Marine Attack Squadron 543 (VMA-543) was an aviation unit of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. The squadron, also known as the “Night Hawks”, were part of the

Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

and were based at

Naval Air Station Glenview Naval Air Station Glenview or NAS Glenview was an operational U.S. Naval Air Station from 1923 to 1995. Located in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, the air base primarily operated training aircraft as well as seaplanes on nearby Lake M ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

until their deactivation on April 1, 1974. Originally activated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, they fought in the Battle of Okinawa as part of the Tactical Air Force. The squadron was credited with downing 15

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

aircraft during the war. Following the surrender of Japan, the squadron was deactivated only to be later reactivated as part of the Reserves. They were again deactivated in 1974 and remain in an inactive status today.

History

World War II

VMF(N)-543 was commissioned on April 15, 1944 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. On July 2, 1943 the squadron commanding officer, Major Claude Carlson, was killed when he developed hypoxia at high altitude in his

F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ha ...

due to a defective regulator. The Night Hawks continued to train there through the summer until the squadron moved to

Marine Corps Air Station El Centro Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on September 30, 1944. More training ensued until it departed for Marine Corps Air Station Ewa,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in January 1945. From MCAS Ewa the squadron was separated into three echelons. The assault echelon departed Hawaii on February 22 on board the and . They steamed westward via

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

, and

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, landing on

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

early April 7. The flight echelon arrived on Okinawa April 9 and the rear echelon caught up with the squadron on May 1, 1945. The squadron took its first casualties when 5 squadron Marines were injured when their transport ship ''USS Achernar'' was hit by a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

. Twenty members of the squadron received commendations for their actions to help put out the fire on board the ship that ensued. During the Battle of Okinawa the squadron was attached to

Marine Aircraft Group 33 Marine Aviation and Training Support Group 33 (MATSG-33) is a United States Marine Corps aviation training group that was originally established during World War II as Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33). Fighter squadrons from MAG-33 fought most ...

(MAG-33) and flew from

Kadena Airfield (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its hi ...

They began flying tactical mission on April 9 and continued through August 7. At first the Marine night fighters were not that effective against the nightly Japanese bombing raids. The network of ''Air Warning Squadrons'', which would provide ground-controlled intercept around the island, was still being emplaced, there were many issues with sensitive electronics gear, radio interference was rampant and even friendly anti-aircraft fire was a problem. By mid-May though, the problems had been worked through, and for the remainder of the campaign night fighters were extremely effective against the enemy. During the battle the squadron was also tasked with flying night heckling missions which consisted of strafing enemy positions though these missions effects were limited at best. During their time on Okinawa the Night Hawks were credited with shooting down 15 Japanese aircraft and 1 probable. Following the Battle of Okinawa the squadron moved to

Awase Airfield Awase Airfield or NAB Awase is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa. History World War II The Awase area was captured during the first week of the Battle of Okinawa and was surveyed for possible airbase construction ...

where they would remain until the surrender of Japan. VMF(N)-543 would return to the states in January 1946 and be based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California. On April 11, 1946, as part of the post-war drawdown of forces, the squadron was decommissioned.

Reserve years

After the war the squadron was reactivated as Marine Fighting Squadron 543 (VMF-543), a standard day fighter squadron at

. The squadron was later designated Marine Attack Squadron 543 (VMA-543) but was deactivated on April 1, 1974 as part of the post-

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

reduction in forces.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. VMA-543 was presented with the following awards:

Citations

References