The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Famous Marine Corps Unit: VMFA-214 (The Black Sheep Squadron)

Famous Marine Corps Unit: VMFA-214 (The Black Sheep Squadron)

"…We are poor little lambsWho have lost our way?Baa! Baa! Baa!We are little black sheepWho have gone astray.Baa! Baa! Baa!Gentlemen songsters off on a spreeDamned from here to eternityGod have mercy on such as we.Baa! Baa! Baa!" From Espiritu Santo, the Squadron was moved forward to Guadalcanal and Henderson Airfield in the Solomon Islands. At first, the Squadron was not assigned aircraft or ancillary personnel; its pilots flew to Guadalcanal and later the Russell Islands in borrowed planes....

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Capt. David McCampbell, U.S. Navy (1933-1964)

Capt. David McCampbell, U.S. Navy (1933-1964)

All available fighter pilots! Man your planes!" boomed the squawk box in Essex' ready room. The ship's radar had detected three large groups of Japanese planes coming in. David McCampbell, the CAG, and the Navy's most famous aviator considered this announcement. Earlier that morning, Admiral Sherman himself had forbidden McCampbell from joining a dawn sortie. Given his responsibilities as Commander of Essex' Air Group and his public prominence as a top ace, McCampbell was too valuable. He...

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