walika Posted September 25, 2018 Share #1 Posted September 25, 2018 VMF-323 | "Death Rattlers" Established at Cherry Point on August 1, 1943Nickname of Unit: Death RattlersName of Artist: Art KempDate of Insignia: 1943Authorization: HQMCAircraft Employed: F4U-1, F4-1DDEPLOYMENTSEmirau - September-October 1944 (F4U-1)Espiritu- October 1944 to February 1945 (F4U-1)Manus- March 1945 (F4U-1)Okinawa-April to September 1945 (F4U-1D)AERIAL COMBAT RECORD | 124.5 victories, 12 aces TOP SCORERS1Lt J.J.O'Keefe | 71Lt J. W. Ruhsam | 71Lt R. Wade | 7The leading fighter squadron of the Okinawa campaign took a long road to combat. Its first CO, Maj George Axtell, remained for nearly two years - one of the longest tenures in Marine aviation during World War II. Born in November 1920 and winged in May 1941, he was merely 22-years-old when he established the squadron. The "Death Rattlers" took their name from a huge rattlesnake killed on base while the squadron was training at El Centro, in California's southern desert. Millstein provides a veteran recollection: "The incident that prompted the Death Rattler logo was generally as follows: three of our Lieutenants were on the way to New Bern one morning and spotted a large rattler coiled up beside the road in the grass. They stopped, looked, and then one of them returned to the base to get something to kill the snake with. They killed it and our transport NCO skinned him out and stretched the skin on a 6x6 8 ft. support beam in the ready room. I recall the incident well since the snake was about 6 ft. long when stretched out." quoting a letter by Col. Dean Wilker, USMC (ret.). Decal on leather. In July 1944 VMF-323 sailed for Hawaii, proceeding to Emirau in September before moving to Espiritu Santo for four months. The northern trek involved a few weeks at Manus during March. The seven-month backwater limbo ended with arrival at Okinawa on April 2, 1945, just in time for the kamikaze season. Amid Kadena's rain and mud, with MAG-33 the "Rattlers" set up shop when th~ ground echelon arrived a week later. The colorful mess officer, 1Lt Sol Mayer, who had washed out of USAAF flight training, proved a significant US Marine Corps asset on Okinawa. He established "Mayer's Mess - Where the aces meet to eat," complete with a scoreboard that began to fill up. His prediction of "Death Rattler" aces was well founded.Near-constant bombing and shelling, not to mention Japanese infiltrators, had many men understandably nervous. In one episode two VMF-323 noncoms were returning late from work and had not learned the night's password. When challenged near the dispensary they were unable to respond and were shot and wounded. Fortunately, if such can be said, the shooter was a US Navy doctor.In the first months ashore the "Rattlers" lost nine aircraft, versus two in the previous seven months. But the squadron opened its scoring on 12 April with six kills over Motobu Peninsula, on the island's northwest coast. Axtell's pilots added 10.5 more on April 15-16, then hit the aerial jackpot on the 22nd. That evening VMF-323 was vectored onto a huge flock of kamikazes swarming the radar picket destroyers. The unit's Corsairs piled into a fighter pilot's paradise, the exec, Jeff Dorroh, recalling, "I could see it was going to be a long day so I switched off two of my guns." Attacking eight "Vals'', he was credited with six destroyed and two probables in his only combat. Axtell and lLt Jerry O'Keefe downed five apiece, while lLt Bill Hood contributed 3.5. In all, seven "Death Rattlers" confirmed 24.5 victories - a US Marine Corps record one-day haul.After 14 more kills on April 28, Axtell's "deadly passel of youngsters" narrowly broke their own record on the morning of May 4 when 12 pilots scored 24.75 victories- lLts Joe Dillard, John Ruhsam and Bob Wade each bagged four apiece. The "Rattlers"' third best day, 16 victories on June 3, still was among the top 12 daily tolls in the US Marine Corps.When he departed in mid-June George Axtell was among the longest serving of all US Marine Corps squadron COs, his tenure having lasted 22-1/2 months. He moved up to command MAG-16 for the rest of the war. That same month VMF-323 began flying offensive missions to Japan, continuing until war's end. The "Rattlers" ended strongly, adding 16 victories west of Iheya Shima (four by 2Lt C. W. Drake) on June 3 and the last by lLt Joe Dillard over Japan on the 10th.Martin Oelrich remained in command through September. The squadron was still at Kadena on VJ Day. In four-and-a-half months VMF-323 had produced a dozen aces - second only to VMF-121 throughout the war. During their time at Okinawa the "Rattlers" wrote off at least 27 Corsairs while losing five pilots. Despite a limited period in combat, VMF-323 finished eighth among all US Marine Corps fighter squadrons in terms of aerial victories. Sources Millstein, Jeff. U. S. Marine Corps Aviation Unit Insignia 1941-1946. Tillman, Barrett. U. S. Marine Corps Fighter Squadrons of World War II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iron Brigade Posted September 26, 2018 Share #2 Posted September 26, 2018 Another excellent thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dentino Posted September 26, 2018 Share #3 Posted September 26, 2018 Very cool patch and a GREAT read! Thanks for taking the time to post....quite a squad record I would say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Scott Posted September 26, 2018 Share #4 Posted September 26, 2018 Rick as always your wonderful posts on Squadron Patches are like a PHD study for collectors.Thank You as always for taking the time to educate us all.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan welch Posted January 9, 2019 Share #5 Posted January 9, 2019 Walika, I am looking for an image of the death rattlers decal from 1943-44, I am making a pedestal for the O'Keefe family that displays, a cast bronze bust of Lt. Jeremiah J. O'keefe, along with information about his life and service career. Do you have a copy of the above decal on leather without the watermark that I could use for the display? I can upload some images of the pedestal and sculpture to show you guys! If it is helpful you can contact me at Hannaberryworkshop (@) gmail (dot) com Thank you, Morgan Welch The HannaBerry Workshop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted January 9, 2019 Share #6 Posted January 9, 2019 Walika, I am looking for an image of the death rattlers decal from 1943-44, I am making a pedestal for the O'Keefe family that displays, a cast bronze bust of Lt. Jeremiah J. O'keefe, along with information about his life and service career. Do you have a copy of the above decal on leather without the watermark that I could use for the display? I can upload some images of the pedestal and sculpture to show you guys! If it is helpful you can contact me at Hannaberryworkshop (@) gmail (dot) com Thank you, Morgan Welch The HannaBerry Workshop Here is one of them in another topic by member OCS.I have a patch as well I may have posted. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/208736-my-1st-leather-patch-real-vmf-323/&do=findComment&comment=1638366 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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