100 years ago on the 22nd of May, 1912, a Marine 1st Lieutenant by the name of Alfred Austell Cunningham reported for flight-training to the Naval Academy where a training facility for aviators was set up. Thus, May 22nd was recognized as the birthday of Marine aviation.
In naval aviation, you'll hear of the exploits of Navy pilots and their daredevil stunts in the face of death. Lesser known are the accomplishments of their counterpart Marine pilots. Take for example Lt. Col. "Pappy" Boyington. That man had balls of steel. On one occasion, he and 24 fighters flew over a Japanese-occupied airfield (Kahili airdrome), during the Pacific campaign of WWII, taunting the guys on the ground into sending up a few planes. Turns out, the Japs weren't too happy with the sudden appearance of these Marines and sent up more fighters than the Black Sheep (Pappy's squadron) bargained for. In the ensuing battle, 20 Japanese pilots were shot down, forcing back their defensive force, while the Black Sheep returned home with not a single aircraft lost.
How about John Glenn... Marine fighter ace, first American to orbit the earth in 1962, US senator and the oldest human to fly into space in 1998? Or John Bolt, double-ace? Or, get this... TED WILLIAMS! Hell yeah, the legendary left-fielder for the Boston Red Sox was a decorated Marine fighter bomber in WWII and the Korean War!
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| Iceman and Maverick don't have s**t on the "Duke of Mukden" |
Today, the Corps still flies their older F/A-18s, which will be replaced with the F-35s later on. They still fly their AV-8s (to be replaced by the STOVL F-35 variants) and their Sea Knights and Super Stallions. But the Air Wing's going through a major overhaul. Enter, the UH-1Y Venoms and the AH-1Z Vipers. Oh, and the super-awesome tiltrotor MV-22 Ospreys. This massive update will ensure that years from now, Marine aviation elements will still be relevant to America's war-fighting capabilities and will still be one of the leading forces at the tip of America's military spear.
