VMJ/VMR-253

VMJ-253 formed at Ewa, Hawaii, on 11 March 1942, and was assigned to MAG-25 on 1 June 1942.  It was the first Marine utility squadron to deploy, arriving in New Caledonia on 1 September 1942 and flying its first missions to Guadalcanal two days later.  It was a founding component of SCAT.  On 15 June 1944 the squadron separated from MAG-25 and SCAT, joining the SCAT-patterned Transport Air Group (TAG) in the Central Pacific.  The squadron was reattached to MAG-25 at MCAS El Toro on 18 July 1946.

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Commanding Officers:

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Lt.Col. Perry K. Smith, 11 March - 31 May 1942

Maj. Harold A. Johnson, 1 June - 11 October 1942

Maj. Henry C. Lane, 12 October 1942 - 14 October 1943

Maj. Freeman H. Williams, 15 October - 3 November 1943

Maj. Douglas E. Keeler, 4 November 1943 - 23 January 1944

Maj. James F. Moran, 24 January (last squadron CO under SCAT)

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Based in part on information contained in History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II by Robert Sherrod (Washington, DC: Combat Forces Press, 1951).