Marion E. Carl
Marion Eugene Carl,
USMC, (
November 1,
1915 –
June 28,
1998) was a World War II
fighter ace, record setting
test pilot, and a notable
naval aviator. He was the first Marine Corps ace in World War II.
Born on the family farm near
Hubbard, Oregon, Carl was always attracted to
aviation. He learned to fly while attending college and soloed after merely 2 1/2 hours of instruction. (Eight to ten hours is typical.) He studied engineering at
Oregon State College (now OSU) and, in 1938, graduated as a lieutenant in the Army Reserve.
Carl resigned his commission to become a naval aviation cadet and received his "wings of gold" and
Marine Corps commission in December 1939. Carl's first posting was to Marine Fighting Squadron One (
VMF-1) at
Quantico, Virginia which lasted for one year. Ordered back to
Pensacola, Carl served as an instructor pilot helping to train the rapidly growing number of naval aviators before receiving orders to the newly formed Marine Fighting Squadron 221
VMF-221 at NAS North Island in San Diego, California.
World War II
The 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor found VMF-221 preparing to embark aboard the
USS Saratoga (CV-3) for transport to
Marine Corps Air Station Ewa on the island of
Oahu,
Hawaii. Carl, along with the rest of VMF-221 was hurriedly rushed to Hawaii, and then included in the Wake Island Relief Task Force, still abaord the
Saratoga. After the relief attempt was canceled, VMF-221 was deployed to
Midway Atoll on Chrsitmas Day, 1941. Carl's first combat occurred six months later during the
Battle of Midway on
June 4,
1942, when 15 of the 25 aircraft VMF-221 put into the air that morning were destroyed. Nevertheless, Carl was credited with destroying one enemy aircraft, a
Mitsubishi Zero and was one of only two pilots that were able to get airborne later that same day when it was thought a second attack was occurring, but which later turned out to be a false alarm. Along with the other survivors from VMF-221, Carl was flown back to Hawaii shortly after the battle.
Granted a very short rest period, Carl was reassigned to Marine Fighting Squadron 223
VMF-223 commanded by a former sqadron mate from VMF-221, Capt.
John L. Smith. On August 20, VMF-223 was deployed to
Guadalcanal, the first fighter unit ashore with the
Cactus Air Force. Over the next two months he became the Marines' first ace, running his tally to 16.5 victories though he was shot down once and was forced to bail out.
In 1943, then
Major Carl returned to the
Pacific and led VMF-223 until the following summer. During additional combat in the
Solomon Islands he claimed two more enemy planes, finishing as the Corps' seventh ranking ace with 18.5 victories.
Test pilot
In 1945, Carl was graduated in the first
test pilot class at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River,
Maryland. As a
lieutenant colonel, he conducted pioneering
jet operations from
aircraft carriers and later commanded one of the Marines' first jet squadrons. Meanwhile, he had become the first Marine to pilot a
helicopter.
In 1947, Carl was one of two pilots selected to fly the
Douglas D-558/I Skystreak in record setting speed attempts. That August, he was recorded at 650 mph, establishing a new world record. When
Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager broke the
sound barrier in October, he also broke Carl's record.
During a second test pilot tour in 1953, Carl set an unofficial altitude record of 83,000 feet in the
Douglas D-558/II.
Between test pilot duties, Carl commanded other units including a
reconnaissance squadron based on
Taiwan. In 1954, he led missions over
Mainland China, photographing
Communist forces along the coast. After his death, a corrupted version of his recon missions appeared in several obituaries, stating that he had flown
U-2 spy planes.
Vietnam War
Though still a
colonel, Carl became Director of Marine Corps Aviation for five months in 1962. Two years later he was promoted to
brigadier general and, in 1965, he took the First Marine
brigade to
Danang,
South Vietnam. Despite his seniority, he repeatedly flew combat missions in
helicopter gunships and jet fighters.
Carl received his second star as a
major general in 1967, commanding the
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at
MCAS Cherry Point,
North Carolina from
1968 to
1970. Subsequently he served as
Inspector General of the Marine Corps until retiring in 1973. At that time he had logged some 13,000 flying hours, more than twice as much as most contemporaries.
Decorations
His decorations include two
Navy Crosses (some sources say three), five
Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14
Air Medals, and four
Legions of Merit for WW II, flight test, and the China missions. He declined any combat medals for Vietnam.
Carl returned to his native Oregon, where he and his wife Edna settled near
Roseburg. Marion Carl's memoir,
Pushing the Envelope, coauthored with his friend
Barrett Tillman, was published in
1994.
[ Carl, Marion E. and Barrett Tillman. Pushing the Envelope: The Career of Fighter Ace and Test Pilot Marion Carl, Naval Institute Press, 1994. (ISBN 1591148669)]In 1998, at age 82, he was killed defending Edna from a home invader.
[ LtGen Carl's murderer was apprehended one week after the killing. In April 1999, he was convicted on two counts of aggrevated murder (and 11 additional felony charge) and sentenced to death. In 2003, his conviction and death sentence was upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court. ]He was buried with full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery.
;Mud Run: MATSG-23 holds an annual "mud run" in honor of Carl at the Naval Air Station, Lemoore, California. The 5-mile run includes mud pits, climbing walls, and other military obstacles to challenge the runners. The 13th Annual Mud Run was held on June 6, 2006. [ ] *
Major General Marion E. Carl, USMC,
Who's Who in Marine Corps History, History Division, United States Marine Corps.
*
Marion E. Carl, United States Marine Corps, Arlington National Cemetery profile.
