Officially Licensed USMC HMLA-369 Gunfighters Leather Patch - Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 (HMLA-369) Gunfighters Officially Licensed Leather Patch, MCAS Camp Pendleton, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Over five decades of close air support, armed escort, and light attack heritage stitched into one piece of leather that carries the Gunfighters name with full authority.
HMLA-369 was commissioned on 1 April 1972 at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa and deployed to North Vietnam just two months later for Operation MARHUK, making the Gunfighters one of the first Marine helicopter squadrons to conduct offensive combat operations. Re-designated as a light attack squadron in September 1987, the unit moved to MCAS Camp Pendleton under Marine Aircraft Group 39 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, where it operates the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom today. The Gunfighters were the first Marine light attack helicopter squadron in theater during Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and went on to earn a Presidential Unit Citation for their performance in Iraq in 2003, along with multiple Navy Unit Commendation Streamers spanning Vietnam, Southwest Asia, and Somalia. The squadron's mission covers offensive air support, armed escort, and airborne fire support coordination for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, day or night, in any weather, across expeditionary and joint operations. That combat record and mission scope give this leather patch a depth of unit identity that goes well beyond a logo piece.
Perfect for HMLA-369 Gunfighters veterans, AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom aircrew, Camp Pendleton Marine aviation alumni, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing collectors, MAG-39 supporters, deployment keepsakes, shadow boxes, flight jacket displays, patch boards, and family members who want a durable, officially licensed tribute to a light attack squadron with one of the longest and most decorated combat records in Marine Corps aviation history.
Gunfighters leather, earned over fifty years of fire support, armed escort, and Marine aviation commitment.
