July 1, 1942 : Captain C. W. SOMMERS

July 21, 1942 : --- Captain G. F. Britt

June 9, 1943 Major H. A. ELLIS JR

July 12, 1943 : Major W. A. PACE

August 7, 1943 : Captain J. R. BURNETT

September 7, 1943 to January 3, 1944 -Boyington

February 9, 1944 : 2nd Lt R. R. TILTON

March 1, 1944 : Major W. H. McPHERSON

April 10, 1944 : Major S. R. BAILEY

June 11, 1945 : Major J. W. MERRITT

July 1, 1945 : Lt R. J. McDONNELL

August 1, 1945 : Major G. L. HOLLOWELL

November 1, 1945 : Major T. W. FURLOW

March 7, 1946 : Major S. GIER

March 20, 1946 : Major H. A. PETERS

April 15, 1947 : Major D. H. SAPP

November 19, 1948 : Major S. G. CORTELYOU

July 16, 1949 : Lt Colonel H. A. YORK

July 8, 1950 : Lt Colonel W. E. LISCHEID (KIA)

November 1, 1950 : Major W. M. LUNDIN

January 1, 1951 : Lt Colonel J. A. FEELY JR

May 16, 1951 : Lt Colonel J. W. POINDEXTER

November 4, 1951 : Major C. M. KUNZ

December 4, 1951 : Lt Colonel C. C. LEE

March 11, 1952 : Major M. C. GREGORY

April 9, 1952 : Lt Colonel M. M. COOK JR

June 3, 1953 : Lt Colonel W. J. CARR JR

December 15, 1953 : Lt Colonel J. T. McDANIEL JR

March 10, 1954 : Lt Colonel A. S. WALKER

October 26, 1954 : Lt Colonel R. F. FLAHERTY

March 23, 1955 : Lt Colonel H. M. TURNER

December 2, 1955 : Lt Colonel A. N. NEHF

November 5, 1957 : Lt Colonel J. F. BOLT

August 15, 1959 : Lt Colonel R. BAIRD

January 10, 1961 : Major H. D. HUFFSTUTTER

July 29, 1961 : Major G. KUPRASH

December 15, 1961 : Lt Colonel R. WULLANE

January 8, 1963 : Lt Colonel E. B. LONG

October 9, 1963 : Lt Colonel O. E. HOWE JR

July 11, 1964 : Lt Colonel K. O'KEEFE

April 2, 1966 : Lt Colonel D. L. DAVIS

June 9, 1966 : Lt Colonel R. D. WALLACE

December 1, 1966 : Major R. E. HEMMINGWAY

April 1, 1967 : Lt Colonel D. D. PARISH

April 4, 1968 : Lt Colonel J. J. WENT

January 29, 1969 : Lt Colonel W. R. SMITH

February 4, 1970 : Lt Colonel R. J. REID

June 5, 1971 : Lt Colonel J. J. McCARTHY

August 15, 1972 : Lt Colonel D. F. NEWTON

July 10, 1973 : Lt Colonel C. L. DAVIS

June 15, 1974 : Lt Colonel R. H. ALLEY

August 16, 1975 : Lt Colonel J. R. THOMPSON

August 26, 1976 : Lt Colonel D. C. FITZGERALD

August 4, 1978 : Lt Colonel J. L. UNDERWOOD

May 4, 1979 : Lt Colonel P. B. WYRICK

December 20, 1980 : Lt Colonel E. E. HASTINGS

July 16, 1982 : Lt Colonel J. P. OPPENHUIZEN

December 10, 1983 : Lt Colonel J. D. JEWELL

November 23, 1985 : Lt Colonel N. N. KIRBY

August 29, 1987 : Lt Colonel T. R. CARSTENS

July 6, 1989 : Lt Colonel R. M. STROMBERG

August 3, 1990 : Lt Colonel R. V. DELONEY

July 16, 1992 : Lt Colonel H. J. COBLE

May 26, 1994 : Lt Colonel M. J. KELLY

April 26, 1996 : --

October 25, 1997 : Lt Colonel D. H. TIERNEY

July 1, 1942: VMA-214 was commissioned at Station Ewa, Oahu Hawaii. They were decommissioned after their combat tour. They were know as the "Swashbucklers".

