Eagle Biography
Marion E. Carl
The Marine Corps' first ace, Marion E. Carl, was awarded the Navy Cross for "
extraordinary heroism" during his very first combat mission. Upon graduating from
college in 1938, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Due
to his intense desire to be a flyer, Carl resigned his Army commission to enter the
Marine aviation cadet program and received his wings in late 1939. While at sea with
VMF-221 Squadron, his carrier was diverted to Midway Island the day following the attack
on Pearl Harbor. By mid-1942, the island's total defensive air strength stood at a
meager 100 aircraft, including 21 obsolete Brewster Buffaloes and seven F4F-3
Wildcat fighters.
At the start of the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942, Captain
Marion Carl flew one of the Grumman F4Fs on his first combat mission, scoring his first
aerial victory and winning the Navy Cross. After Midway, he joined VMF-223 Squadron
which, along with a dive bomber squadron, became the first echelon of Guadalcanal's
Cactus Air Force. In less than 3 months of fighting over this bitterly contested island,
Carl scored 15 1/2 aerial victories and won his second Navy Cross. Furthermore, TIME
magazine wrote up an incident during which he bailed out of a crippled fighter over the
water; he was eventually picked up by a friendly native in a canoe and returned to base 5
days later.
Marion Carl was finally withdrawn from combat in early 1944, finishing as the
seventh ranking Marine Corps ace with 18 1/2 victories. Flying as a test pilot after the
war, he was the first Marine aviator to operate a jet aircraft from a carrier and set
both world speed and altitude records. He also commanded the first Marine jet squadron,
led the first jet aerobatic team, became the first Marine helicopter pilot, and was the
first pilot to wear a full pressure suit. His other assignments included leading air
units in Vietnam and serving as Inspector General of the Marine Corps. Having accumulated
14,000 flying hours, Marion Carl retired as a major general in 1973.
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Lieutenant Colonel Marion E. Carl led fellow members of VMF-122, the United
States Marine Corps' first jet squadron, through aerobatic maneuvers in the
McDonnell FH-1 Phantom. Commander of VMF-122 from 26 September l947
to l2 December 1948, Carl ably handled the task of leading the Marines into
the jet age, taking pilots reared in propeller-driven planes and molding them
into a combat-ready jet fighter squadron. In early 1948, he formed the
world's first jet acrobatic demonstration team, known as "The Marine
Phantoms," with members of VMF-122. Thus, Carl placed the
Marines at the forefront of jet airpower.
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