail out into the sea: “Before you get your feet wet, you’re in a rubber boat. When you reach the shore the natives will take care of you, and then in a couple of days you’ll be back here.” Although he made light of the topic, he was right that most of the downed pilots were rescued, some within a few hours, others as long as ve days or more for those lucky enough to swim to land. e 4,500-foot airstrip at Efate (code name “Roses”) was nally “ready for anything” on 22 June. Bauer had supervised its construction of crushed coral, as well as that of other airelds in the South Pacic, such as the eld on Espiritu Santo (code name “Buttons”). e elds on Santo were critical for U.S. bombers and ghters to refuel and rearm as they protected our carriers in the Solomons. He was “dead-set” against bases that couldn’t be supported by other airelds. rough July and August VMF-212 continued to train on Efate until they were called into action at Guadalcanal (code name “Cactus”). During this time, Bauer was also called upon by his superiors for advice on air-ground coordination in strategic planning. On 5 July 1942, a U.S. reconnaissance plane discovered that the Japanese were building an aireld on Guadalcanal; this threatened American forces in the South Pacic and supply routes to Australia. e Joint Chiefs of Sta ordered an attack on the island to be executed by the 1st Marine Division under the command of Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift supported by Saratoga, Enterprise and Wasp. On 7 Aug 1942, 11,000 Marines landed on the north shore of Guadalcanal. By late afternoon of the next day, they had secured the aireld and the Japanese had ed to the jungle. is aireld-- named Henderson Field in honor of Lofton Henderson, a Marine aviator killed in the Battle of Midway—became the focus of battle over the next three months. After suering intense shelling and bombing, the Marine infantry was thrilled to nally get air support 20 August from MAG-23, including VMF-223 and VMSB-232, with loaner pilots from VMF-212 at Efate. Operating o of the still incomplete aireld, the Marine pilots immediately engaged in deadly dogghts with the Japanese ghter (Zeros) and dive bombers (“Vals”), and bombers (“Bettys”). Although greatly outnumbered by the enemy, the Marine pilots scored more kills, with somedays where eight or more Japanese pilots met their fate in a ball of ame spiraling to the sea. Meanwhile Lieutenant Colonel Bauer played a continual part of pilot training and supplying of skilled pilots to Operation Cactus. One of Bauer’s ace pilots, Captain Jack E. Conger, described the endless daylight hours of ghting as well as the sleepless nights: “We had been used to quiet nights down on Efate . . . .at Henderson it was quite a contrast. e nights were full of tracer bullets from the Jap ground forces, streaks of light going every which way like streamlined reies.” Many of the pilots suered from malaria, but despite their illness they continued to y. By the end of August, the Marines had only 5 out of the original 19 F4F Wildcats of VMF-223, but were quickly replaced with more planes and men from VMF-224 and VMSB-231. the damaged aircraft from Saratoga, and Enterprise. Most of these were Grumman F4F Wildcats, Douglass SBD Dive Bombers, and Grumman TBF Torpedo Bombers. Brigadier General Roy S. Geiger arrived on the island 3 September and established his 1st Marine Air Wing headquarters at “e Pagoda”. His Cactus Air Force included Marine aircraft as well as, USAAF (Army), USN (Navy), one squadron of RNZAF (Royal New Zealand Air Force), and over 300 Seabees brought in to nish construction of the aireld and repair the daily bomb damage. e pilots faced daily Japanese bomber attacks with escorts of Zero ghters during the Battle of Bloody Ridge, until a temporary lull between 15 and 27 September.Upon his transfer 21 September 1942, Rear Admiral J. S. McCain, Commander Air Force South Pacic, he wrote Bauer’s Fitness Report: “I cannot speak too highly of the splendid cooperation accorded me by this ocer in all matters referred to him for assistance. He has been instrumental in the selection of advanced ying elds; he has trained in his organization, at my instigation, pilots of Army and Marine Corps squadrons other than his own; he has done many other things too numerous to mention to support and forward the war eort in this area. In short, he has been a tower of strength and it is with sincere regret that our association is temporarily ended.Allied “coast watchers” in the Solomon Islands and the radar system on Guadalcanal could give early warning of approaching Japanese air attacks. Depending on weather conditions, the alerts gave the pilots time to scramble, warm up their engines and gain enough altitude to meet the enemy planes. If there was only short notice, it was “condition red,” with a red pennant on the ag mast at the Pagoda. On 28 September there was a warning of 55 Japanese bombers and ghters heading for Cactus. Bauer happened to be visiting the island and was thirsting to get into combat. He volunteered to y one of Major Robert Galer’s VMF-224 Wildcats. Galer commented: “I know your luck. It’s your rst chance to make a score and you never waste time.” Indeed, Joe shot down a Mitsubishi bomber in his rst combat action, earning a commendation from General Geiger. In his diary, Joe admitted “it was the greatest sight in my whole life to see the Jap bombers falling out of the sky like ies.” “ When you see Zeros, dog-ght ‘em, for they are paper kites!” —Joe Bauer

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42 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgBauer later got permission to bring some of his pilots to Cactus periodically to gain combat experience. On 3 October Bauer and three pilots ew to Henderson Field and joined Capt. Marion Carl and VMF-223 and -224 ghting a raid of 27 Zeros. According to T. G. Miller--”e star of the day, though, was the visiting Col. Bauer, ying with the 224th. He got four Zekes, which . . . was a remarkable performance. But Bauer was a remarkable man.” Six Marine pilots went after the Zeros, three of which they shot down. en they turned o to leave Bauer “to play with the Zeros” all by himself. After taking down three enemy planes, Bauer saw an American pilot in his parachute drop into the water. But “suddenly a Zero came out of nowhere and opened up with a very long burst on the parachute. is infuriated me. I went after that Zero with gusto.” is would be his fourth victim of the day.e downed American pilot was Captain Ken Frazier who had been ying with Captain Carl’s -223 squadron. Frazier had shot down two Zeros before his plane was disabled by a third. He bailed out over the water and recalled, “my attacker had followed me down and was strang me in my parachute. After a few seconds of this, which seemed like a terrifying eternity, a lone F4F, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel H. W. Bauer, closed in on this strang Zero and drove him o trailing a large column of black smoke, despite the fact that Bauer had only one or two guns operating. I made a successful landing in the ocean several miles from the northeastern tip of Guadalcanal, was picked up by an American destroyer two hours later and returned to Henderson none the worse for wear.” Bauer returned to Henderson Field with his engine aming and smoking, landing in a blaze of glory. His men could see how excited he was after his combat victories. But he immediately ew o in another plane to help mark Frazier’s location in the sea for the rescue ship. In gratitude for the air support, the 1st Marine Raider Battalion gave a captured Japanese ag to the Cactus Air Force. General Geiger then presented it to Bauer as the rst pilot to shoot down

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 433 enemy planes during one raid. Bauer, in turn, presented it to MAG-23.By mid-October the Japanese Eleventh Air Fleet increased their bombing of Henderson Field. Huge craters pockmarked the runway and precious aviation fuel went up in ames. e daylight raids merged into night shelling from two enemy battleships with 16 eight-inch guns oshore. is relentless pounding, the air attacks, sickness from malaria, and lack of sleep, food, fuel and supplies took a toll on the pilots and crews of MAG-23. Orders came for the combat fatigued Marines to take leave for R & R. Bauer’s squadron, with 7 SBD dive bombers and 19 F4F Wildcats was ordered to Henderson Field as part of the replacement. On 16 October, Bauer led VMF-212 over 600 nautical miles from Espiritu Santo to Guadalcanal. ey arrived at Henderson Field in the evening, during a Japanese air attack on the destroyer MacFarland. e destroyer had ooaded almost 40,000 gallons of aviation fuel, a dozen torpedoes and other supplies. Just as she was pulling away, the enemy’s AICHI D3A Val dive bombers hit the ship’s fantail, killing 27 men. Although Bauer’s plane was extremely low on fuel, he didn’t land with the rest of his squadron. Instead, he chased after eight of the Vals, four of which he shot down in a matter of minutes—or as one of his men put it, “e Chief stitched four of the bastards end to end!” All of his pilots as well as the Marine Raiders watched this spectacular performance from the ground and gave him a rousing welcome when he landed. is show and his encouraging words boosted their morale. He told them: “We have good planes, and we can y and shoot. We’ll blast them out of the sky.” Joe continued to supervise his men from the ground as he listened to their radio battle dialogue—some of which was not printable, but went something like this: “I got another of the SOBs. . . ere’s a Zero on your tail, Jack!” e pilots wished that the Coach could y with them more often, but his job was on the ground. On 18 October, the radar showed that 24 Japanese bombers with their Zero ghter escorts would be overhead in about an hour. e pilots gathered in the Ready Tent for Bauer’s brieng: “I want you to get up there, dodge the Zeros if you can and get at the bombers. . .. Don’t be afraid. Turn right into them and mop them up. Go on, now. . .You’re going to get half a dozen of them today and every damned one of you is coming home to me again.” at day was good for the squadron, downing over thirteen Zeros and eight bombers, but the following days were grim. e Japanese elite Sendai division stealthily pushed their way through the jungle towards the aireld, while Admiral Jinichi Kusaka ordered an attack with 16 Bettys and 28 Zeros. As Bauer while at the Naval Academy, 1930. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPS

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44 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgthe newly appointed commander of the Cactus Fighter Command, Bauer sent up everything he had, 24 F4Fs and 4 P-39s. e outcome of this dogght of 23 October was only a pyrrhic victory for the Americans, as the enemy just continued to send more planes the following days. During a heavy rainstorm on the night of 24 October the Japanese launched their attack on the perimeter of Henderson Field, only to be halted by a thin steel belt of Marine defenders. e next day the Cactus Air Force was almost constantly engaging Bettys and Zeros, only to land, refuel, reload, and take o again. At the end of the day, the pilots proved they were just as tough as their fellow Marines on the ground. e Japanese high command was determined to break the American grip on Henderson Field and planned a massive assault on Guadalcanal with over 30,000 troops to be transported by Rear Admiral Tanaka’s convoy. On the night of 12-13 November 1942, a naval battle resulted in the killing of two American rear admirals and continued on through the 13th with the rumble and ash of naval gun re against the black sky and endless dogghts. On 14 November 1942, the Cactus Air Force and U.S. Navy carrier squadrons continued the ght. Major Joe Sailer’s Marine SBD’s and TBF’s struck the remnants of the Japanese convoy. Flying as ghter escorts were Lieutenant Colonel Bauer, Captain Joe Foss, and Lieutenant Boots Furlow picking o Zeros, one after another. Sweeping low over enemy transports, they suddenly saw two Zeros appear from a cloud. Foss and Furlow went after one Zero and Bauer turned direct into the other one. He shot it down, but got separated from his buddies. When they circled back to nd him, they saw him oating in his yellow Mae West in an oil slick in the water and waving his arms at them. e tragic end of Joe’s life is best explained by his friend Foss in a letter dated January 1943 to Bauer’s father: “All of a sudden, tracers shot over my head. Upon looking backing back, I saw 2 Jap Zeros diving on us, shooting. At once, Joe turned and headed straight at one. Both he and the Jap were shooting everything. en – Bang! And the Zero blew up and Joe zoomed up and made a turn toward home. Tom and I chased the other Zero towards Tokyo but couldn’t A group shot of VMF-212 shortly before Bauer’s plane went down. Bauer is standing to the right of the squadron insignia. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPS

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 45catch him. Upon returning to the scene of Joe’s action. . . I was unable to spot him. I saw an oil slick about a mile south of the spot where the Zero had gone in, and upon circling it saw Joe swimming with his life jacket on. I went right down to within a few feet of him and he waved with both arms and jumped up out of the water. en he waived me toward home. He was in good shape-no cuts visible. I tried to give him my boat, but it wouldn’t come out, so I gave full throttle toward home.I landed and took o at once in a duck with Major. Joe Renner. We were within about ten miles of Joe and it got pitch black out so we had to return home. At daybreak, the next morning (15 Nov), we were on the scene of the Colonel’s landing, with my ight of eight and the duck. e only thing in sight was two Jap planes, which we shot down at once. We searched and searched the area, but no sign of a soul. We sent a plane up that landed and talked to the natives on the Russells and told them to be on a sharp lookout for Joe. … So, in my way of thinking, one of the following two things happened to your son–either the Japs happened upon him and took him prisoner, or the sharks got him. If the Japs have him, he is safe, in my mind, as he wore his Colonel’s bars.To me, Marine Corps Aviation’s greatest loss in this war was that of your son Joe. . . . Sincerely, Joe FossBauer was listed as missing” until 14 January 1946, when his wife Harriette and his son William were informed of the termination of the search. General Geiger wrote the following MOH recommendation for Bauer: “No one in the ght against the Japanese in the Solomon Islands deserves a higher award. No one surpasses him in ability, leadership, courage, or ghting spirit.” His wife and son accepted Joe’s posthumously awarded MOH on 11 May 1946. In May 1947, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of Colonel. He is in the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor in Pensacola and has a memorial plaque at the Manila American Cemetery. USS Bauer (DE-1025) was named in his honor on 4 June 1957, as was the aireld at Efate named “Bauer Field”. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor on 23 July 1944. His citation read: “For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous courage as Squadron Commander of Marine Fighting Squadron Two Twelve in the South Pacic Area during the period May 10 to November 14, 1942. Volunteering to pilot a ghter plane in defense of our positions on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Lieutenant Colonel Bauer participated in two air battles against enemy bombers and ghters outnumbering our force more than two-to-one, boldly engaged the enemy and destroyed one Japanese bomber in the engagement of September 28 and shot down four enemy ghter planes in ames on October 3 leaving a fth smoking badly. After successfully leading twenty-six planes in the over-water ferry ight of more than six hundred miles on October 16, Lieutenant Colonel Bauer, while circling to land, sighted a squadron of enemy planes attacking the USS McFarland. Undaunted by the formidable opposition and with valor above and beyond the call of duty, he engaged the entire squadron and, although alone and his fuel supply nearly exhausted, fought his plane so brilliantly that four of the Japanese planes were destroyed before he was forced down by lack of fuel. His intrepid ghting spirit and distinctive ability as leader and an airman, exemplied in his splendid record of combat achievement, were vital in the successful operations in the South Pacic Area.”Bauer in his element, illustrating his aerial moves to fellow Marines. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPSBauer as a captain. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPS

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 47On that day, there was an important notation missing from the Wolverine’s deck log. ere was no indication of what had happened to Ensign Herbert Welton McMinn and his Douglas Dauntless SBD-1, Bureau Number (BuNo) 1612 that he had been ying for his aircraft carrier qualication. It was not long before Mr. Albert Kleist, who had been standing at the shoreline of Lake Michigan (on the north side of Chicago) explained what he had witnessed to the proper U.S. Navy authorities, “…Between 10:00 and 11:00 am I noticed a plaine (sic) going north between 5 and 10 miles out when the plaine (sic) got as far Loyola she made East ward (sic) turn and immediately started, gliding down, and it looked as though it was a perfect landing. Just as soon as the plaine (sic) hit the water you could see the water splash about 10 feet in the air and the plaine (sic) disappeared (sic), she went down…”Several days later, on 2 December 1942, the Commander of the Carrier Qualication Training Unit, submitted a report to the Secretary of the Navy, Oce of the Judge Advocate General in which he explained what was known about the loss, including, “…on which day the water temperature was forty-two degrees Fahrenheit and the wind eighteen knots from the northeast. To date neither the body nor the plane have been recovered but dragging operations are still in progress…”On 27 February 1942, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox sent a letter to the parents of Ensign McMinn.“…I desire to express to you my sincere sympathy in your great anxiety, and it is hoped that you may nd comfort in the thought that your son was performing his duties courageously while serving his country.” Dauntless SBD-1 BuNo 1612 is one of the rst fty-seven-1 variants of this type of aircraft. Approximately, 6,000 Dauntless would be produced. Used by the Navy, Marine, the Army Air Force (called a A-24 Banshee), it would be renowned by its pilots and would be credited with the turning-point victory at the Battle of Midway and the sinking of more Japanese ships than any other Allied aircraft. Although, 1612 did not see any combat action, for a brief time period in 1942, she served with Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 142 (VMSB-142). In August of 1942, she was assigned to the Carrier Qualication Training Unit at Glenview Naval Air Station, north of Chicago, Illinois. Ensign McMinn was born on 4 October 1918, in Gouldbusk, Texas. He attended the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M University) where he studied Animal Husbandry. Herbert participated in N.R.O.T.C. and was a member of the Saddle & Sirloin and National Block & Bridle Clubs. He also played the violin. The BeginningIn the early 1990s, we, A (Allan) and T (Taras) Recovery had begun contracting with the National Naval Aviation Museum and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation in Pensacola, Florida, for the recovery of aircraft that had been lost in Lake Michigan during the aircraft carrier qualications. Approximately 130 of the aircraft ended up in the USS Wolverine underway. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. NAVYVought F4U-1 “Bird Cage” Corsair, BuNo 02465 recovered from Lake Michigan. PHOTO COURTESY: A AND T RECOVERY

