VMFA(AW)-225

Marine Fighting Squadron 225 (VMF-225) was established on 1 January 1943 at MCAS Mojave, California, flying the Vought F4U-1 Corsair. The squadron entered WWII in October of 1943 when they embarked aboard the USS Nassau (CVE-16) and relocated to Ewa, Hawaii, flying missions in defense of the island. In March of 1944 the squadron departed Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Long Island (CVE-1) for Espiritu Santo for air defense missions over the New Hebrides. In June the squadron was relocated to Eniwetok and the Marshalls, and was later rerouted aboard the USS Santee (CVE-29) to Orote Field, Guam in the Marianas as part of Operation Forager, only a week after the allied invasion of the island in August of 1944. There, VMF-225 was heavily engaged in close air support missions across the island as the allies advanced to regain control, flew strike missions against Rota and Pagan Island to the North, and participated in air defense missions where it was accredited with one air-to-air kill, the...