JOHN GALLE'S 212 HISTORY PAGE

From: E-Mail 6 April 1998

Here is some info and a source on patches. Apparently your first patch was a bulldog with a machine gun. The second patch was a tiger with a snake in his mouth. Your current patch is the third in your history. Just a reminder; Capt Stout should be on your aces page, with 6 kills.

From: E-Mail 17 March 1998

All the info is from the book I mentioned earlier. It belonges to the friend who was attached to the Second Marine Air Wing Hdq. The book arrived at his home in 1952 without his knowledge. I suspect working around the brass is what got the book. I know pilots from the war who never heard of the book.

"History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II"
by Robert Sherrod
Combat Forces Press-Washington
Copyright 1952 by Association of the U. S. Army
Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 52-6344

More LD photos are in the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation magazine Vol 18 number 2, Fall 1997.
The book has 2 photos you need. One is of Ltcol. Bauer and MajGen Geiger holding a Japanese flag.
The other is Bauer Field, Efate.

From: E-Mail 15 March 1998

" VMF-212 Commissioned 1 Mar 42 at Ewa and on 29 Mar 42 forward echelon arrived Efate. Flight echelon arrived Tontouta 11 May 42 to await completion of field at Efate. During Jun and Jul 42 the Squadron divided between New Hebrides and New Caledonia. Eight pilots went to Guadalcanal in Aug 42 to operate with VMF-223. In Sep and Nov 42 Squadron operated from Henderson.
Returned to US 22 Nov 42 and remained on West Coast until Jun 43 then sailed for Midway. After two months there proceeded to Espiritu. By Aug 43 Squadron was back in Solomons participating in Vella Lavella and Bougainville campaigns. Based at Barakoma 20 Oct to 27 Nov 43 supporting Treasury-Choiseul-Bougainville opns. Ground echelon departed Espiritu for Russells in Nov 43 and on 9 Dec 43 arrived Torokina and remained until 20 Jan 44 then moved to Piva and stayed there until 20 Mar 44 when sent to Green.
Jan 44 found flight echelon at Vella Lavella. Remained in Solomons-Bismarcks area, striking Rabaul and supporting Bougainville ground forces until end of 1944. By 8 Jan 45 Squadron was on Samar flying missions to Mindoro, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Flew close-support for Army troops during Mar and Apr 45. By 7 Jun 45 flight echelon was on Okinawa and operations were carried out there until war ended.

CO's:
Maj Harold W. Bauer 1Mar to 14Nov42
Maj Fredrick R. Payne Jr 14Nov42 to 5Feb43
Capt Robert F. Stout 6Feb to 2Apr43
Maj Richard D. Hughes 2Apr to 31May43
Maj Stuart B. O'Neill Jr. 1Jun to 31Dec43
Maj Hugh M. Elwood 1Jan to 23 Apr44
Maj Wilbur A. Free 24Apr to 8May44
Maj Boyd C. McElhany Jr. 9May to 18Nov44
Maj Quinton R. Johns 18Nov44 to 27Apr45
Maj John P. McMahon 27 Apr45 to date of surrender."

I wonder why so many of these skippers didn't last very long?
Tell your history officers they owe me and the old Marine whose book I am using a squadron patch for our old flight jackets.

From: E-Mail 13 March 1998

Did you know only eleven Medals of Honor were awarded to marine aviators during WWII, four of them posthumous?

Fifty eight marine squadrons were credited with 2,344 and 5/6th enemy aircraft shot down during WWII? Ten more were shot down by Marine pilots while attached to Navy carrier squadrons. VMF 212 tied with VMF 223 for fifth place in total number with 132 and 1/2 aircraft.

There were 120 Marine aces in WWII. LTCOL Bauer tied with Donald H. Sapp for position number 21 with 11 kills.

Twenty five squadron commanders were killed during WWII. Guadalcanal claimed the largest number.....8. VMSB-141 lost 2 skippers at Guadalcanal. Midway Island comes in 2nd with the loss of 3 skippers, 2 of them were with VMSB-241. (VMSB is either scout or dive bomber). Four of the skippers were killed in the states, 2 at Cherry Point and 2 at Santa Barbara.

One more...VMF-212 and VMF-222 war diaries,Jan.,Feb 1945.....
"The worst accident at Samar--and one of the worst the Marines experienced during the war--- occurred 24 Jan. At 0940, while taking off, Lieut. Karl Oerth of VMF-222 hit a lump in the runway, blew a tire and his Corsair careened wildly into his own squadron's revetment area, which was shared with VMF-212. Completely wiped out were the tents housing intelligence,oxygen paraachute and materiael departments. Many men of the squadron rushed over to rescue the pilot. While they were making this brave effort the plane exploded and set off all its .50 cal ammunition.
Sgt William H. Rowan and Pfc. Carl Here of VMF-222 were killled in trying to make the rescue. In addition to these two and the pilot himself, at least 11 others from the 2 squadrons were killed or died of burns and more than 50 were injured, many seriously."

From: E-Mail 4 March 1998

The "buzzard patrol" of the 14th had lost 6 SBD's and 2 F4F's with their pilots. Among the missing was Joe Bauer, the Cactue Air Force's highly esteemed fighter commander. He was seen in the water in his Mae West after he was shot down, but four days of intense serching by planes and by Russell Islands natives failed to locate any further trace of him.

The LD photos are in an article "Chosin to CQ" written by Maj A. A. Grasselli II USMC (Ret) in the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation magazine Volumn 18 Number 2 (Fall 1997). Their phone # (800)327-5002.

From: E-Mail 5 February 1998

In your history of VMFA-212, you say during the Korean war VMF-212 became VMA-212. Yet I have photos of VMF-212 on the USS Rendova during the Korean war. During this time the aircraft tail code was LD.

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