August 7, 1943: The orginial "Black Sheep" of twenty seven men led by Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington formed a new VMF-214 at Espiritu Santo in the Western Pacific. Major Boyington had recently returned from a year's tour with the American Volunteer Group (aka "Flying Tigers") in China.

January 8, 1944: Commanding officer Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington is shot down and captured by the Japanese.

Medal of Honor holder, Marine Aviator and AVG Flying Tiger Pilot.

Major, United States Marine Corps Reserve, Marine Squadron 214.

Central Solomons area, from 12 September 1943 to 3 January 1944.

For extraordinary heroism and valiant devotion to duty as commanding officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 214 in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Central Solomons area from 12 September 1943 to 3 January 1944.

Consistently outnumbered throughout successive hazardous flights over heavily defended hostile territory, Major Boyington struck at the enemy with daring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations, and aerial forces.

Resolute in his efforts to inflict crippling damage on the enemy, Major Boyington led a formation of 24 fighters over Kahili on 17 October and, persistently circling the airdrome where 60 hostile aircraft were grounded, boldly challenged the Japanese to send up planes. Under his brilliant command, our fighters shot down 20 enemy craft in the ensuing action without the loss of a single ship.

A superb airman and determined fighter against overwhelming odds, Major Boyington personally destroyed 26 of the many Japanese planes shot down by his squadron and, by his forceful leadership, developed the combat readiness in his command which was a distinctive factor in the Allied aerial achievements in this vitally strategic area.

Colonel Boyington was the total victor in many more than twenty-six aerial combats during World War II in the Pacific and Asia. "Pappy" Boyington was finally shot down and captured. As a prisoner of war Colonel Boyington suffered brutal and horrible prolonged torture at the hands of the Japanese before being released at war's end. Colonel Boyington died of cancer January 12, 1988.

January 13, 1944: VMF-214's combat tour ends and the unit is disestablished.

January 29, 1944: VMF-214 is re-established at MCAS Goleta, Santa Barbara CA.

February 4, 1945: VMF-214 deploys aboard the U.S.S. Franklin, CV-13 to the Western Pacific for combat operations against Okinawa and Japan.

March 19, 1945: A Japanese Bomber strikes CV-13 and the resulting fire kills 772 crew members, including 32 Black Sheep. This ended the unit's involvement in WWII.

April 1945: VMF-214 are relocated to MCAS El Centro CA.

October 1945: VMF-214 relocated to MCAS El Toro CA.

1945-5x: VMF-214 deploys aboard U.S.S. Rendova (CVE-114), U.S.S. Baroko (CVE-115), U.S.S. Badoeng Straight (CVE-116), and the U.S.S. Boxer (CV-21).

August 1950: VMF-214 is the first Marine Squadron to see combat in Korea. They were flying from the U.S.S. Boxer, CV-21.

1952: VMF-214 gave up their Corsairs for their first jets, the F9F Panther.

1953: The Panthers gave way to the F2H-4 All Weather Banshee.

December 31, 1956: VMF-214 is re-designated VMF-21(AW), for "All Weather".

February 1957: The Black Sheep become the first Marine Squadron to be qualified in the delivery of "Special Weapons" aka "Nukes".

July 9, 1957: The Black Sheep's unit designation VMF is changed to VMA.

March 1958: VMA-214 get new aircraft, the FJ-4 Fury.

January 1959: VMA-214 again gets new aircraft, the FJ-4B.

January 23, 1962: VMA-214 receive the A4D-2 Skyhawk. They were to fly Skyhawks for the next 27 years.

October 10, 1963: VMA-214 detachment ("N") deployed on a Westpac cruise aboard the USS Hornet. The detachment was assigned to intercept Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" and Tupolev Tu-16 "Badger" aircraft flying toward the anti-submarine naval task force in the Sea of Japan. They returned to MCAS Kaneohe Bay in April 1964.

May 1965: The Black Sheep were Assigned to Marine Air Group 12 and relocated to Iwakuni Japan.