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48 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgwater, with a handful recovered soon after each incident. A and T Recovery had been surveying the lake’s oor for several years, using side-scan sonar imaging, locating the aircraft, several of which we recovered previously for other museums, such as the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New Jersey, and the Yorktown Aircraft Carrier Museum. Over the following years, the eorts on behalf of the National Naval Aviation Museum would prove to be very successful. Dozens of extremely historically important aircraft would be rescued, restored, and placed on public display. Along with many Wildcat ghters and Dauntless Dive-bombers recovered aircraft included the last remaining Vought SB2U Vindicator Scout-bomber (a type of aircraft used by the Marine Corps defenders at Midway), a Vought F4U-1 “Bird Cage” Corsair Fighter (a legendary favorite of Marine Corps pilots), a combat veteran Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat that supported the Solomon Islands’ campaign, and a Douglas Dauntless Dive-Bomber, BuNo 2106 that was own by First Lieutenant Daniel T. Iverson of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241 (VMSB-241) at Midway. The RecoveryOn 29 March 1994, using the information from the civilian witness, we located the resting site of Dauntless SBD-1 BuNo 1612 on the oor of Lake Michigan. ere was a rule we were following in regard to the recovery of the aircraft, no grave site was to be disturbed. erefore, I made a lone descent to determine if Ensign McMinn had survived his ditching and escaped the aircraft before, she had slipped below the waves. It was clear, he had survived the ditching. However, that meant that he perished wet, cold, and alone from exposure.Less than a month later, the Director of the National Naval Aviation Museum approved the recovery of 1612. We brought her in, disassembled and shipped her to USS Alabama Memorial Park, Mobile, Alabama. At the time, my thought was that the next time I would see the aircraft, she would be completely restored and on public display at that museum. I could not have been more wrong. It wasn’t until 2016 that I would learn anything more of Dauntless SBD-1, BuNo 1612, when I was contacted by a Board Member of the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation. e group supports the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in San Diego, California. He requested that I consider giving a presentation about the recovery of 1612 at one of the group’s annual fundraising galas, which ended up being the one held in May of 2017. My observations over the years had been that once the management of a museum was able to secure an aircraft that had been recovered from Lake Michigan on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum, wild horses could not pull it back away from them. I soon learned that this Dauntless had been at USS Alabama Memorial Park for a short time, was transferred to and spent a few years at USS Midway Museum, before being sent to the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum. Another fact that was interesting to learn, was that she was still under-going restoration after 22 years. Being the only Navy/Marine Corps aircraft, we have ever recovered where there was a fatality associated with the ditching, I wanted to include the story of the life of her pilot in my presentation. e locating and recovery of an object is a systematic mechanical procedure, the people associated with the aircraft are part of our shared history and culture, which are so much more important than the stories about A and T Recovery’s team swimming around in the water. In order to prepare for my talk, I requested Ensign McMinn’s records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).To say that what I would nd in those records tear at the fabric of the human heart would be an understatement. Not only do the records contain Herbert Welton McMinn’s military records, but letters and notes of every correspondence between the Ensign’s family and the ocials within the Navy responsible for interacting with what are termed as “Gold Star” families (families of the deceased service members). e letters reveal an almost unbearable pain and anguish on the part of the family, along with an unrelievable frustration on the part of the Navy sta. e family sought anything that would provide something of Ensign McMinn, whether it was the locating of the aircraft, or even a single personal belonging that he had with him when he perished. e Navy command did not have the technology then to be able to honor anything the family was requesting. It was very dicult for the family to understand that their loved one could be forever lost during training. At that time, I realized that I should have conducted the research in 1994. e letter read as follows: Douglas Dauntless Dive-Bomber, BuNo 2106 (Midway Madness) that was ﬂown by 1stLt Daniel T. Iverson of VMSB-241 at Midway against the attacking armada.PHOTO COURTESY: A AND T RECOVERY

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 4914 February 1946Dear Mr. and Mrs. McMinn:Your letter and enclosures to the Secretary of the Navy concerning your son, the late Ensign Herbert Welton McMinn, United States Naval Reserve, was referred to this Bureau for reply. As you know, your son was ocially reported missing in action on 21 November 1942 when his plane crashed into Lake Michigan while on a training ight. An administrative report containing the details surrounding the disappearance of your son was furnished to the Secretary of the Navy (Oce of the Judge Advocate General). After a review of all available information, the Secretary of the Navy on 20 February 1943 held that your son lost his life on 21 November 1942.Every conceivable eort, including dragging operations over a period of twelve days, was made to recover your son’s body but to no avail.It is believed that any further search conducted at this time for your son would prove futile inasmuch as where the water where his plane crashed is very deep and the lake bottom is of a rocky nature as well as the fact that the plane undoubtedly has become lodged in an underwater depression and cannot be recovered. Sincere sympathy is again extended to you in your sorrow.By direction of the Chief of Naval Personnel. Sincerely yours,H. B. AtkinsonCommander, USNROcer in ChargeCasualty Section Bring It Full CircleAfter a presentation at the Flying Leatherneck Museum, I was determined to locate the family of Herbert Welton McMinn. A 1940 U.S. Census listed he and his immediate family. He had a sister, elma Lynch, who had a son Joseph Floyd Lynch who might still be alive, so I searched for him. Unfortunately, Joseph Floyd Lynch passed on 17 February 2014. I asked the sta at the funeral home if they would pass my contact information on to the ospring of Mr. Lynch, they refused, so I turned to modern technology, LinkedIn. I sent a message to Bryan Lynch who I believed to be one of sons of Joe Lynch, “Hello, Was your father Joe Floyd Lynch, your grandmother elma Lynch Bounds, your great grandfather Floyd McMinn, great grandmother Jewel McMinn? If so, I have a story to tell you that you will want to hear.”A short time later I received a response, “at’s me. How do you know them?” Bryan Lynch.After I told Bryan the story of our recovery of the Dauntless, he told me how his Great Uncle’s and Ensign McMinn’s disappearance had always haunted their family. Interesting to note, Bryan is an avid pilot, his father and nephew of Ensign Herbert Welton McMinn, Joe Lynch had joined the Navy and became an aviator. He ew P2V Neptune anti-submarine aircraft. During three of his ights, in 1956, he ew through three nuclear blast pressure waves in support of research that was being conducted under Operation Redwing.Bryan and his siblings still had some of Herbert’s personal items, including his violin. e Lynch family gathered together those items to be part of a support display in order to help show the human side of military conict, when 1612’s restoration is completed. We (Bryan and I) eventually made a trip to Miramar so that he could see the Dauntless.In the blink of an eye, several more years passed by, bringing hard times for the Flying Leatherneck Museum, the doors were closed at the Miramar location, leaving the Dauntless in a Dauntless SBD-1 BuNo 1612 recovery in action. PHOTO COURTESY: A AND T RECOVERY

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50 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgstate of limbo. A proposal was prepared and presented to the management of the National Naval Aviation Museum where the aircraft would be transferred to the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, A.K.A. the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. e museum has a lengthy history with restoration and public presentation of SBD aircraft recovered from Lake Michigan. In the 1990s, we sent them an SBD-3 that was a veteran of OPERATION TORCH. ey restored her, placed her on their main oor, and she has been there on long-term public display ever since. In 2016, the museum took possession of an SBD-2P (photographic/reconnaissance), BuNo 2173. e restoration of that Dauntless has been completed by the museum’s artisan volunteer restoration team. Since then, BuNo 2173 has been sent back to Pearl Harbor (Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum), a place where she was stationed for a time during the war. Retrival & RestorationIn July 2021, a trucker, sponsored by the family of Ensign McMinn, was sent to retrieve the major components of SBD-1, BuNo 1612 from the Flying Leather Neck Museum. His task was to bring the fuselage, engine, wings, and empennage components to Kalamazoo. e rst signicant stop, along the way, was the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) 2021 Air Venture Fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At the air show, EAA Warbirds of America provided a prominent display location, with a backdrop of hundreds of other military aircraft, so that thousands of visitors were able to see the aircraft up-close and learn her story. Volunteers from Ensign McMinn’s family, the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, and A and T Recovery provided in-person support for educational outreach. For the younger folks who attended the event, the aircraft created a sense of wonder and was a great inspiration for a coming generation of aviators. For others, a focal point to reminisce and tell stories of great deeds from their past. After the week-long y-in and airshow, 1612 was transported onward to the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum.At the Air Zoo, the artisan restorers have positioned the Dauntless and begun their painstaking eorts. A comprehensive written and photographic inventory of each and every component, whether attached or detached, has been conducted. A complete analysis of corrosion and other damage has been concluded. Even Ensign McMinn’s violin is being tuned. ere has been a determination of the costs and the funding that will be needed to complete the project. Public presentation and outreach sta have prepared extensive educational material for the wide array of visitors who will have an interest in the restoration project. Many of these people, will be the students who range from middle school through university level who will assist in the restoration process, a program begun years ago by the management of the Air Zoo. To date, over 3,000 students from across the region, as far away as Chicago, have participated as part of an enhancement to their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, with history along for the ride. Bryan Lynch, grand-nephew of Ensign Herbert Welton McMinn, the volunteer artisan restoration team, other staff of the Air Zoo, and members of A and T Recovery in front of SBD-1, 1612 PHOTO COURTESY: VINCENT SOO, KALAMAZOO AVIATION HISTORY MUSEUM

