Officially Licensed USMC VMFA-122 Crusaders Leather Patches

Officially Licensed USMC VMFA-122 Crusaders Leather Patches — Named for the Jet That Made Them the Fastest Squadron in the Marine Corps

In December 1957, VMFA-122 took delivery of the first F8U-1 Crusader and became the fastest squadron in the Marine Corps. The name stuck for decades.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) was commissioned on March 1, 1942, at Camp Kearny, California. Originally the 'Candystripers' and then the 'Werewolves,' the squadron flew F4F Wildcats and F4U Corsairs through combat operations on Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo, and Henderson Field during World War II. After the war, the squadron formed the Marine Corps' first aerial demonstration team and pioneered carrier operations in Marine jet aviation. In September 1957, VMF-122 relocated to MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, and in December 1957 became the fastest squadron in the Marine Corps with delivery of the first F8U-1 Crusader — the supersonic fighter that gave the squadron its iconic nickname. The Crusaders became the first Marine F-8 squadron to carrier qualify aboard USS Independence in 1959, deployed to Key West for combat air patrols during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and transitioned to the F-4B Phantom at MCAS El Toro before deploying to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1967. Operating from Da Nang Air Base, the Crusaders flew 2,540 sorties and delivered 4,800 tons of ordnance in their first five months. During the Khe Sanh siege in February 1968, the squadron flew 629 combat sorties and dropped 1,300 tons of ordnance in a single month. After Vietnam, the Crusaders flew the F-4J and F-4S before transitioning to the F/A-18A Hornet in 1986, completing fourteen deployments to the Western Pacific under the Unit Deployment Program. The 'Crusaders' name was carried proudly for nearly five decades before the squadron reverted to the Werewolves and ultimately became the 'Flying Leathernecks' in December 2016 ahead of their transition to the F-35B Lightning II at MCAS Yuma in 2017. This leather patch honors the Crusaders era — the decades when VMFA-122 carried the name of the jet that made them legends.

Perfect For: VMFA-122 Crusaders alumni, F-8 Crusader and F-4 Phantom community veterans, Vietnam-era Marines, MCAS Beaufort personnel, and anyone who remembers when VMFA-122 wore the Crusaders patch.