The Corps Great Sky Devils

[The Proud]

Maj. Gen. Marion Carl

Marion Carl was born into a farming family in the Willamette Valley on 1 November 1915. He graduated from Oregon State College in 1938 with an engineering degree and entered Navy flight training at Pensacola, having already soloed as a civilian after 2.5 hours dual instruction. Commis-sioned in December 1939, he embarked upon a unique 34-year career during which he became the Marine's first ace, the Corps' first qualified helicopter pilot, and the world record holder for altitude flight and speed. He logged more than 13,000 hours of military flight time, and for 30 years was thought by many to be the Marines' finest pilot.
Fellow aviators reflected the immense personal and professional respect in which Carl was held. Ken Jernstedt, a Pensacola classmate who flew for Claire Chennault in China and Burma, described Carl as "the perfect pilot." RADM James D. "Jig Dog" Ramage, USN(Ret), considered him "one of the three finest Naval Aviators of the World War II generation." Joe Foss, a Guadalcanal contemporary, called him "the number one pilot in the world."

First Kill At Midway, Many More at Cactus

Carl's first combat came while with VMF-221 at Midway, when he shot down a Mitsubishi Zero during the battle of 4 June 1942. Barely two months later he was part of the "Cactus Air Force" with MAJ John L. Smith's VMF-223 at Guadalcanal. He left Cactus in October as the Corps' second-ranking ace with 16.5 victories, having been shot down once himself. He took -223 back to combat in 1943, and scored two more kills to finish seventh among 120 Leatherneck aces of WW II.

MAJ Carl entered the new Navy Test Pilot School in 1945 and graduated with the school's first class. Subsequently, he became the first Marine to qualify in helicopters, and was the second American to land a jet aircraft on board ship. He commanded the Corps' first jet squadron, VMF-122, and in 1947 set a world speed record of 650 mph in the Douglas D-558-I. Two months later, that mark was surpassed by USAF CAPT Chuck Yaeger in the Bell X-1.

After a second Pax River tour, LCOL Carl set two more consecutive records in the D-558-II, reaching 83,225 feet in August 1953 and an unofficial speed of 1,143 mph the next month.

Carl in Vietnam

COL Carl filled a flag spot as Director of Marine Corps Aviation in 1962, then received his star and took the 1st Brigade to South Vietnam in 1965. While there, he flew combat missions in UH-1s, A-4s, F-4s and F-8s. His aide, LT Lyle Prouse, fondly describes the combat-qualified general as "the last of the old-time warriors." He also recalls that Carl occasionally "obtained" supplies for Army Special Forces units using innovative sources and techniques. Prouse recalls that the general's attitude was one of "take care of your people and they'll take care of you."

Promoted to major general in 1967, Carl commanded the 2nd Marine Air Wing at MCAS Cherry Point, N.C., and finished his career as Inspector General of the Marine Corps. His autobiography, Pushing the Envelope, was published by Naval Institute Press in 1994. The book reflects his abiding concern with military leadership, and he sadly notes in the aftermath of Tailhook '91, "Nobody in a position to do so had the courage to stand up for the troops."

Marion Carl was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on 9 July 1998. He is survived by Edna, their daughter Lyanne in New York and son Bruce in California.

Aside from his combat and flight test records, Marion Carl's legacy is one of extreme skill combined with rare modesty and concern for those entrusted to his care. When he reported on board MCAS Valhalla, it became an even finer duty station.

And then came Sunday, when the man colleagues called a hero was killed by a blast from a sawed-off shotgun as he lunged to protect his wife from an intruder who kicked in their door.

"It may have been fate,'' Mrs. Carl said in an interview Tuesday. "It may have been God's way of doing this.''

The white-haired, 75-year-old widow who was grazed in the shooting recalled that her husband dreaded the thought of ending up in a nursing home and had asked her to shoot him if it came to that.

"He went out like he did everything else,'' she said. "He did it his way, the right way. At least he went down like a Marine.''