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 51On 11 November 2021, Bryan Lynch, grand-nephew of Ensign Herbert Welton McMinn joined the volunteer artisan restoration team, with other sta of the Air Zoo, and members of A and T Recovery for an unocial launching of the eort to complete the restoration of this Douglas Dauntless. Our hope is that many others will join the eort. Dauntless SBD-1, BuNo 1612 is so much more than just a machine, she represents the ultimate in human sacrice by the men and women of the Greatest Generation to protect the world’s freedom and liberty, in the greatest struggle mankind has known. It has been a long time, her journey has been dicult, but this Marine is coming home, thanks to those who will not let her and the memory of Ensign McMinn parish. It is hoped that the management of the National Naval Aviation Museum, in the near future, will be able to determine a prominent venue for the long-term display of Douglas Dauntless SBD-1, BuNo1612. For more information: https://www.airzoo.org/sbd-1 General Manager Taras C. Lyssenko A and T Recovery 305-794-4457 TarasAtSea@AOL.com*e aircraft that was “Fox-7”, which crashed into the water on 21 November 1942, at 10:38, was piloted by Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Arthur T. Wood. It is my belief that the close timing of the multiple aircraft mishaps for that day of aircraft carrier qualications, were not as a result of pilot error. My hypothesis is that there was a fuel contamination issue. SBD, Scout-Bomber Douglas, Douglas is a Boeing lineage company.Douglas Dauntless SBD-1, BuNo 1612 at EAA’s 2021 Air Venture. PHOTO COURTESY: EUAN SIMPSON, KALAMAZOO AVIATION HISTORY MUSEUM

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 53During the ceremony the squadron Commanding Ocer, Lieutenant Colonel Adam Horne, received the “keys” to the squadron’s rst CH-53K helicopter, Bureau Number 169019 from ocer-in-charge of the CH-53K Operational Test Detachment, Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Frank. In his comments, Lieutenant Colonel Horne also highlighted the fact that HMH-461 had also received the last CH-53E from Sikorsky in November of 2003, and that aircraft was currently on its way to Norway to participate in Arctic training. Lieutenant Colonel Horne also stressed the importance of being the rst CH-53K squadron in the Marine Corps, in that ‘…we’ll explore, write and test new tactics, techniques and procedures that will redene the way we employ heavy lift aviation. We will challenge the old, and explore the boundaries of what is possible, in order to nd every imaginable new capability the King Stallion has to oer, now and into the future!”Part of the HMH-461’s rich history now includes an active and growing “HMH-461 Alumni Association” made up of Marines and spouses who have been part of the squadron when they served on active duty. When learning of this Redesignation Ceremony, the HMH-461 Alumni Association quickly mobilized and organized a visit to the squadron to attend the ceremony. e alumni also took it upon themselves to provide the squadron with a “Plank Holder” challenge coin to celebrate this very special occasion. Squadron Marines took an active role in the design of the coin, and the alumni funded the eort. Captain Kerrigan Lewis served as the squadron sponsor for the Alumni, and First Lieutenant David Min designed the coin. e HMH-461 Alumni eort was led by Kelly O’Neal, Dick Mountford, and Chris Rodkey, who all served in HMH-461 in the late 70’s through the early 80’s. Chris Rodkey had the opportunity to speak to the squadron Marines and passed along to them, “As alumni, we rest easy knowing the Marines of HMH-461 are carrying on the squadron tradition of excellence and outstanding service to this great nation!”Congratulations to the CH-53K Program and the Marines and Sailors of HMH-461 for achieving this signicant milestone for Marine Corps Aviation!During the CH-53K Redesignation Ceremony at MCAS New River, NC, LtCol Adam A. Horne (right), CO of HMH-461, receives a ceremonial key to a CH-53K King Stallion from LtCol Lucas S. Frank, Ofﬁcer-in-Charge of Marine VMX-1. PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPSTOP: HMH-461 Marines and Alumni - Kelly O’Neal, MSgt Stephen Stone – HMH-461 Maintenance Chief, 1stLt David Min, Captain Kerrigan Lewis, LtCol Adam A. Horne – CO- HMH-461, Chris Rodkey. PHOTO BY HMH-461 ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONBOTTOM: SSgt Brandon P. Evans, a CH-53K Crew Chief with HMH-461, poses for a photo following the squadron Redesignation Ceremony at MCAS New River, NC, 24 Jan 2022. The squadron received its ﬁrst CH-53K King Stallion, and the ceremony signiﬁed the beginning of the Marine Corps’ modernization from the CH-53E Super Stallion to the CH-53K King Stallion in support of the expeditionary warfare vision for future-force employment. The CH-53K is an optimized vertical, heavy-lift, sea-based, long-range solution for the Marine Corps and will provide three times the lift capability of its predecessor.PHOTO COURTESY: U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO BY LCPL ELIAS E. PIMENTEL III

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54 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgEditor’s Note: A few times a year we will be publishing papers from students at the various Marine Corps’ schools. ough somewhat academic in nature, these papers will illustrate the “thinking” of today’s Marines and how they are challenging old assumptions by using forward-leaning technology to ght tomorrow’s battles. ank to you Matt Erickson, Operations Ocer at the Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS) at Quantico for assisting us with this eort!Suborbital Cargo TransportationCAPTAIN BRYAN ENGELMANN, EWS STUDENTA signicant challenge to expeditionary advance base operations (EABO) is performing combat service support (CSS) functions. Within a distributed and contested maritime environment, supply transportation and distribution must not only adapt at the last tactical mile, but also on the larger scale of intra-theater and inter-theater distribution. Massive and slow sea-based vessels laden with thousands of tons of materiel will become high-value targets to an adversary who possesses the ability to detect and strike such platforms. Overcoming the dilemma of anti-access / area denial (A2/AD) requires creativity and innovation; we cannot simply create new variations of platforms we have possessed for decades, but rather, we must develop new capabilities which the enemy has limited ability to interdict. e United States Marine Corps, in collaboration with the United States Air Force, must pursue the use of suborbital cargo transportation methods for the purpose of sustaining distributed forces in contested maritime environments.e existing seafaring logistics vessels belonging to the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and its supporting agencies cannot operate within the weapon engagement zone (WEZ) of Chinese strike capabilities without facing signicant threat of being detected and targeted. e results of simulations conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in 2020 revealed that most sea-based logistics vessels, to include proposed future platforms, are expected to complete less than one round-trip of logistical delivery when conducting contested operations within the rst and second island chains of the Indo-Pacic maritime environment. ese simulations operated on the assumption that if China can detect a friendly vessel within its WEZ, it will engage the vessel, adhering to the increasingly popular expression, to be detected is to be targeted is to be killed. e persistent WEZ covering the rst and second island chains not only inhibits sea-based distribution, but also prohibits friendly ability to mass inventory and bulk supplies within the theater of operations. is increases the distance that separates the supported unit from the supporting agency, which translates to materiel spending more time in-transit. As stated in the U.S. Navy manual Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment, the A2/AD capabilities of potential adversaries impose “unacceptable risk to forces at ever increasing ranges.” Distributed operations mandate a minimization of materiel storage footprints, both aoat and ashore. If the issue of theater supply transportation and distribution cannot be addressed with a reliable solution, stand-in forces will be unable to operate for sustained durations within the rst and second island chains.High-altitude or space-based cargo transportation methods are a means of survivable and responsive delivery of critical logistical requirements into contested theaters, such as the South China Sea or Philippine Sea. Due to China’s limited ability for interdiction, suborbital rockets possess a unique advantage in the realm of delivering supplies to distributed forces within China’s WEZ. e speeds and altitudes at which suborbital rockets travel render them un-targetable by all but the most sophisticated and expensive weapons systems.

