Marine Fighting Squadron 441 (VMF-441) was a fighter squadron of the

Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Originally commissioned during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the squadron fought during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. Nicknamed "The Blackjacks", VMF-441 was credited with 49 planes shot during the course of the war. Following the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, the squadron was decommissioned on July 11, 1946. They were reactivated in the Marine Air Reserve and were based out of Naval Air Station Niagara Falls,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

World War II

Marine Fighting Squadron 441 (VMF-441) was activated on October 1, 1942, at

Tutuila Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Au ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

from elements of

VMF-111 Marine Fighting Squadron 111 (VMF-111) was a reserve fighter squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Devil Dogs", the squadron was one of the first aviation squadrons in the Marine Corps and gained national attention in the 19 ...

and flew the

F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlan ...

. By the end of May 1943 the entire squadron had moved to Funafuti in the Ellice Islands and this was followed on September 28, 1943, by another move to

Nanumea Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is with a popul ...

. The squadron moved back to Tutuila in December 1943 where they transitioned to the F4U-1 Corsair. On January 1, 1944, VMF-441 joined

Marine Aircraft Group 31 Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) is a United States Marine Corps aviation group based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina that is currently composed of two F/A-18C Hornet squadrons, one F/A-18A++ Hornet squadron, two F/A-18D Ho ...

(MAG-31) on Roi-Namur. By March 1944 the squadron was again on the offensive conducting raids against Mili and

Jaluit Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Most ...

. During the

, VMF-441 landed at Yontan Airfield on April 7, 1945. On April 16, 1945, four divisions of VMF-441 planes came to the rescue of the destroyer which had already been hit by five

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

s. Their Corsairs attacked a flight of 25 Japanese planes and were credited with shooting down 15½ enemy planes, losing one of their own because he was flying so low that both he and the Japanese plane he was chasing clipped ''Laffeys

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. The squadron was still on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

when the Japanese

surrendered Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...

in August 1945. Shortly thereafter, the squadron was alerted for

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

duty in mainland Japan as part of

(MAG-31). Maj Paul T. Johnston, then commanding officer of the squadron, piloted the first Marine plane to land in mainland Japan when his F4U Corsair touched down at Yokosuka. He was quickly followed by the other 21 planes in his squadron. The squadron remained in Japan until March 1946. During their time on Occupation Duty the squadron logged over 3000 flight hours. They returned to the United States in April 1946 and were deactivated at

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on July 11, 1946.

Reserve years

VMF-441 was reactivated on July 1, 1949 at Naval Air Station Niagara Falls,

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

VMF-441 was mobilized for active duty beginning on October 22, 1951. The squadron remained at NAS Niagara Falls and continued to train until it was decommissioned on June, 1959.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. VMF-441 was presented with the following awards:

Notes

References