Road Trip: Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina

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Road Trip: Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, USA, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

MCAS Cherry Point's mission is to provide the highest quality operating environment for all using activities; operate and maintain facilities and assigned aircraft; furnish a full range of vital support services; nurture the quality of life; protect the natural environment; conduct proactive community relations; and to provide America with the best trained, best led, best supported armed forces capable of operating anytime and anywhere.

Congress authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on July 9, 1941, with an initial appropriation of $14,990,000 for construction and clearing of an 8,000 acre tract of swamps, farms and timberland. Actual clearing of the site began on August 6, 1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Construction began in November just 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On May 20, 1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps' first aviator, Lt. Col Alfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees.

Cherry Point's primary World War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. The air station also served as a base for anti-submarine operations, with an Army Air Corps and Navy unit each being responsible for the sinking of a German U-boat just off the North Carolina coast during 1943.

Cherry Point's contribution to the Korean War effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units.

During the Vietnam War, Cherry Point deployed three A-6 Intruder squadrons to the Far East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel.

In Operation Desert Storm, Cherry Point was a major contributor to the victory in Southwest Asia by supporting the deployment of three AV-8B Harrier squadrons, two A-6E Intruder squadrons, one KC-130 Hercules squadron, one EA-6B Prowler squadron, and headquarters detachments from Marine Aircraft Group 14, Marine Aircraft Group 32, and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Learn More About MCAS Cherry Point Here!

https://www.cherrypoint.usmc.mil/default.asp

In nearby Beaufort, North Carolina, is The North Carolina Maritime Museum, where the Museum can trace its "humble beginnings" to the early 1900s, when it was little more than a collection made up of a few fish mounts, jars of preserved crustaceans, fishing tackle, and bird skins which had been put together to represent North Carolina at the 1898 International Fisheries Exposition in Norway. Around 1904, these items were put on display for the public at what was then the U.S. Fisheries Laboratory on Piver's Island in Beaufort, North Carolina.

The museum conducts more than 300 public programs each year, including field trips to coastal habitats, lectures, and workshops. In the year 2000 the North Carolina Maritime Museum celebrated its 25th anniversary. It has come a very long way from that original natural history collection. The museum remains faithful to its mission to preserve and interpret all aspects of the state's rich maritime heritage.

Visit The North Carolina Maritime Museum

http://www.ncmaritime.org/default.htm

Ellie