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 55Ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems are the most appropriately matched interceptor because conventional ballistic missiles are simply suborbital rockets with explosive warheads. While it is unclear if China has developed BMD systems, its development and testing of anti-satellite weapons is a signicantly publicized fact. While not interchangeable, BMD systems and anti-satellite weapons employ very similar technologies. If China does indeed possess BMD systems, there has yet to be any assessment as to whether it is willing to employ such a strategic defense capability against a logistics payload. Aside from BMD systems, the next-best weapons system to combat suborbital rockets is long-range surface-to-air missiles, such as the S-400, which China is seeking to procure from Russia. at said, the S-400 is designed to target low-observable aircraft and precision-guided munitions; the S-400 would only be capable of targeting a suborbital logistics payload during the terminal phases of its ight. Even if the system were an appropriate weapon-target match, with a S-400 missile costing “a few million dollars,” it is not economical to be employed against a suborbital logistics payload. Aside from the questionable and limited capability of BMD systems and the S-400, China is not known to possess systems which can interdict suborbital rockets.In addition to being challenging targets to interdict, suborbital rockets are notably capable of traveling signicant distances. is attribute will allow rockets to be launched from outside the range of Chinese A2/AD capabilities to distributed forces within the rst and second island chains. A rocket with an intercontinental range can have a launch site geographically positioned near warehouses and suppliers, decreasing the requirements for forward positioning of stockpiles. While reducing the distance suborbital rockets must travel would minimize launch-vehicle related expenses, the capability exists for a payload to be launched from the middle of the continental U.S. (CONUS) to anywhere across the globe. A suborbital rocket capable of reaching halfway around the earth will travel at speeds approaching 4.3 miles per second during periods of its ight, with a ight duration of approximately 42 minutes. e requirement that the payload land, or impact, at a speed which preserves the materiel onboard will increase the ight duration, but delivery can still be expected within one hour of launch. With suborbital rockets, a critical supply requirement can be sourced from CONUS and delivered to distributed forces within hours instead of days or weeks. e concept of using rockets as a method of transportation has already gained the attention of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, which named rocket cargo as one of its Vanguard programs for research. While undoubtably all services will benet from the development and employment of suborbital transportation, the needs of the Marine Corps dier from those of its sister-services. For example, the Air Force’s interest may be focused on a rocket that can perform missions like that of the C-17: rapidly reusable and possessing a large cargo capacity. Such a rocket would be impractical to the Marine Corps in a contested maritime environment. A rocket system capable of delivering a cargo payload to a precise location that does not require any infrastructure or landing pads, however, would be of great benet to the Marine Corps. Such a system could employ reusable rocket stages to propel the payload on its trajectory and then control the payload’s terminal descent with parachutes, as currently seen with aerial delivery. e company Blue Origin has already demonstrated such a capability with its New Shepard rocket system, albeit with a vertical trajectory and for the purpose of rocket tourism, not transportation. Inevitably, the most apparent argument against the use of rockets to transport cargo is the cost, which is undeniably signicant. e SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket system possesses the largest cargo capacity of any rocket currently in use; its maximum payload is approximately 70 short-tons to low-earth orbit and costs

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56 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgapproximately $635 per pound. Equating to just under $89 million per launch, the current cost of rocket ight is admittedly still too high for the purpose of suborbital cargo transportation. However, commercial competition and the development of reusable launch vehicles have drastically reduced the price of launch in recent years. e Falcon Heavy itself demonstrates this reduction when compared to the ight costs of NASA’s Space Shuttle. ese two rocket platforms ew within the same decade of one another, yet the cost per pound of payload for the Falcon Heavy is 40 times less than the Space Shuttle. Fortunately, as the commercial rocket industry advances, launch costs are expected to continue to decrease. While speaking to U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen John ompson at the Air Force Space Pitch Day in 2019, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated, “If you consider operational costs, maybe it’ll be like two million dollars,” when referring to the cost per launch of the Starship rocket system. is system, which is currently in development, has a targeted payload capacity of 100 short-tons to low-earth orbit. If Mr. Musk’s cost-per-launch estimation is overly optimistic and actual costs are tripled, it will amount to $30 per pound of payload. To provide a comparison, the Light Amphibious Warship concept has a design requirement to support approximately 850 short-tons of cargo and personnel, and a target cost of $100-130 million per unit. If the previously referenced simulations conducted at NPS prove correct and a LAW can average only one delivery prior to being targeted and destroyed, it would cost approximately $76 per pound of cargo. is calculation does not factor in the LAW’s operating costs or the loss of human life of the servicemen and women operating the vessel. It is not until completing its third delivery that the LAW would become economically more feasible, but even then, it cannot compete in the realm of expediency. is is not to argue that the Marine Corps should abandon seafaring vessels and solely invest in rocketry to fulll its global transportation requirements, but rather that suborbital transportation would provide the Marine Corps with a unique and dependable method of cargo movement. To be feasible on a large scale, suborbital transportation must be employed in combination with other concepts and practices which remain under development, such as foraging and operational contract support (OCS). Practice of such capabilities would allow bulk liquids, some of the most encumbering resources to a logistics network, to be sourced via OCS or produced from the local environment. If classes of supply I (food and water) and III (petroleum, oils, lubricants) can be obtained without requiring theater-level transportation, suborbital rockets can be employed to transport critical requirements which cannot be locally sourced, such as classes V (ammunition), VIII (medical supplies), and IX (repair parts). e ability to resupply distributed forces in the potentially contested environment of China’s WEZ will not guarantee victory; however, the inability to do so will ensure swift defeat. Suborbital rockets are an expedient method of transportation that China, the joint force’s pacing threat, has limited ability to interdict. While such rockets may seem costly, they have potential as an economical solution, especially when compared to vulnerable and slow seafaring vessels. Suborbital cargo transportation will enable the Marine Corps of tomorrow to ght in every clime and space.

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 57Endnotesi. Sean R. Dougherty et al. “Logistics in Contested Environments.” (Systems Engineering Capstone Report, Naval Postgraduate School, 2020), 155, NPS Archive: Calhoun, http://hdl.handle.net/10945/65507.ii. Ibid. 74.iii. US Navy. Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment. (Washington, DC: Headquarters US Navy, 2017), 5iv. US Marine Corps, Tentative Manual for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. TM EABO (Washington, DC: Headquarters US Marine Corps, February 2021),7-4.v. Charles D. Ferguson and Bruce W. MacDonald. “Nuclear dynamics in a multipolar strategic ballistic missile defense world.” Federation of American Scientists (July 2017), 23, http://hdl.handle.net/10945/55822.vi. Interfax: Russia & CIS Defense Industry Weekly, “Army Trade; Russia to complete implementation of contract for S-400 supplies to China this year – FSMTC head,” Interfax America, Inc, March 20, 2020, https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/arms-trade-russia-xa0-complete-implementation/docview/2383526804/se-2?accountid=14746.vii. Timothy Heath. “How China’s New Russian Air Defense System Could Change Asia.” War on the Rocks (2016), https://warontherocks.com/2016/01/how-chinas-new-russian-air-defense-system-could-change-asia/.viii. Ibid.ix. Anatoli I. Kiselev, Alexander A. Medvedev, Valery A. Menshikov. Astronautics: Summary and Prospects, trans. V. Sherbakov, N. Novichkov (Spring Science and Business Media, 2012), 2.x. Air Force Vanguard Program. Rocket Cargo for Agile Global Logistics. (e Air Force Research Laboratory, 2021).xi. Ibid.xii. Blue Origin, “New Shepard,” accessed December 14, 2021, https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/.xiii. SpaceX, “Capabilities & Services,” accessed October 19, 2021, https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf.xiv. Harry W. Jones. “e Recent Large Reduction in Space Launch Cost.” 48th International Conference on Environmental Systems, (Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 2018). http://hdl.handle.net/2346/74082.xv. “Elon Musk’s Complete interview at Air Force Space Pitch Day,” YouTube video, November 7, 2019, 35:20, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS3nIyetS4I.xvi. SpaceX, Starship Users Guide, Revision 1.0. (Space Exploration Technologies Corp, 2020).xvii. Aidan, Quigley, “Navy Solicits Light Amphibious Warship Preliminary Designs,” Inside the Pentagon’s Inside the Navy, October 26, 2020, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2454089907/citation/1EF4A0D52A6B4900PQ/1?accountid=14746; Megan Eckstein, “Navy Ocials Reveal Details of New $100M Light Amphibious Warship Concept,” USNI News, November 19, 2020, https://news.usni.org/ 2020/11/19/navy-ocials-reveal-details-of-new- 100m-light-amphibious-warship-concept.xviii. Sean R. Dougherty et al. “Logistics in Contested Environments.” 155.xix. U.S. Marine Corps, TM EABO. 7-4.Designer: Kevin Gray Comms: Carla KrivanekDue Date: 04/26/22Job Number: 22-0004A_004Publication: Visual: F-35B Country: USALive: NATrim: W: 8.5 in H:11 inBleed: .25Gutter: NoneResolution: 300 DPIDensity: 300Color Space: CMYKDelivering peace through strength.Lots of strength.Learn more at f35.com© 2022 Lockheed Martin Corporation22-00004A_004 F35B 8.5x11.indd 122-00004A_004 F35B 8.5x11.indd 1 4/26/22 5:28 PM4/26/22 5:28 PM

