Marine Fighter Squadron 224 (VMF-224)

World War II

Marine Fighter Squadron 224 (VMF-224) was commissioned on May 1, 1942 at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. Flying Grumman F4F Wildcats, the Bengals entered World War II as part of the Cactus Air Force stationed on Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. Led by Medal of Honor recipient Maj Robert Galer, the squadron accounted for over sixty Japanese aircraft being destroyed in less than two months. The squadron also conducted close air support (CAS) missions while under constant attack from Japanese Naval, Air, and Ground Forces. VMF-224's contributed significantly to the American victory at the Battle of Guadalcanal, which in turn, helped stem the tide of the Japanese advance across the Southern Pacific and secured a crucial foothold in the long island-hopping campaign to Japan.

After Guadalcanal, the squadron was refitted with the Vought F4U Corsair and participated in the Marshall Islands Campaign. The spring of 1945 found VMF-224 participating in the last great battle of the Pacific Campaign. During the Battle of Okinawa the squadron operated for the duration of the campaign from the newly captured airfield at Yomitan. Throughout the struggle for Okinawa, the Bengals flew infantry support and counter air missions accounting for an additional fifty-five enemy aircraft being destroyed.

Cactus Air Force - Guadalcanal Campaign