Officially Licensed USMC HMM-261 Raging Bulls Patches — From Vietnam to the Osprey, the Bulls Have Never Stopped Charging
The Raging Bulls have been carrying Marines into the fight since 1951. The aircraft changed. The mission never did.
Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 (HMM-261) — the 'Raging Bulls' — is the third-oldest helicopter squadron in the Marine Corps, activated on April 5, 1951, at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Bulls were the first helicopter squadron to conduct troop lifts on the East Coast and have built a combat record that spans seven decades. In 1954, the squadron sailed to Haiti aboard USS Saipan for humanitarian relief after Hurricane Hazel. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, HMM-261 was embarked aboard USS Boxer and USS Thetis Bay for support during the blockade. The Bulls deployed to Vietnam three times between 1963 and 1966 as part of Operation Shufly and subsequent combat operations, flying UH-34D helicopters out of Da Nang, Marble Mountain, and Chu Lai — logging 11,859 combat hours, medevacing 2,315 wounded, flying 38,090 combat sorties, and ferrying 47,522 troops into battle during their 1965-66 tour alone. In 1982, the Raging Bulls deployed to Beirut, Lebanon, and then were diverted to Grenada for Operation Urgent Fury, providing assault support during the initial landings and evacuating American students to safety. The squadron deployed to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm in 1991, to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002, and completed three combat tours in Iraq. The Bulls transitioned to the MV-22 Osprey and were redesignated VMM-261, continuing their legacy of assault support with a new aircraft. HMM-261 has received the CNO Safety Award nine times and been named Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron of the Year four times.
Perfect For: HMM-261 and VMM-261 Raging Bulls Marines past and present, CH-46 Sea Knight and MV-22 Osprey community members, MCAS New River and MAG-26 personnel, and anyone who has served with the Bulls.
