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benny rutledge
06-10-04, 11:37 AM
Reading up on (then) Major Marion E.Carl (Wings of Gold,Wings of Valor)while Major Carl was commanding VMF 223,then equipped with F4-U "Corsairs" he flew alongside Col.Charles Lindburgh who was attatched to Carls squadron to do Flight Evals for the Manufacturer of the Corsair.Lindbergh was a consultant to several aircraft companies and he had convinced the Marine Corps that he needed combat flight time to evaluate it's performance.Lindergh went on to fly with several other Marine Squadrons in the Pacific.Major Carl went on to be the Marine Corps first Ace at Guadalcanal and later racked up 18 1/2 kills.His contemporaries at the time were Maj. J.J.Foss(26)Maj.G.Boyington(26)1st Lt.K.A.Walsh(20)and Lt.Col.John L.Smith(19).Col.Lindbergh due to age was a "Combat Civilian" and later went on with his wife,Anne Morrow Lindbergh to fly and explore for Juan Trippe (Pan American Airways)the Great Northern Route for Sea and Land based A/C.The following makes me sick,"Retired Major General Marion E.Carl,82,famed WW11 Ace and postwar test pilot,remembered by his contemporaries and historians as the Chuck Yeager of the Marine Corps was gunned down in his home during a botched burglary on June 28,1998,by a 19 yr.old too young to even know who Carl was"After everything he went through in the Pacific,to be Murdered in the comfort of his home.God Bless Maj.General Marion E. Carl and Semper Fi! What a hell of a Marine.:marine: :marine: