WW II USMC Marine VMF 115 Fighter Squadron Joes Jokers History Campaign Book for Sale

On eBay Now...

WW II USMC Marine VMF 115 Fighter Squadron Joes Jokers History Campaign Book For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

WW II USMC Marine VMF 115 Fighter Squadron Joes Jokers History Campaign Book:
$28.00

The history of Marine Corps Fighter Squadron VMF 115 from WW II to Vietnam.

MarineFighting Squadron 115 (VMF-115) was organized on July 1, 1943 at Marine CorpsAir Station Santa Barbara, California, as a F4U Corsair squadron. One of theMarine Corps most famous aces, Major Joseph Foss assumed command 16 days later.The squadron gained the nickname "Joe's Jokers", and in May 1944joined the Pacific campaign. VMF-115 was a contributor to the American victoryin the Philippines providing close air support, fighter cover, and deep air strikesin Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. With over 18,000 flight hours during5,856 combat sorties, VMF-115 was credited with shooting down 6½ enemy aircraftwhile losing 28 aircraft with nine pilots killed in action.

To protectU.S. interests after the war and support Marines supervising the surrender ofJapan, the squadron deployed to Peking, China. Communist troops began patternsof hostility leading to convoy coverage and "air presence" missions.31 months after initial deployment, VMF-115 left the Pacific theater.

In 1964/65the squadron transitioned the McDonnell F-4B Phantom II and was redesignatedVMFA-115. The "Able Eagles" were deployed to Da Nang Air Base,Republic of Vietnam on October 14, 1965. During the Vietnam War, VMFA-115 flewmore than 34,000 combat sorties, providing close air support for Marines duringsuch battles as the Tet Offensive, Battle of Hue, Battle of Khe Sahn, and TaskForce Delta. The squadron was awarded the Hanson Trophy in 1971 by theCommandant of the Marine Corps. In March 1971 VMFA-115 was relocated toIwakuni, Japan. In April 1972, the squadron moved its operations to Royal ThaiAir Base Nam Phong, Thailand. Here they continued to fly air to ground sortiesin addition to playing a key fighter role in Operation Linebacker missions overNorth Vietnam.

This reprinted book has 93 Pages in this 8 1/2 x 11 staple bound format.