History
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World War II
Marine Fighter Squadron 214 was originally commissioned on July 1, 1942, at Ewa, on the Island of Oahu, in the Hawaiian group. Initially called the "Swashbucklers, they participated in the Solomon Islands campaign, flying out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. They were disbanded following their combat tour and the squadron designation was given to the Marine command on Espiritu Santo. In August 1943, a group of twenty-seven young men under the leadership of Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (who was later awarded the Medal of Honor) were joined together to form the original "Blacksheep" of VMF-214. Major Boyington had just returned from a year's tour in China as a member of the American Volunteer Group, "The Flying Tigers." In China, he had downed six enemy planes and became, through actual experience, one of the originators of American fighter tactics against the Japanese.
The call sign "Black Sheep" was chosen by the squadron to commemorate the unusual way in which the Squadron had been formed. The pilots ranged from experienced combat veterans, with several air-to-air victories to their credit, to new replacement pilots from the United States. Major Boyington and Major Stan Bailey were given permission to form the unassigned pilots into a squadron, with the understanding that they would have less than four weeks to have them fully trained and ready for combat. They were very successful.
F4U-1 Corsair of 1st Lt Rolland N. Rinabarger of VMF-214They chose for their badge to carry into battle the black shield of illegitimacy, the bar sinister, a black sheep superimposed, surrounded by a circle of twelve stars, and crowned with the image of their aircraft, the F4U Corsair. What these men accomplished has become Marine Corps history. The Black Sheep squadron fought for eighty-four days. They met the Japanese over their own fields and territories and piled up a record of 203 planes destroyed or damaged, produced eight fighter aces with 97 confirmed air-to-air kills, sunk several troop transports and supply ships, destroyed many installations, in addition to numerous other victories. For their actions, the original Black Sheep were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in action.
The Black Sheep ended their second combat tour on January 8, 1944, five days after Major Boyington was shot down and captured by the Japanese. The original Black Sheep were disbanded and the pilots were placed in the pilot pool in Marine Aircraft Group 11. Exploits of this incarnation of the unit were loosely fictionalised in the 1970s television series Baa Baa Black Sheep (later renamed The Black Sheep Squadron), starring Robert Conrad as Boyington.
VMF-214 was reformed on January 29, 1944 at MCAS Goleta, near Santa Barbara, California. They deployed aboard the USS Franklin (CV-13) on February 4, 1945. Their mission was to join in operations on Okinawa. On March 19, a Japanese bomber hit the USS Franklin. The explosion and resulting fire caused 772 deaths aboard the Franklin including 32 Black Sheep. Many Black Sheep aircraft were launching for a strike on mainland Japan at the time. One, First Lieutenant Ken Linder, was given half credit for shooting down the Japanese bomber that struck the Franklin. This ended VMF-214 involvement in WWII. In April 1945, the Black Sheep were relocated to El Centro, California, and then to MCAS El Toro, CA in October of 1945. In the next few years, the Black Sheep deployed for operations on board the USS Rendova (CVE-114), the USS Baroko (CVE-115), the USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116), and the USS Boxer (CV-21).
