United States Marine Corps Aviation Squadron Lineage, Insignia & History

Michael Crowder

Sujets

• Conflicts
• Wars
• Histoire
• Military history of the United States
• Military
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 06 juin 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781618585578
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

412 Broadway • P.O. Box 3101 Paducah, Kentucky 42002-3101 [phone] www.turnerpublishing.com
 
Copyright © 2000 Michael J. Crowder
Publishing Rights: Turner Publishing Company
 
No portion of this manuscript, text, photographs or illustrations may be reproduced in any media, electronic or hard copy without the expressed written consent of the author and publisher.
 
Turner Publishing Company Staff: Herbert C. Banks II, Editor Shelley R. Davidson, Designer
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003111687
9781618585578
 
Printed in the United States of America. Limited Edition.
Table of Contents
Title Page Copyright Page PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION ORGANIZATION & MISSIONS MARINE AVIATION INSIGNIA COLLECTIONS & COLLECTORS SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY - (WITH COMMENTS)
PREFACE
T wo admissions must be made regarding the following work. First, it began as an exercise for myself in that I attempted to research and to document the lineage of the squadron insignia that composed my collection at the time. With all the innocence that normally accompanies any amateur project such as this, it was assumed that it would be of relatively short duration, as well as fairly painless. After all, the military services of all nations are steeped in tradition and history, and the navies of the world are among the most tradition-conscious of all. After a few quick trips to the local public library and a review of the many books in my personal collection, all the information required would be on hand. All that would then remain would be to arrange the words and to commit them to paper with my handy, dandy word processor.
Second, since my insignia collection was composed primarily of those of squadrons currently serving, the result would be a small, handy reference volume whose primary use would be to impress my friends with my “vast” store of knowledge regarding my collection of squadron insignia.
To steal a phrase from the lexicon of the teens of today, the result of these assumptions was a resounding “NOT!” In place of the expected orderly catalog of information is a confusing jungle of incomplete and often contradictory data. This unfortunate state of affairs is particularly true of Navy squadrons and units. The most obvious reason for this is the press of combat operations that have occurred throughout the history of Naval Aviation. When there is a minor little matter of a war to be fought, careful record keeping tends to be rather low on the list of priorities. However, this does little to explain the ongoing Navy practice of disestablishing a given squadron today and redesignating another, existing squadron with the designation of the unit disestablished the previous day! There are literally scores of instances of this happening woven throughout the fabric of the history of Naval Aviation. An explanation of the reasons for this practice, logical or otherwise, thus far has successfully eluded my research efforts.
According to the Naval History Center, the disestablishment of a squadron, regardless of the length of time, breaks its lineage at the date of its disestablishment. Should the same designation be given to another squadron at a later date, a very common occurrence, the “new” squadron can claim the history and the traditions of the previous squadron but not its lineage. This is but one of the many things regarding the subject of squadron history and lineage that will drive both the amateur and the professional historian to distraction when attempting to research and document this subject.
The insignia of a given squadron cannot be used as a reliable guide to unit history or lineage either. The insignia of a particular squadron can and may change with distressing regularity. The official guidelines governing insignia design change from time to time, and an insignia that was perfectly acceptable in days past can be deemed inappropriate by a change of the rules. When regulations regarding insignia change, existing insignia may or may not be “grandfathered.” Squadron commanding officers can suggest (order) changes to be made; significant events or accomplishments in a unit’s history can bring about a change in insignia; etc., etc. From time to time, squadrons may choose to adopt an old insignia of a previous squadron for no other reason than it is an historic design and the members of a current squadron like it. There may or may not be any lineal connection between the two squadrons. Also, a squadron may choose to adopt an insignia “unofficially”. Such designs may never be submitted for official approval. It may be worn for years, but because it was never submitted to the approval process, the design never existed in the eyes of officialdom.