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58 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgBOOKreviewsKorean Air War: Sabres, MiGs and Meteors 1950-53 By Michael Napier, Osprey Publishing, UK. 2021. 320 pp. Ill. $40. Contrary to what many authors, this author included, claim, the Korean War 1950-1953 is denitely not forgotten. It’s a shame that this conict has acquired such a reputation over the years. However, sandwiched between World War II and the Vietnam War of the 1960s and early 1970s, it may be understood how little younger generations of historians and writers may have preferred to discuss and write about Korea, and how apparently, they may have just rediscovered this intense and bloody conict. at said, the war on the Korean peninsula denitely deserves to be remembered, and this large new publication will help, especially in the area of the war fought in the skies between air forces of the Allied Coalition and that group of communist countries supported by the Soviet Union, mainly North Korea and Communist China. Surprisingly, it is only in recent years how deep the USSR’s support has been understood, from supplies and arms to squadrons of Soviet MiG pilots, many of whom were experienced WWII veterans, and not always the beginners of North Korean and Communist Chinese pilots who could barely handle their MiGs and other early Soviet jet ghters as well as leftover Russian prop ghters and light bombers. e conict of the early 1950s is very much in the minds of today’s writers, politicians and other very interested parties on both sides of the world.at said, there are certainly lesser-known aspects of the three-year conict that has not yet ocially ended by the signing of a treaty. at is where this very well-illustrated volume nds a place. e author is a former Royal Air Force Tornado pilot of squadron leader rank (major or lieutenant commander in other services).e reader quickly realizes this is not another compendium of just U.S. F-86s vs MiG-15 stories, but rather it takes on the experiences of British and Commonwealth squadrons that are often ignored, or only briey mentioned in other such histories. ere is now the history of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) No. 77 Squadron, which ew many missions throughout the war Korean Air War is a fairly good eort, especially for its format size and word length. Its main appeal is the number and quality of its selection of photographs, one of the best I have seen. To be sure, the captions and curious sidebars that really need to be edited for content and relation to the main text. Many times the subject of the photos, especially the individuals shown—needs to be claried. An example of a lack of enough information in the text appears on page 248: Cherokee strikes were named for their originator, then-RADM (later Admiral) Joseph “Jocko” Clark (1893-1971), a full-blooded Cherokee, a member of Annapolis class 1917, and a designated Naval Aviator (1925). A British author might not care too much about who Jocko Clark was, but American readers certainly would be interested, and a few moments further research would have been of value as a dedicated historian and writer.Looking at the bibliography and list of sources, it is plain the author has researched from other published sources as well as from government material from both sides perhaps not previously available either in person historians or on the web.In today’s market, $40 is not too great an expense for a book of this format and scope, which seems to be in keeping with Osprey’s ongoing philosophy of providing entertaining and informative accounts of aviation history for today’s readership.rst in WWII retread P-51 (later F-51) Mustangs and then Gloster Meteors, the rst Allied jet ghters that appeared only in the closing months of the war almost at the same time as the German Me 262. e twin-jet Nazi ghter actually showed much greater potential than the British ghter but never met the Meteor in what would have been the rst confrontation between jet ghters. An interesting sidebar to the Meteor’s use and small rate of success against MiGs in Korea—generally speaking—poses the question: If the RAF had managed to get the Meteor into general service and it had met the German Me 262, how well would the Meteor have performed against the swept-wing Nazi ghter?e South African Air Force’s (SAAF) No. 2 squadron was also in the van of the Allied air eort in Korea, also ying Mustangs, and then F-86s trying to keep the North Korean forces at bay.Chapters describing the role of Royal Navy carriers and their Fairey Firey ghter-bombers and Supermarine Mk 47 Seares, barely recognizable variants of the iconic Mk 1-9 Spitres and Seares of WWII ve years past add to the book’s scope and perhaps the interest of American readers.Chapters dealing with U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aviation are an integral part of the central narrative and give full credit to these hard-pressed services’ crews’ special skills in close air support with several F4U-equipped units supplemented by F9F Panther and F2H Banshee carrier squadrons, although there is a minor error on page 7 saying no Marine squadrons were aboard carriers, which most readers will instantly recognize as false. (is book and its author do have occasional problems with American Naval Aviation.)Aerial combat between Soviet-built Yakovlev and Lavochkin prop-driven ghters and Allied prop and jet aircraft was surprisingly more frequent than has been reported. Even WWII Il-10 ground-attack Sturmoviks—two-seat variants of the iconic Il-2 single-seat models that decimated Nazi tank columns—were involved in communist operations.

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 59The Fighting Corsairs, the Men of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 in the Paciﬁc During WWII. By Jeff Dacus. Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. 2021. 295 pp. Ill. $27.95. BOOK reviewsMany books and articles have been written about the Marine Corps F4U Corsair squadrons in the Pacic. ere has even been a somehow enduring television series on what qualies as the most well-known squadron of all, Pappy Boyington’s “Black Sheep” of VMF-214. is new book concerns one of the rank-and-le units, which had its own cadre of colorful and successful Marine aviators, one of whom is of admittedly personal interest, First Lieutenant Robert M. Hanson. He scored 25 kills in the F4U Corsair, the most of any aviator, and also called my hometown of Newton, Massachusetts, his own as well. Over the years, I have tried to conrm this fact, even trying to nd Hanson’s street address without success. I thought I knew this suburb of Boston pretty well, having spent most of my pre-adult life there from 1952 to 1971, and graduating from Newton High School in the sub-section of Newtonville, which is actually given as Hanson’s home of record.Be that as it may, there’s no denying VMF-215’s colorful story and thus, retired Marine Master Sergeant (E-8) Dacus’ deeply researched account is welcome, with some technical and stylistic reservations. His somewhat rough writing style eventually smooths out by the middle of the book, although his starting each chapter with odd quotations without telling the reader the background of whom he is quoting is annoying. Examples: Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, V.C., (Victoria Cross, the top British award for valor). He was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) bomber pilot, denitely a highly skilled military aviator, whose record is cited in a history of a U.S. Marine Corps ghter outt in the Pacic. Or Adolph Malan, known as “Sailor” because of his prewar merchantman service, and one of the RAF’s rst WWII aces, which Dacus does not explain. Erwin Rommel was one of Nazi Germany’s highest-ranking and most respected eld commanders, known as the “Desert Fox,” and a war to the enemy, losing some of their number and their aircraft in doing so.eir time on leave in Sydney, Australia is also well described as the Aussies welcome their American comrades as the people from Down Under take the young Americans into their hearts, oering them comfort and solace, renewing their ghting spirit before they return to the front.Chapter 11 is one of the longest in the book and gives a running description of what it was like to y and ght a mid-war escort mission against the Zero, many of whose Imperial Navy pilots remained skilled in using their once-top-line ghters against the Marines’F4Us that were completely counter to their enemy’s design philosophies.As the book heads toward it nal chapters, Dacus’ descriptions of almost daily multi-plane engagements take on lives of their own. And once we get past the chapter quotations, we get into the meat of the book and its purpose, namely to tell a squadron’s story and those of the men who manned the unit and its Corsairs at a desperate time.ground commander of great fame to this day. en, there is Eric Hartmann, the highest-scoring ace of all time with 352 kills in Russia and the Western Front, none of which is included in his brief note beginning Chapter 13. e list goes on. e author should have had a separate appendix with short biographies of those men he saw t to introduce each chapter. I wonder if the editor had suggested that addition.e photos are poorly printed within the text, allowing many details on aircraft to be somewhat obscured, and the few maps supplied form other sources are small and sometimes dicult to read. As many maps are from Marine publications, they may have presented freedom from copyright concerns, especially in today’s growing period of false demands from publishers and other so-called authorities that authors take extra special care in obtaining permission to use these graphics, which appear to be scaring o both writers and potential publishers.is could have been a much better book if the author had been oered and taken guidance in handling his subject’s history and vernacular. He writes about a period in WWII that involved a number of Corsair squadrons in the Pacic that were dealing with an unfortunately high number of pilot losses or injuries that were really not the fault of their big complex ghter, whose early models had rough areas that were soon addressed and cleaned up.One of the most enjoyable portions is how the author describes the development of the squadron, how the pilots come to know each other and become a ghting unit as they go up against the still-dangerous Japanese Army and Navy squadrons that had taken hold of the Pacic right after Pearl Harbor in early December 1941.We meet the young, inexperienced aviators, as well as the up and coming younger men and go through their experiences as they develop into the men who took the

