In the summer of 1994, Air Warrior made its debut on the Delphi internet service. In a not so secret Delphi chat room on 21 August 1994, the Cactus Air Force was commissioned… Those present for that historic first online meeting were SOUP (4510), JD, Sniper, Rookie, Ripper, Slider, Raz and Ridger. Greg "Sturmer" Smith was elected, in absentia, as the CAF's first commanding officer.
The real Cactus Air Force was not an officially organized unit, but a grouping of many different squadrons used to fill a gap for the allied effort early on in the Solomon Islands. They were comprised of pilots and ground crews initially from the U.S. Marines and eventually from all the U.S. military services, and were put on Guadalcanal to fend off the Japanese in a desperate attempt to thwart enemy advancement in the Pacific.
At Guadalcanal all pilots and planes were pooled. There was no distinction as to squadron identity for pilots. It was the same with planes. Pilots never knew which plane they would fly until they saw it on the flight schedule just before takeoff. Your wingman might be a member of some other squadron. It was assumed that all pilots were equally skilled in gunnery and tactics. This was known as the "Cactus Air Force" from "Above and beyond"
Air Warrior's CAF felt a certain kinship, as they were just a bunch of dweeb flight simmers who suddenly found themselves thrust into an unfamiliar (virtual) battle against overwhelming odds. Thus, the squad chose the name "Cactus Air Force" for their unit, out of the utmost reverence for men like Col. Joe Bauer, Capt. Joe Foss, Capt. Marion Carl, and Maj. Joe Sailor. With the attitude of the written-off underdog, the CAF adopted their squadron motto, submitted by John "JD" Dunn: Oderint dum Metuant - Latin for "Let them hate, so long as they fear."
Those of you that have been a part of our history, feel free to post any rememberances, storys or just Salute. Drop by our website if your inclined
Looking forward to the next 10! ODM!!!
www.cactusairforce.org