June 21, 1965: The first division of Black Sheep Skyhawks fly into Chu Lai, Republic of Vietnam utilizing a new 4,000 foot Marine "SATS" runway.

September 24, 1965: An unidentified pilot of A-4C BuNo 148508 pulled out of a dive a little too late and caught the tree tops heavily damaging the A/C but flew the thing home. Pilot was uninjured. Photo by MSgt Russell Richard Bell courtesy of Ralph Bell Jr.

February 1966: VMA-214 is rotated out of Vietnam.

March 28, 1966: Capt. Jack Dennison Rothwell, 34, was killed when his A-4 (BuNo 145109) crashed in Subic Bay during a night ordnance delivery training exercise at Cubi Point in the Philippine Islands, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Friday, April 1, 1966. Capt. Rothwell (MAG-13 1stMAW FMFPAC) was stationed in Da Nang in March 1966 when he was sent TDY to the Philippines for training. Posthumously promoted to the rank of Major. From Jim Rothwell.

May 12, 1966: pilot J.S. Sramek. A-4C BuNo 148535 was DBR when he landed short and went off the side of the Chu Lai runway when returning from a combat mission.

April 1966: the Black Sheep return to Chu Lai in force. The unit won the Navy Unit Commendation w/ Bronze Star for their efforts.

March 17, 1967: Capt. Robert Boughton Beale was killed after his Skyhawk (BuNo 148585) was hit by automatic weapons fire during a coastal reconnaissance mission and crashed into the sea five miles off Tam Ky.

Post April 1967: VMA-214 returns to MCAS El Toro CA and is assigned to MAG-33. Their new mission is to train pilots for Vietnam combat tours.

July 15, 1968: Capt. David W. Bittig was killed when his El Toro based VMA-214 A-4C Skyhawk (BuNo 147769) crashed on a desert plateau 218 miles north of Fallon during a navigation training flight Monday. Reno Evening Gazette, Wednesday, July 17, 1968.

30 October 1968: A-4C Skyhawk BuNo 148471 was SOC when J.J. Brennan went off the end of the runway and John Fisher took the gear on a double abort while deployed to Yuma. Aircraft did not burn but was an alpha loss.

September 14, 1969: Maj. Charles C. McLennan, 33, was killed when his A-4C Skyhawk (BuNo 149644) crashed 15 miles northwest of Creede while he was on a training mission enroute from Luke AFB in AZ to Peterson Field in Colorado Springs. The wreckage was spotted Monday afternoon by a CAP aircraft and a helicopter from Ft. Carson was sent to the scene. CWO Joseph Pagan, co-pilot of the helicopter said the wreckage was strewn over a large area. There was no evidence that the pilot had ejected. Colorado Springs Gazette, Wednesday, September 17, 1969. Maj. Charles C. McLennan was killed Sunday, September 14, when his A-4C Skyhawk crashed in the rugged Rocky Mountains near Colorado Springs, CO (5 miles west of Lake City, CO) while he was on a routine high level navigation cross-country training flight. San Mateo Times, Friday, September 19, 1969.

December 28, 1969: Capt. Robert P. Rogers, 30, escaped serious injury yesterday when his A4 (BuNo 148511) Skyhawk crashed while landing at MCAS Yuma while enroute from Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, to MAS EL Toro at Santa Ana, CA. High winds apparently made the aircraft veer off the runway. The Arizona Republic, Monday, Dec. 29, 1969.

May 7, 1970: Capt. Jack A. Chiarmonte (El Toro) was presumed killed after his A-4E Skyhawk (BuNo 150046) crashed in the Pacific off Santa Catalina Island Thursday night. The 18 hour search by the Navy, USCG and USMC was concentrated in a 20-mile radius from the crash site pinpointed by a fellow pilot. Independent Press-Telegram, Long Beach, CA, Sat., May 9, 1970.

