VMA-223

On 20 August, two squadrons of Marine Aircraft Group Mag-23 were launched from the escort carrier Long Island, CVE-1, located 200 miles southeast of Guadalcanal.

Captain John L. Smith led 19 Grumman F4-F4 Wildcats of Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-223 onto Henderson's narrow runway.

Smith's fighters were followed by Major Richard C. Mangrum's Marine Scout Bombing Squadron, VMSB-232, with 12 Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless Dive Bombers.

From this point of the campaign, the radio identification for Guadalcanal, Cactus, became increasingly synonymous with the island.

Wasting no time, the Marine pilots were soon in action against the Japanese naval aircraft, which frequently attacked Guadalcanal.

Smith shot down his first enemy zero fighter on 21 August.

Three days later, VMF-223's Wildcats intercepted a strong Japanese aerial attack force and downed 16 enemy planes.

In this action, Captain Marion E. Carl, a veteran of Midway, shot down three planes.

And then I carried that over into Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

The big focus of that was just showcasing the legacy and the final retirement of the Marine Corps Harriers and VMA 223, the Bulldog Squadron, because it's the last U.S. Marine Squadron.

It's obviously the Harriers have been around for decades.

decades at this point, and they have such a long and storied career that, you know, I really wanted to showcase because a lot of people really care about this aircraft.