I just found out my old Marine Squadron is being shut Down

Fri May 23, 2008 3:47 am

I just found out my old Marine Squadron is being shut Down

#1

Tonite, I was surfing the web and came across a site that has some information that made me stop and take a look. My old Marine Squadron is being shut down. VMFA-142 "Flying Gators" now stationed in Marietta, GA. will be have a Cadre on May 30 and the last official fight of the squadron will take place on May 31st 2008. From there all the planes be sent to Fort Worth, Texas and will most likely be sent to other air wings.

I was a part of this squadron from 1978-1982. Back then the squadron was known and VMA-142 Detatchment "A" and we flew A-4F Skyhawks.

I have a lot of fond memories of those times. When I enlisted in the Marine Corps, it was for no reason at all except for a friend of mine at the time. One day I was riding around with him and he pulled up in front of a recruiters office. He said he had to go in a pick up some papers. I didn't really give it much thought, but when he came back to the car and we where driving off I asked if he was planning on enlisting, and he said he was thinking about it. I said turn the car around and go back, I want to think about it too, and I enlisted. lol. When I got home that night and I told my parents they nearly fell of the couch and then they thought I was playing a practical joke on them. I left it at that until one sunny weekday morning the recruiter showed up at the door to take me to Bus Station and away I went to Parris Island for 17 wonderful weeks of rest and relaxation.

Me and my friend alway had an affinity for airplanes. We use to fly control line model almost every weekend. We use to fly in Model contests all the time and we pretty much became unbeatable in Fast and Slow Combat and Fast and Slow Rat. We even trained a couple of kids, who went on to be AMA National Champions.

Anyway, after boot camp I went to Millington NAS near Memphis, TN for "A" school, where they teach about working on airplanes. I was a hydraulics and pneumatics mechanic or in laymens terms a "Bubble Chaser". After a School I was attached to a reserve squadron at Ceicil Field NAS, here in Jacksonville, FL. I had a lot of fun back then in my youth and I miss a lot of the people I had the pleasure of serving with. We had some really cool pilots.

One year when we had a 2 week ATD at Roosevelt Roads, NAS in Puerto Rico, we did things that Marines normally do. We had a toga party in the barracks which got a few of our guys thrown in the brig.

We also had some fun at the Chow Hall which was up on a grassy hill overlooking the barracks. Some of us had rented cars to get around with while on base. The cars where all little Dodge Omni's. One sunny morning we came out of the chow hall and looked over at the barracks and we kinda thought it would be kind interesting to see if our little omni's sans driver could make it over to the barracks with no power. So we lined them up side by side, all 4 of them and pushed them over the edge of the hill. Three on them made it okay. None of them hit each other, but the forth one ran into a big boulder placed near the entrance of the drive way.

Also before we left on our way back home we where instructed to return them with a full tank. They just didn't tell us what to fill the tank with. Now I no it says gasoline on the gas cap, but that cost money, something I was fresh out of till the following week, and since I was only about a 1/4 mile for the PX I figured water would work just, so I filled my car with water, but heck it had 3/4 tank with gas, so they got the best part of the deal. Thats was the first time I was there at "Roosy Roads". What a blast it was. Got to go snorkling in the crystal clear blue waters of the Carribean. Wow, those where some really cool times.

Then there was the time we got thrown off the island and banned from ever coming back by the base C/O. But's thats another story I'll tell later.

JoKeR