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60 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.org75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works By James C. Goodall, Osprey Publishing, UK. 2021. 384 pp. Ill. $70. For those of you who want to combine a little workout with some great pleasure reading, this ve-pound, 9 ¾ x 12 inch, large format book is just the thing. If you are a follower of the aircraft produced by Lockheed, or when it joined with Martin in 1995, this new compendium loving gathered and edited by a retired U.S. Master Sergeant (E-7), and might want to treat yourself to this pricey publication, again, this is a perfect outlet for you.It’s a pleasant journey, getting beyond the origination of its amusing and legendary name (actually it came direct from its director, Kelly Johnson, who might be considered the third leg of the troika of major American aircraft designers, the others being Ed Heinemann of Douglas, and Bill Northrop, whose far-seeing, often futuristic designs helped keep the American industry in its leadership position after World War II) with its “cute” little skunk caricature, which reminds me of the “Spook” mascot that accompanied all references to the F-4 Phantom and its manufacturer, McDonnell, then McDonnell Douglas in 1967.Cruising through each chapter, taking as much time as desired to appreciate all the great photos, some familiar, but many maybe new to many readers, is time well spent, and truth be told, so is the money.One of the busiest and most productive of aviation and military publishers in today’s industry, and recently acquired by the large Bloomsbury concern, Osprey seems to be expanding its regular production of its very successful aviation books like Aces and Combat Aircraft series to big single-title books that allow major in-depth description of which Skunk Works is the latest example.e book is a veritable plane-by-plane detailed chronological resume of Lockheed’s memorable designs beginning with the P-80 Shooting Star jet ghter of late WWII that was just about ready to go operational and perhaps confront Germany’s world-setting Me. 262. Of course, the P-80, later F-80, did see major combat in Korea as a ghter and occasional photo-reconnaissance aircraft and eventually evolved into the much used two-seat T-33 trainer—along with the Navy’s TV-1 version that gave several of us Vietnam generation hopefuls their rst jet hops--and F-94 Starre radar-equipped interceptor. Each section or chapter has many of the best photos I have ever seen of the particular aircraft.Other types, mainly USAF, include the futuristic XF-90 strategic ghter which the author notes, “was pretty much of a dog when it came to performance,” mainly due to being underpowered with its two Westinghouse J-34 engines that oered barely 6,000 pounds of thrust.roughout the book, its large format allows the many photos to be displayed all to their advantage, something you don’t always see today. But it is not all about famous, or well-known aircraft. Many pages are devoted to X-planes and various projects and designs. Such as the Navy’s XFV Salmon (How many know its name?) VTOL design whose test pilot gave his last name to it. Several pages of great never-seen photos are a real treat.Lockheed led the way in the 1950s with its high-speed ghters and contributed to the iconic century series with its F-104 Starghter, quickly dubbed the “missile with a man in it.” Serving with at least 12 countries, the F-104 only saw very limited combat with the USAF in Vietnam but served each nation well as a peace keeper, even appearing briey in an episode of the epic television Sci-Fi series, “Star Trek” when a USAF Starghter pilot spots the 23rd century Starship “Enterprise” in the 1960s skies, after having entered some kind of time warp.And nally when Lockheed SR-71 test pilot and racing legend Darryl Greenamyer modied his Starghter to achieve a world low altitude speed record of 988.26 mph.Lockheed and the Skunk Works moved into the busy eld of so-called “biz jet” with its JetStar in 1957, examples of which were designated the C-140. Two served as Kelly Johnson’s personal transports. e eld of supersonic airliners was briey explored with the SST L-2000 design beginning in 1958 but was let go as the European Concorde captured the eld and began it glamorous and expensive service.e Skunk Works continued working on exotic designs, including the YF-12A strategic interceptor that morphed into the SR-71A strategic high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance vehicle that has captured countless headlines and records for decades, and frankly, has yet to be matched by any subsequent manned design.Other designs that came out of the bureau were the rst true stealth ghter, the F-117, which was not actually a ghter, but more of a light attack aircraft, and the continuing upgrade of the U-2 that continues to serve the military and civilian intelligence agencies for whom it was originally designed in the mid-1950s.I could go on but with limited space in this issue, the readers will have to nd out for themselves the true expanse of this unique book. Go ahead, treat yourselves!

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Winter 2022 | yellowsheet | 61ARIZONAYuma Tom Miller SquadronCO - Col Chad Vaughnchad.vaughn@usmc.milXO - Col Billy McMillin, USMC (Ret)928-580-3131colusmcret@hotmail.comCALIFORNIACamp Pendleton – Mike Yunck SquadronCO - Col William Bartolomea XO - Col Patrick Gough, USMC (Ret)858-679-1755 ext 212pgough3775@aol.com San Diego—Marion Carl SquadronCO - Col Shannon Brown XO - Col Greg Goodman, USMC (Ret)858-361-9437gregory.l.goodman2@boeing.comPOC - Col Earl Wederbrook, USMC (Ret)858-577-1211earl@earlwederbrook.com COLORADORocky Mountain ChapterCO - Col Gary King, USMC (Ret)850-377-4703gakling18@gmail.comFLORIDAPensacola, Roy S. Geiger SquadronCO - Vacant XO - Col Joe Richards, USMC (Ret)850-516-2550jprichard46@gmail.comOrlando, John F. Bolt SquadronLtCol Tim Hill, USMC (Ret)407-356-7190timhillforida@gmail.comXO - Col Rick Packard, USMC (Ret)407-463-6479richard.j.packard@lmco.comGEORGIAAtlanta - Henry T. Elrod SquadronCO - MSgt John Newport, USMC (Ret)mclwoodstock@hotmail.comXO - Drea Garciadreagarcia6@gmail.comHAWAIIKaneohe Bay Bruce Matheson SquadronCO - VacantMARYLANDPax River – John Glenn SquadronWebsite -mcaajgs.orgCO - Col Justin Eggstaffaero.eggs@gmail.comXO - Col Hank VanderborghtVanderborght22@gmail.comMASSACHUSETTSBostonCO - Col Joe Mahoney, USMC (Ret)617-786-0832jhmahoney@verizon.net POC - GySgt John Margie, USMC (Ret)508-690-1682jomargie@comcast.netNORTH CAROLINACherry Point – A. A. Cunningham SquadronCO - LtCol J.P. Doyle252-466-5011james.p.doyle@usmc.milNew River – Keith McCutcheon SquadronCO - Col Curtis Ebitz, Jr.curtis.ebitz@usmc.milOKINAWAMCAS Futenma - Joe FossCO - Col Brett Allison XO - Col Phil VanEtten, USMC (Ret)sumobuff@hotmail.comAT-LARGE SQUADRONSDevastate Charlie – Marine Air C2 SquadronCO - Col David Joseforskydavid.joseforsky@usmc.mil XO - Col Rey Masinsin, USMC (Ret)813-810-3271Rey.Masinsin@gd-ms.com POC - Col Curt Ames, USMC (Ret)540-295-5959Curtis.Ames@ngc.com 531 Gray Ghosts SquadronCO - Richard Elliottghostlore531@yahoo.com XO - LtCol Rich Richardson, USMC (Ret)ahr-amarine@md.metrocast.net Donald E. Davis– Marine Aviation LogisticsCO - Col Kevin McCutcheon, USMC (Ret)828-443-1560kevinmccutheon76@gmail.comPOC Gale Rodgersrodgers77oki@yahoo.comJohn R. Dailey SquadronCO - LtCol Jeff Buchanan, USMC (Ret)770-778-6576jbuch002@gmail.com XO - Jim Brubaker407-325-4518burbakerjr@earthlink.netRobert “Guy” Robinson SquadronCO - MSgt Kevin Bonner, USMC (Ret)808-551-7701jkbonner@sbcglobal.netSOUTH CAROLINABeaufort – The Great Santini Squadronthegreatsantinisquadron@gmail.comCO - LtCol Allen E. Szczepek, Jr. allen.szczepek@gmail.comXO - Maj John “Simple” Simpson, USMC (Ret)(843) 812-7197jwsimple@comcast.netTEXASDallas/Ft. Worth – Bob Galer SquadronVacantCorpus Christi – John Smith SquadronCO - VacantXO - VacantVIRGINIANorfolk – Darden-Schilt SquadronCO -VacantXO - Col Mike Soniak, USMC (Ret)757-574-3717msoniak@cox.netQuantico – Nighthawk SquadronCO—Kevin Wild, USMC (Ret)Khw7562@gmail.comXO—Damien MarshDamienmarsh@ﬂymarines.usWASHINGTONSeattle– Richard C. Mangrum SquadronLtCol Art Crowe, USMC (Ret)425-284-1455mangrumsquadron@gmail.comWASHINGTON, DCWashington, DC – Bransom-Capital SquadronCO - Col James Bardojames.bardo@usmc.milSQUADRONcontacts

