This is my young US Marine Wannabe 
US MARINE WANNABE
- Thread starter Gromit
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He's still growing into the kit!
He has a long way to go 
If you saw the size of the real US Marine who gave him the kit, you'd understand! He's had the uniform for about 8 years - when he first got it and tried on he drowned - I wish I'd taken a pic back then :y8:
Well he is almost getting there now
The insignia on the "bag".
Found this on it VA-55 Warhorses
From my client:
The squadron patch is from Attack Squadron 55 – The World Famous Warhorses. I was there from Aug 84-Oct 86 and my one deployment on the USS Coral Sea made history as it was the first combat attack directly in response to a terrorist act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Attack_Squadron_55_Insignia_(US_Navy).jpg
The ship David was on was the USS Coral Sea:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Coral_Sea_(CV-43)
This was the airstrike that I was involved with:
On 15 April 1986 aircraft from the Coral Sea and America, as well as USAF F-111Fs from RAF Lakenheath in the U.K., struck targets in Libya as part of "Operation El Dorado Canyon." The Hornets went into action for the first time, flying several ship-to-shore air strikes against Libyan shore installations that were harassing the fleet. During this action, the Hornets from the Coral Sea attacked and destroyed the SA-5 missile site at Sirte [disambiguation needed] which had been "painting" US aircraft on its radars. This was the combat debut for the Hornet, and incidentally marked the first combat use of the AGM-88A HARM anti-radiation missile. The Hornets attacked the SAM sites in bad weather and at wave top heights. All Hornets returned to the Coral Sea without mishap.
He's not bragging - I asked him for the info so that Liam understands the significance of the 'gift' David gave him. Nobody simply parts with their life-memories easily and Liam's very priviledged to have been given these items.
Very cool 
This is the other patch:
It looks like they had a lot of different ones at one stage or other
Yes, it looks like the insignias do change or get updated every now and again - maybe Carl & Seeker can tell us more. I just think David was incredibly generous in giving these to Liam.
Very cool, Gromit; and he is a very fine looking young man!
The Intruder patch is the aircraft, the pilot flew.
The Intruder patch is the aircraft, the pilot flew.
Great gift for a good looking young man.
VA-55 is a Navy Attack (bomber) Squadron. VA is a Navy designation, VMA would be the Marine Corp Attack designation.
The A6 Intruder was replaced by the F/A 18 Super Hornet as the latest Navy attack aircraft. The Intruder saw extensive service in Vietnam by both Navy & Marine pilots. The Marine Corp also used A6E Intruder which was called the Electric Intruder, used for radar jamming and other electronic warfare. The Navy never adopted the Electric Intruder for use by Naval Squadrons. Instead the Navy used the EA6B Prowler for electronic warfare.
The Intruder was an unarmed bomber not capable of defending itself from hostile aircraft. Instead of guns the aircraft relied on the skills of the pilot for it's defense. My hat's off to the aircrews of the Intruders, they had a set as big as soccer balls made of brass. This alone makes the gift very special, the aircrews flew into hostile territory, treetop high and dropped their ordinance or fired their rockets from an aircraft more like a small cargo plane than an attack aircraft.
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VA-55 is a Navy Attack (bomber) Squadron. VA is a Navy designation, VMA would be the Marine Corp Attack designation.
The A6 Intruder was replaced by the F/A 18 Super Hornet as the latest Navy attack aircraft. The Intruder saw extensive service in Vietnam by both Navy & Marine pilots. The Marine Corp also used A6E Intruder which was called the Electric Intruder, used for radar jamming and other electronic warfare. The Navy never adopted the Electric Intruder for use by Naval Squadrons. Instead the Navy used the EA6B Prowler for electronic warfare.
The Intruder was an unarmed bomber not capable of defending itself from hostile aircraft. Instead of guns the aircraft relied on the skills of the pilot for it's defense. My hat's off to the aircrews of the Intruders, they had a set as big as soccer balls made of brass. This alone makes the gift very special, the aircrews flew into hostile territory, treetop high and dropped their ordinance or fired their rockets from an aircraft more like a small cargo plane than an attack aircraft.
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I was going to say that your friend was a US Navy aviator as opposed to being a US Marine aviator.
Back in my day, Marine aviators almost exclusively flew close ground support missions, but the lines between the two have become almost parallel today.
Nevertheless he was a good guy for giving Liam that stuff.
Back in my day, Marine aviators almost exclusively flew close ground support missions, but the lines between the two have become almost parallel today.
Nevertheless he was a good guy for giving Liam that stuff.
Hemibee, Seeker - thanks for that info! Printed it out and gave it to Liam - he's got a grin on his face from ear to ear!
David (the gift giver) was here in SA as Advisor to the US Naval Attache - I do work for some 'special' Foreign Affairs or diplomatic posts - that how I came to know David. I'm now in serious awe of David - he's such a quiet, humble guy - he'd never have told me the full extent of what it meant to have been an Intruder pilot.
I see off the web that the USS Coral Sea has had a very auspicious and action-packed career too.
Thanks for this info - really makes this ultra special to us. And I'm going to ask David if he's got "a set as big as soccer balls made of brass"
David (the gift giver) was here in SA as Advisor to the US Naval Attache - I do work for some 'special' Foreign Affairs or diplomatic posts - that how I came to know David. I'm now in serious awe of David - he's such a quiet, humble guy - he'd never have told me the full extent of what it meant to have been an Intruder pilot.
I see off the web that the USS Coral Sea has had a very auspicious and action-packed career too.
Thanks for this info - really makes this ultra special to us. And I'm going to ask David if he's got "a set as big as soccer balls made of brass"
And I'm going to ask David if he's got "a set as big as soccer balls made of brass"
Be careful, he might just give you a graphic answer to that question!
It you get the chance, watch the movie Flight of the Intruder. While there is some Hollywood the movie does show a good bit about what the Intruder did. As a side note, the aircraft that comes to support the down crew is the aircraft the Intruder replaced.
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I'll try and find it here - if not there's always Amazon.com!
Thanks for the tip!I've just received his application to study at Embry-Riddle University, Daytona Beach.
Oh...so he's really interested in coming to the USA and getting a degree in aeronautics?
That's awesome!
Does he really want to be a Marine Corps aviator or would he be just as interested in Air Force or Navy?
I believe that nowadays once you successfully become a member of the US Armed Forces, you can get automatic US citizenship. I don't know all the particulars since this is something fairly new.
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