September 8, 1970: Capt. Patrick G. Carroll, 27, ejected safely from his A-4 Skyhawk (BuNo 150089) when it crashed in rugged Lovelace Canyon, south and west of Lucerne Valley today. Redlands Daily Facts, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1970. The impact touches off a 30-acre brushfire in Lovelace Canyon, south and west of the Lucerne Valley, which was still burning the following day. Eight retardant-dropping fire bombers are diverted from another blaze near Devore, California in the Cajon Pass to help contain the burn. A total of 12 California Division of Forestry and other trucks are also dispatched to the site to fight the fire. The pilot, who was flying north over Big Bear Lake on a navigation training flight, suffered an undetermined malfunction, said a public information spokesman at MCAS El Toro, California. He was seen as he ejected by a gas company serviceman, James Kennedy, who picked him up and drove him to near-by Sky-High Ranch. Carroll, a Vietnam veteran, is picked up by a rescue helicopter from George AFB, CA, and was not injured. Firefighters were hindered by rough, rocky terrain and a truck that overturned on an access road, blocking the path for over an hour. Fire crews were lifted to the site by helicopter or had to walk in 1 1/2 miles from Highway 18 near the Lucerne Valley. CDF officials expected the blaze to be contained by 1800 hrs., 9 September, unless winds developed.

April 21, 1971: Capt. James E. Stroupe, 27, was killed when his A-4 (BuNo 154985) Skyhawk crashed about 9:45 a.m. while pulling out of a low-level bombing run over a desert training area near Yuma, AZ. The Arizona Republic, Thursday, April 22, 1971.

July 22, 1972: Capt. E. M. "Mike" Ozmett and 1st Lt. Carl C. Chappell (BuNo's 154186 and 154192) ejected on takeoff when caught in a sudden and severe crosswind at Buckley ANG base. The crashes occurred within 10 seconds of each other. Ozmett was airborne when he ejected, and his plane crashed east of Buckley Road near sixth Ave. starting a grass fire that scorched several acres. The plane then bellied across the road for an additional 200 yards before stopping. Chappell's veered off the runway seconds later starting a fire that burned about 20 acres. A third USMC pilot, Capt. H.C. Widener (VMA-214) witnessed the crashes and didn't attempt a takeoff. The El Toro, CA, based aircraft had flown from Wichita Falls, TX and stopped at Buckley to refuel. Rocky Mountain News, photo, Sunday, 23 July 1972.

I just opened the old logbook, because I was on the periphery of that event at Buckley. 'Twas 21/22 Jul 72 and I (1stLt Steve Linder) was on a cross-country with our skipper, LtCol. J.J. McCarthy (VMA-214) flying A-4Fs from El Toro to RON at Buckley. There was another flight of three from our squadron RONing at Buckley that same night. On the 22nd, the skipper and I departed late in the morning without incident. About 1/2 hour later we received a call on guard from the Buckley tower asking if there was a LtCol. McCarthy aboard. After the affirmative reply, we were asked to return to the scene of the accident. We saw the wreckage of Dash two off to the left side of the runway (I think it was runway 35 or 36.)

To the best of my recollection, here is how it unfolded. The flight of three behind us had seen us depart and expected the same conditions. They were cleared for takeoff with winds reported as light and variable. Lead (Capt. Mike Ozment - A-4F BuNo 154192) rolled with Dash two (1stLt Carl Chappell A-4F BuNo 154186) 10 seconds behind. The 60-knot gust (90-degree crosswind from the left) did come out of nowhere hitting Lead and Dash two.

Lead had enough speed that he did not weathervane, but was pushed hard over to the right, blowing the starboard main tire, some of which was thrown forward and ingested into the engine intake. Lead got airborne, declared an emergency and turned left downwind. About abeam the runway on downwind, Lead's engine quit, and he ejected, landing in a sewage treatment pond, but otherwise unhurt.

Dash two was at a slower airspeed, about halfway through his takeoff roll, when hit by the wind gust. The A/C weather vaned to the left and departed the runway heading for a drainage ditch. Dash two chose to eject rather than face the drainage ditch and landed on the upwind (left side) of the runway with his chute still inflated. He was on his hands and knees trying to stop himself from being blown away and was drug across the runway from left to right, sustaining major injuries to his hands and knees before he could jettison the chute.

