Officially Licensed USMC VMM-162 Golden Eagles Leather Patches — From the First Helicopter Assault to the First Osprey Humanitarian Mission
When the Golden Eagles launch, they carry seventy years of vertical assault heritage on every rotor.
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (VMM-162) — the 'Golden Eagles' — is one of the most decorated assault support squadrons in the United States Marine Corps, with a lineage that stretches back to the earliest days of Marine helicopter aviation. Activated on June 30, 1951, at Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana, California, as Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 162 (HMR-162), the squadron was stood up to provide airlift and air supply for the Fleet Marine Force in amphibious operations. The Golden Eagles wasted no time making history — in February 1952, during Operation Lex Baker I, the squadron's Sikorsky HRS-1 helicopters airlifted a combat-equipped company in the first helicopter-borne troop lift of its kind. In 1958, during the Lebanon crisis, HMM-162 executed the first ship-to-shore helicopter assault in combat, a milestone that validated the Marine Corps' entire doctrine of vertical envelopment. The Golden Eagles deployed to Lebanon again in 1982 and throughout the 1960s through the 1980s served as the Aviation Combat Element for Caribbean and 6th Fleet Landing Forces. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the squadron served as the strategic reserve for Operation Desert Storm and simultaneously participated in Operation Sharp Edge, the noncombatant evacuation operation in war-torn Liberia, evacuating 226 American citizens and 2,400 third-country nationals. The Golden Eagles went on to support Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and Operation Deny Flight in Bosnia in 1993 with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. In 2003, HMM-162 deployed aboard amphibious shipping to the Persian Gulf in support of the invasion of Iraq, transporting more than 500,000 pounds of cargo and 2,200 passengers during two months of combat operations. The squadron stood down in December 2005 to begin transitioning to the MV-22 Osprey and was reactivated on August 31, 2006, as VMM-162 — the second operational Osprey squadron in the Marine Corps. In early 2008, the Golden Eagles deployed to Iraq, where their Ospreys transported presidential candidate Barack Obama. When the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake struck, VMM-162, serving as the aviation combat element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was diverted to provide humanitarian assistance as part of Operation Unified Response — making their Ospreys the first ever used in a humanitarian mission. Based today at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, under Marine Aircraft Group 26 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, VMM-162 was named Squadron of the Year in 2023. This leather patch carries the weight of a squadron that has been first in everything from helicopter assault to tiltrotor humanitarian operations.
Perfect For: VMM-162 and HMM-162 Golden Eagles veterans past and present, MV-22 Osprey and CH-46 Sea Knight crew members, MAG-26 and 2nd MAW personnel, MCAS New River Marines, 24th MEU veterans, and anyone who has served with one of the Marine Corps' most historically significant assault support squadrons.