Needless to say, what was thought to be a fairly quick and easy research task quickly grew into a major effort. During this period of time, my collection of insignia has continued to grow, increasing by a factor of four or five. It soon became obvious that it would be necessary to divide the information into more manageable parts in order to avoid having a single volume that would perhaps approach the size of an unabridged dictionary.
The decision to devote the first volumes of this series to the Marine Corps is one forced by necessity as much as by anything else. All the previous comments regarding the confusion with regard to squadron lineage pertains to the “Navy” portion of Naval Aviation. The Marines treat the subject of unit lineage with far more reverence, not to mention common sense, than do their Navy brethren. Once the Marine Corps has established [“activated,” to use the proper Marine terminology] a squadron, it will not be “disestablished,” in the sense that this term is used by the Navy. It may, from time to time, be “deactivated.” But, should this happen, the squadron’s colors are cased and sent to the Headquarters, Marine Corps. Should that squadron be “reactivated” at any time in the future, the squadron’s colors are presented to the new unit, and its lineage remains intact. There are Marine helicopter squadrons active today that are the direct lineal descendants of Marine fighting squadrons of World War II. These squadrons may have been inactive for the majority of the preceding half-century, but their lineage has carried forward intact. This, in turn, makes the research task easier, and experience (often the painful and frustrating variety) has made that most welcome.
A second reason is that the history of the United States Marine Corps is nothing if not colorful, and Marine aviation is certainly no exception. Public interest in things Marine has always seemed to be higher than it is in the other armed services. (Members of the other services are quick to point out that they believe this is due to the Marines’ expertise in the public relations field.) Be that as it may, it perhaps has more to do with the mission of the Marines as an expeditionary force in readiness. After all, it was the Marine Corps selected to be the primary element in the recent United Nations relief effort in Somalia. Landings on foreign and often obscure shores have been part and parcel of the reasons for the Corps’ existence since its birth on 10 November 1775.
Regarding the organization of the material contained in this work, it was decided to group the organizations by their current designation in the case of a squadron that is serving today or by its most recent [or last] designation in the case of a squadron that is not currently active. For example, although the most eventful and best known period in the history of the “Black Sheep” squadron, today’s VMA-214, was its participation in the World War II campaign to reduce the great Japanese base at Rabaul, and it served in that campaign as Marine Fighting Squadron 214, it is currently designated an attack squadron, VMA-214. It has been designated such for the vast majority of its history. Therefore, all of the information on the lineage and the insignia of today’s VMA-214 is found in that volume of this work that is devoted to attack squadrons, regardless of past designations/missions. And, while it must be admitted that this was an arbitrary decision on the part of the author, it also is based on a certain logic.
With regard to the organization of the color plates of the insignia, the first shown for a given squadron is its current insignia or the most recent insignia for that squadron in the collection or its insignia at the time of its deactivation. Where multiple examples of insignia are depicted for a given squadron, they are arranged from the current or most recent insignia for that squadron to its earliest insignia. For example, there are three insignia in the plate for the recently deactivated VMFA-531, the “Grey Ghosts.” The first is that worn by the squadron at the time of its deactivation on 27 April 1992. The second one shown is the insignia worn from February 1958 until August 1963. The third was worn from the time of the squadron’s activation in 1942 until 1963.
Also, no claim is made with regard to the work that follows that it is all-inclusive. At its peak strength in World War II, the Marine Corps possessed no fewer than 103 tactical squadrons. In addition, there were the air wings, air groups and other aviation-related formations that wore or used unit insignia. These 103 squadrons may have worn several insignia during their active service. In the more than half a century since the end of the war, the active squadrons have changed insignia several times, and some of these designs may have been in use for only a few weeks or months. Therefore, initially the decision was made to limit the coverage to only those insignia that reside in my collection. Even this decision, however, is not as simple as it may sound. Since the start of this work, many insignia have been added to my collection, and new sources of information come to light.
Fortunately this changed with my introduction to TACTICUS and CWO