After witnessing these calamities, Dash three (Capt. Hal Widener) pulled his power to idle and taxied back to the line.

I don't remember what the skipper and I did once we returned. There was nothing we could do but help our two squadron mates who had to hit the silk. I think, as mentioned, no blame was assessed because of the freak nature of the event.

Well, that left an indelible impression on me as a young 1stLt myself. Dwarf.

June 26, 1973: Capt. Dale "Stump" Kennedy ejected when he rolled into his 5th ZUNI run and stabilized in a 20-degree dive, accelerated to 430 kias and noticed the right wing begin to drop. He moved the stick to the left and felt it bind momentarily and then feel like it was free in his hand. The Skyhawk (BuNo 158431) continued to roll right, and he attempted using left rudder which only slowed the roll. As he was passing 55 degrees of bank, he ejected with his right hand holding the stick left and aft and his left hand actuating the ejection handle. Following ejection, the aircraft continued to roll and impacted a hillside in a wings level inverted attitude. The pilot was picked up in rocky terrain about 20 minutes later by a helicopter in the area and taken to a nearby hospital with major injuries. NAN, Pettibone, March 1974. - Have you ever been “That guy”? The “Did you hear about that guy .....?”Well I was in mid-June of 1973 and this is my story. June 26, 1973 I was flying my A-4M Skyhawk, VMA-214 Blacksheep out of MCAS El Toro. We “my wingman” were carry Zuni rockets for live fire training at the “Whiskey” range on Camp Pendleton. I believe it was on my third run, the freaking control stick disengaged from its hub. So I am in a 20 degree dive, at 3500 feet of altitude, traveling at 450 KIAS (517 mph), and I have no control of my aircraft. So I had to eject. The wind forces after clearing the canopy in my seat were so violent my right elbow was catastrophically dislocated, left arm broken just below socket, shoulder blade broken, helmet and mask pulled off, gloves and watch pulled off. Landed on some boulders, but hell I was alive. Ended up being retired on 30% disability. So for a number of years in Marine and Naval aviation I was “That guy”. Turns out after some maintenance a locking bolt was not put back in to secure the stick.

May 6, 1975: Capt. Dave Stamper (F-4 pilot) ejected safely when he lost control (BuNo 158434) during an ACM engagement (inverted spin, that's what the AAR stated) out in Warning Area 291. From Jim Underwood OIC of the old MAWTUPAC.

August 3, 1976: 1st Lt. Wade C. Straw, 28, ejected safely when his El Toro based A-4 Skyhawk (BuNo 158432) crashed in the desert near Needles, CA, Tuesday while on a training mission. The Press-Courier, Wednesday, August 4, 1976. The pilot was part of a two-plane low level training flight an A-4M Skyhawk. They began a descent from flight level 230 so the VFR portion of the flight plan could be conducted. As the aircraft were passing flight level 210 the leader performed a 360-degree roll to the left to increase his rate of descent and to observe his position in relation to the low-level start point. Coming out of the roll at about 300 knots the nose began to rise. He countered with forward stick and noted that the nose trim was in the vicinity of zero and not coming up. There wasn't enough forward stick available, so he used the stick trim button in an attempt to trim nose down. The pilot then began getting erratic input movements in the stick which wanted to do its own thing, moving in all quadrants. The nose continued to rise, and the pilot utilized rudders to do a barrel-roll type recovery to the left. The A-4M emerged from this maneuver, left wing down, in a left-hand spiral, 60-80 degrees nose low. The pilot reduced power and extended speed brakes and tried to check disengagement of stab Aug. He disconnected as a last resort just prior to ejection. NAN, Pettibone, February 1977. It was determined that the AFCS had an internal short and was inputting sporadic movements to the stick even though it was not engaged. A check with the Safety Center, indicated this had occurred a few times previously. The procedure in this case was to employ the RAT which takes the AFCS offline. Wade never indicated that he considered this, but instead pulled the disconnect which made the situation much worse. The board found that pilot action contributed to the accident. From Harvey Crouch.

