America's Few delves into the history of US Marine Corps aviation
in World War II, following the feats of the Corps' top-scoring aces
in the skies over Guadalcanal. Marine Corps aviation began in 1915,
functioning as a self-contained expeditionary force. During the
interwar period, the support of USMC amphibious operations became a
key element of Marine aviation doctrine, and the small force
gradually grew. But in December 1941 came the rude awakening.
Within hours of Pearl Harbor, heroic Marine aviators were battling
the Japanese over Wake Island. In the South Pacific, the aviators
of the US Marine Corps came out of the shadows to establish
themselves as an air force second to none. In the summer of 1942,
when Allied airpower was cobbled together into a single unified
entity - nicknamed 'the Cactus Air Force' - Marine Aviation
dominated, and a Marine, Major General Roy Geiger, was its
commander. Of the twelve Allied fighter squadrons that were part of
the Cactus Air Force, eight were USMC squadrons. It was over
Guadalcanal that Joe Foss emerged as a symbol of Marine aviation.
As commander of VMF-121, he organized a group of fighter pilots
that downed 72 enemy aircraft; Foss himself reached a score of 26.
Pappy Boyington, meanwhile, had become a Marine aviator in 1935.
Best known as the commander of VMF-214, he came into his own in
late 1943 and eventually matched Foss's aerial victory score.
Through the parallel stories of these two top-scoring fighter aces,
as well as many other Marine aces, such as Ken Walsh (21
victories), Don Aldrich (20), John L. Smith (19), Wilbur Thomas
(18.5), and Marion Carl (18.5), many of whom received the Medal of
Honor, acclaimed aviation historian Bill Yenne examines the
development of US Marine Corps aviation in the South Pacific.
General
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