Officially Licensed USMC VMM-561 Pale Horse Leather Patches

Officially Licensed USMC VMM-561 Pale Horse Leather Patches — Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron MV-22 Osprey Patch

From the Sea Horse to the Osprey, the Pale Horse legacy bridged two eras of Marine Corps aviation — and if you were part of it, this patch tells that story.

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 561 (HMM-561) was activated on January 31, 1967, at Marine Corps Air Facility Santa Ana under Marine Aircraft Group 56 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Its original mission was vital but unglamorous — providing refresher training to UH-34 Sea Horse pilots and crews heading to Vietnam. Undermanned from the start, the squadron remained in cadre status until it was formally stood up on May 9, 1968, eventually fielding 24 UH-34Ds with 62 officers and 242 enlisted Marines. As the Corps transitioned from the UH-34 to the CH-46 Sea Knight in 1969, HMM-561 became the last active UH-34 squadron in the Fleet Marine Force, conducting a final 12-aircraft flyby over El Toro and Santa Ana before decommissioning on October 27, 1969. Its Marines and Sailors scattered across the helicopter community, but the legacy of 561 never died. Over four decades later, on December 2, 2010, the squadron was reborn at MCAS Miramar as Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 561 (VMM-561) — the "Pale Horse" — flying the revolutionary MV-22B Osprey. Built from scratch in just 18 months under Lt. Col. Warren "Angus" Curry, VMM-561 became the first West Coast MV-22 squadron to stand up from nothing and earned the National Defense Service streamer during its 2011 deployment. Though the squadron was deactivated on July 6, 2012, its personnel and aircraft carried forward into VMM-265 "Dragons" at MCAS Futenma, Okinawa — becoming the first Osprey squadron in Japan. From Vietnam-era training fields to the tiltrotor age, the Pale Horse left hoofprints across Marine aviation history.

• Premium leather USMC tiltrotor squadron patch
• Durable construction with rich detail built for daily wear or display
• Bold insignia design capturing the Pale Horse heritage
• Ideal for flight jackets, gear bags, and shadow box collections
• Built to last through years of proud ownership

Perfect For:
VMM-561 and HMM-561 veterans, MV-22 Osprey aircrew and maintainers, UH-34 Sea Horse alumni, MAG-16 and 3rd MAW Marines, MCAS Miramar personnel, and anyone who served with the Pale Horse. A meaningful addition to any Marine aviation patch collection or veteran display.