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62 | yellowsheet | www.ymcaa.orgNEWmembersCol Brett AllisonMaj Lars AndersonLtCol Andrea BarronMaj Alexander BlankLtCol Benjamin BlantonGySgt Paul BrackenCapt Brenten BradleyCol Robert BrodieCpl Robert BryantCol Brian BuftonCapt John CantonMaj Andrew CasciMaj Anthony CesaroLtCol Chad ComunaleCol Joseph CraftCol Matthew CulbertsonMaj George CummingsLtCol Warren DeedsLtCol Harold DowlingLtCol Mike EricksonMr. Michael FabertCol Richard FlatauCol Kate FleegerMs. Kate FryMaj Robert GambrellCapt Frank GrantMr. Ivan HaeyMr. Eric HathawayCol Donnal HiltbrunnerLtCol Adam HorneLtCol Henry HortenstineLtCol Douglas HowardCapt Daniel JacksonMr. Christopher JonesCol Eric KeithCapt Curtis KingMaj Erik KolleLtCol Joseph LeeMaj Joseph LennoxMaj Craig LiguoriMaj Harold LloydMaj John McGonagleMaj Jesse McKeemanMaj Neil McKennaGySgt Doug MederosLtCol Joe MederosSgt Dale MeyerCol David MooreCapt Nicholas MorrisonCpl Nicholas MorrisseyCpl John NevilleMr. Kelly O’NealLtCol Jay PalmerCol Dean PattersonSgt Samuel PetersonLtCol Brian PsolkaCpl Robert RamosCol Alex RamthunSgt Troy RobersonMr. Christopher RodkeyWelcome New MembersRead & InitialThe VMFA-531 “Gray Ghosts” will have a reunion in Havelock, NC, from 16-19 June 2022. Please contact Richard Elliott for more information at: hrntphxr531@gmail.comMarine Corps Mustang Association36thAnnual Mustang Muster4 – 7 August 2022, Arlington, VAPOC –JimCasey BusinessMngr@MarineCorpsMustang.orgwww.MarineCorpsMustang.orgMARINE F-4 PHANTOM PHORAY II 2022afterburners are plugged in and we’re rolling down the runway. We’re well past go/no-go speed.Updates will also be posted on the Phantom Phoray website: https://www.usmcphantomphoray.com/e Phantom Phoray committee and the Armed ForcesReunion, Inc. (AFRI) have been diligently working to pull together a great Marine Phantom era experience. But to LtCol Eric RodriguezMr. Paul RosenbergerSgt Scott RousseauMaj Jerey RzasaSgt Rich Sabo2ndLt Gabriel SavageDr. Julian SavageLtCol Kyle ShoopCapt Ralph ShoupMr. Dan SkaneMaj John SkogmanMrs. Mary SloneMaj Shawn StelzelMr. Robert StockusCapt Daniel omasMr. James Vallario Robert WillsCpl Lawrence Wolstmake this one of the greatest aviationreunionsof all, we need your assistance.• Squadron Leads are needed to help set up individual suites/ready rooms; if you are interested, please contact Rick “Packrat” Packard,packard.rick@gmail.com• Over half of the rooms blocked are already committed to; make your reservations with Hyatt now so you can get the group rate of $154/night (plus taxes); you can always adjust when you nalize your plans.https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/group-booking/DFWRD/G-MARI• ere will be a golf tournament on ursday afternoon, October 27th; if you “think” you want to play, please email Donnie Herrin asap (dherrin@vmfareadyroom.com); because of the lead time, specic golf tourney details (fees, groupings, etc.) will be coordinated via separate email once details are nalized.2022 Popasmoke Reunionisreunionwill be held at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, NV. 24 – 28 August 20221100 Nugget Ave, Sparks, NV 89431. local phone: 775-356-3300, toll free: 800-648-1177e Group Reservation Code is: GUSMC22.

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DONATIONSWing Level: $1,000 & AboveCol Todd KemperCol Ron McFarlandLtGen Fred McCorkleCol John RaderLtGen Keith Stalder235 “Death Angels”Group Level: $500 – $999Col Tom HuckelberySquadron Level: $100 – $499Maj Francis ChesneyLtCol Stephen DyroLtCol W. Todd FrommeltCol Joseph GregorcykMaj John JoinerCol William JonesMr. Christopher KernCapt Kevin Mac DonnellCapt Terril RichardsonCol Laura SampselCol Bronson SweeneyDivision Level: $25 – $99Col Robert BallantyneCol Michael CatheyDr. Mary Amanda DewCapt omas GreerCol James MutterLtCol Ron RuescherCol Eric SteidlBGen James WellonsDonations in Memory of / in Honor ofIn MemoryDr. Mary Amanda Dew In Memory ofCol Elkin S. DewLtCol Stephen Dyro In Memory of Maj Joe David “Feets” CoxLtCol W. Todd Frommelt In Memory of Col Dave PeelerCol Joseph Gregorcyk In Memory of JP MonroeMajGen Richard GustafsonIn Memory of LtGen Chuck PitmanCol Tom HuckelberyIn Memory of Col JP Monroe & Col James OrrCapt Kevin M. Mac Donnell In Memory of Col Charles L. DockeryCol William JonesIn Memory of Col Jim Orr235 “Death Angels” In Memory of All Members Col Bronson SweeneyIn Memory of Col JP MonroeCol Bronson SweeneyIn Memory of 1stLt Jerry ProvostLtGen Keith Stalder In Memory of MajGen Jed Pearson, Col Harry Spies, LtCol George Sweeney, and MSgt Bill GetscherIn Honor235 “Death Angels” In Honor ofAll MembersWinter 2022 | yellowsheet | 63

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Although first chartered in 1972, the genesis of the organization dates back to World War I with the First Marine Aviation Force Veterans. As a result, sharing the legacy and heritage of Marine aviation and bringing aviation Marines, both active duty and retired together is at the core of our mission.MCAA promotes and recognizes professional excellence in Marine aviation, supports the fraternal bond of its membership, preserves Marine aviation heritage, and safeguards the future of Marine aviation through awards programs, events and publications.MCAA currently has 53 corporate members. A large part of our membership comes from the aerospace industry. Through our corporate membership and generous donations, we support numerous awards, scholarship programs and the Semper Fi fund. MCAA also supports aviation memorials and aircraft museum restorations. Join TodayMembership is Open to Military and Civilains703.630.1903 | www.flymcaa.orgThe Marine Corps Aviation Association (MCAA) is a non-profit 501(c)19 Veteran’s Organization.Receive our publications 4 times a year.715 Broadway Street, Quantico VAIn This IssueGeneral Christian SchiltOPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (Part One)An Unexpected LayoverSpring 2021e Magazine of Marine Aviationwww.ymcaa.orgTheMARINE CORPS AVIATION ASSOCIATIONwww.ymcaa.orgHONORING EXCELLENCE IN MARINE AVIATIONIn This Issuee 2021 Aviation Award WinnersSeeing the Future OPERATION ICEBERG2021www.ymcaa.orgCelebrating 75 Years of HMX-1 | A Fight to the Death | Operation Iraqi Freedom Part 3 e Magazine of Marine AviationFall 2021JournalJournalwww.ymcaa.orgHonoring Excellence in Marine Aviation2022Marine Corps Aviation AssociationHappy “50th” MCAA | The Rose Garden | The 2022 Aviation Awards