"Triple Threat and History" |
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| In August, 1943, Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and Major Stan Bailey took 27 young pilots, all of whom had become separated from their squadrons for various reasons, and formed the original "Blacksheep" squadron of VMF-214. They were given less than four weeks to mold themselves into a fully trained and operational Marine squadron. The squadron was given eight F-4U Corsairs, and in their first 84 days of combat, they destroyed or damaged 197 Japanese enemy aircraft, sunk troop transports and supply ships, and destroyed many ground installations. "Pappy" Boyington, Commanding Officer of VMA-214, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945. |
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| VMA-214, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Sicily Strait, was the first Marine squadron to see combat in the Korean War. In 1959, the "Blacksheep" transitioned to the FJ-4B Fury, and logged more than 27,000 flight hours as an attack squadron. In January, 1962, the "Blacksheep" transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. In 1965, the squadron flew 3,971 combat missions in support of the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force in South Vietnam. The "Blacksheep" squadron had three combat tours to Vietnam, flying 14,000 hours, 13,200 combat missions, and dropped over 10,000 tons of ordnance. |
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| Detail from the painting "Triple Threat" |
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| In September 1987, VMA-214 relocated from MCAS El Toro, California, to MCAS Yuma, Arizona, where the squadron trained in the A-4M Skyhawk over the deserts of Arizona, which is the setting for the painting "Triple Threat". On January 12, 1988, Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, whose combat missions were dramatized in the television show "Baa, Baa, Blacksheep", passed away after a battle against cancer. Lt. Col. T.R. "Groucho" Carstens, Commanding Officer of VMA-214 and lead pilot in the painting Triple Threat, spoke at the memorial service and presented a plaque to Mrs. Boyington (photo). |
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| In June, 1989, after 30,000 accident free flying hours over a six year period in the A-4 Skyhawk, the VMA-214 "Blacksheep" formed the first night attack squadron with the AV-8B Night Attack Harrier, a vertical take-off and landing combat jet. |