June 9, 1981: Capt. Joseph J. Krejmas, 27, of Greenfield, Mass., ejected safely from his MCAS El Toro A-4 Skyhawk (BuNo 159481) before it crashed next to the Southern Pacific railroad's main line slightly damaging one rail of the track, forcing traffic to be halted for slightly over an hour. Santa Ana Orange County Register, Tuesday, June 9, 1981. I was Ops Officer of 214 when this happened. It happened in the break when the pilot retarded power on the turn to downwind. Everyone assumed that he pulled the throttle around the horn, which shut down the engine. However, it was a broken PS-4 line, which caused the power to reduce to idle (think that's right) rather than shut down. Pilot was J.J. "Famous" Krejmas. From Bob Hickerson. VMA-214 A-4M BuNo 159481 was destroyed at Yuma after aircraft crashed while in landing pattern, 09 June 1981. Pilot ejected. Naval Safety Center via Jim Winchester. The pilot was in the air station landing pattern with gear down when he noted a loss of thrust upon reduction of power. He advanced the throttle to military but noted no engine response and an increasing angle of attack. The pilot leveled the wings and ejected at the 90-degree position. From Aircraft Mishaps.

February 18, 1983: Unknown USMC pilot (M.D. Stark) okay, landed short, halted when nose gear (VMA-214 BuNo 160041) became stuck in arresting cable, caught fire Twenty-nine Palms, CA and was SOC March 15, 1983. Perhaps a VMA-223 contribution to a MAWTS class. VMA-214 A-4M BuNo 160041 was destroyed at 29 Palms when aircraft touched down short of the runway and caught fire, 18 February 1983. Pilot egressed. Naval Safety Center via Jim Winchester.

May 28, 1983: Capt. Mike “Nacho” Lyden (VMAT-102 flying WTI (Weapons and Tactics Instructor) VMA-214 A-4M BuNo 160028) was on a low-level laydown on Target # 103a, North Tactical Target, (S of GBN) a simulated train marshaling yard with 1/7th scale train targets, from west to east into the early sun and gradually rising terrain with a pitted wind screen. He hit the ground on pull-up and the aircraft separated behind the cockpit. Nacho safetied the seat, opened the cockpit, released his fittings and crawled out. Only injuries were burns on his wrists and neck. RF-4 overhead actually captured it on film… From Paul E. Backs, 28 January 2016. The jet had Captain Ken Ferrara's (sp?) name nicely painted under the canopy rail. He was thoughtful enough to call me in the Yuma hospital and congratulate me on surviving . . . and that 160028 was 'his jet'. From Mike Lyden. The seat with Mike still attached was flung free and landed in a desert bush, upright, He was initially unconscious, but when he regained consciousness he released his fittings and with help from medical personnel headed for Yuma. I was on the accident board and arrived at the site about 30 minutes after the accident, there were very few large pieces of the aircraft remaining. The accident was not in the R-2301 east of Yuma. From Cliff Gion. VMA-214 A-4M BuNo 160028 was destroyed at Yuma when aircraft struck ground during bombing run, 28 May 1983. Pilot sustained major injuries. Naval Safety Center via Jim Winchester.

September 1987: VMA-214 is relocated to MCAS Yuma AZ.

June 1989: The Black Sheep became the first Marine Squadron to fly the AV8B Harrier.

October 1991: Twenty Black Sheep Harriers deploy to Iwakuni Japan.

July 1993: VMA-214 deploys Harriers to 29 Palms CA for a "Night Sytems" operation.

December 1993 to July 1994: Deployment aboard the U.S.S. Peleliu LHA-5.

October 1994: A Black Sheep Detachment deploys aboard the U.S.S. Essex LHD-2.

April 1996: Deployment on the U.S.S. Tarawa LHA-1. The participated in "Operation Southern Watch" and "Operaton Desert Strike"

1997: Black Sheep Detachment on the U.S.S. Peleliu LHA-5.

1998-99: VMA-214 deployment on U.S.S. Boxer LHD-4. They participated in "Operaton Desert Fox".

2000-2001: Detachments to Iwakuni Japan and aboard the U.S.S. Tarawa LHA-1.