Marine Observation Squadron 1 (VMO-1) was an observation squadron of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

which saw extensive action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and supported numerous contingencies during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The squadron was last based at

Marine Corps Air Station New River Marine Corps Air Station New River is a United States Marine Corps helicopter and tilt-rotor base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for General Keith B. McCut ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and saw its final deployment in support of

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in 1991. The squadron was decommissioned on 31 July 1993.

History

World War II

Marine Observation Squadron 155 (VMO-155) was commissioned at

Marine Corps Air Station Quantico Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico (MCAF Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located within Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. It was commissioned in 1919 and is currently home to HMX-1, the squadron that flies the President ...

, Virginia on July 27, 1943. In November of that year, the squadron moved out to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and on 1 January 1944, they were redesignated Marine Observation Squadron 1 (VMO-1) and deployed to

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

. In February 1944, they moved to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

and in July they joined the

III Amphibious Corps III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...

and participated in the Battle of Guam. In February and March 1945, the squadron also participated in the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

1946–1980s

In January 1946, the squadron moved to

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 an ...

. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, they trained replacement pilots for the war and supported operation of the

2nd Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina a ...

. In 1950, the squadron received eight Cessna OE-1 for light fixed wing operations. In 1952, they moved to

and received their first helicopters. The tail code during this time was changed from LR to ER. In 1953 the squadron received the Cessna OE-2. In 1958, the squadron was part of the

U.S. 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Si ...

task force that intervened in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and in 1965 they participated in the U.S. intervention into the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. From 1964 to 1968 the squadron operated without any fixed wing aircraft. In July 1968, VMO-1 became conversion to the

OV-10 Bronco The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop attack aircraft, light attack and surveillance aircraft, observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for Counter-insurgency aircraft, counter-ins ...

and by 1971 they were an all

fixed-wing A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using Lift (force), aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft (in which a Helicopter rotor, r ...

squadron. During the 1970s and 1980s, the squadron rotated through deployments to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and supported exercises throughout

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. In 1974 VMO-1 set a Navy/Marine Corps Maintenance record with 21 of 21 OV-10A aircraft up with all systems go for 21 days in a row. Commanding Officer was Lt.Col. Art Dittmeier. Maintenance Officer was Major John H. Pierson Jr. On 5 July 1974 VMO-1 Pilot John H. Pierson Jr. and Co-pilot Major David R. Shore set a world straight line non-stop distance record for Class C 1 f Group II (Turboprop) aircraft. The flight covered 2,769.84 miles from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, in Washington State to Homestead Air Force Base, in Florida. The aircraft was equipped with an internal auxiliary fuel tank in the cargo bay and an Aero 3C external fuel tank which provided total fuel for over 12.5 hours flight time. The original reason for the flight was to demonstrate the OV-10A trans-Atlantic capability which Marine Corps Headquarters staff planners did not recognize at the time. Certificates: Federation Aeronautique Internationale; National Aeronautic Association>

1990s and deactivation

In December 1990, the squadron boarded the USS ''America'' and USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' headed for

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

to support

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. When

began, the squadron flew over 1000 combat sorties with the loss of 1 aircraft and 1 pilot

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

. Upon their return, the squadron was deactivated on 31 July 1993.

Unit awards

Notes

References

;Bibliography * * ;Web
Marine Observation Squadron 1

U.S. Marine Corps Broncos – VMO-1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vmo-1 Observation1 Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps