For sixty-four years, Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 has maintained a tradition of excellence, innovation, and leadership in both the aviation community and the United States Marine Corps. Born in the war-torn Western Pacific on March 11, 1942, the squadron matured during the hardships of war and accomplished a wide variety of assigned missions. Now, over six decades later, having served in every major conflict our country has faced, the Sumos of VMGR-152 stand ready at the �??Tip of the Spear�?? to face any challenge.
World War II
VMJ-253 pioneered Trans-oceanic transport in the Marine Corps during World War II. VMJ-253 also became the parent squadron for the joint air transport organization dubbed the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT). Lieutenant Colonel Perry K. Smith, USMC, became the first Commanding Officer of SCAT. By November of 1942, VMJ-253 had supported operations on Guadalcanal and surrounding islands, logging thousands of flight hours.
While on Guadalcanal, VMJ-253 was the first combat transport squadron to land at Henderson Field, bringing Brigadier General Roy S. Geiger and his staff to take command of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Following the Japanese counter attack that forced the Navy to withdraw, VMJ-253 continued to re-supply fuel, ammunition, food, and medical supplies in support of their besieged brethren. The Marines in their R4Ds never wavered in their mission despite being fired upon by Japanese troops lurking near Henderson Field and marauding Zeros in the skies. Until the end of 1942, it was the Marines of VMJ-253 and other SCAT units that solved the logistical problems of Marines and soldiers on Guadalcanal.
Through 1943, VMJ-253 supported operations on Bougainville, New Georgia, Vella Lavella, and numerous islands throughout the Solomon chain. As the island-hopping campaign moved into the Central Pacific in 1944, so did VMJ-253. Detached from SCAT, VMJ-253 officially became a transport squadron and was redesignated VMR-253. VMR-253 was assigned to the Transport Air Group, popularly called TAG, which was the Central Pacific version of SCAT. Continuing the heavy schedule of lifts from Tarawa, VMR-253 sortied to Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok. In October of 1943, VMR-253 moved to Guam. Working out of Guam, VMR-253 supported actions on Tinian, Saipan, and Peleliu. VMR-253 remained on Guam until the close of the war, and in May 1946, returned to MCAS Miramar.
Post WW II / Korean conflict
From Miramar, VMR-253 moved to MCAS El Toro under Marine Aircraft Group 25 where the aging fleet of R4Ds was replaced with R5Ds. VMR-253 continued its primary mission of moving men and supplies wherever the Marine Corps needed them. After a four-year squadron stand down from 1947 to 1951, VMR-253 reactivated with only six R5C aircraft, 5 officers, and 18 enlisted Marines. By the end of the year it had grown to 58 officers, 184 enlisted, had received 16 new R4Qs, and was ready to go to war once again. From January of 1952 through June of 1953, the squadron logged over 11,000 flight hours, carried 30,170 passengers, and moved 5,213,383 pounds of cargo.
1954 - 1965
In 1954, the squadron relocated to Itami Air Force Base, Japan and then to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. From Japan, VMR-253 conducted the bulk of Marine air transport in the Pacific for nearly ten years. On February 1, 1962, the famous Lockheed KC-130F Hercules joined Marine aviation in the Pacific. With its ability to refuel fighter and attack aircraft, VMR-253 was redesignated Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152), and the squadron�??s primary mission became aerial refueling.
Less than a year after receiving the Hercules aircraft, the pilots and Marines of VMGR-152 were called upon to support U.S. Army advisors in the latest hot spot, Indo-China. This deployment gave the squadron valuable experience in the employment of the Battle Herc that would soon pay off.
Beginning in 1965, with increasing U.S. involvement in Vietnam, detachments from VMGR-152 were deployed in country with Marine Amphibious Forces (MAF) to support F-4s and A-4s used by Marine tactical squadrons. To better support the detachments in Vietnam, the squadron relocated to Okinawa, Japan. By October, the squadron was flying 900 missions a month and continued this high tempo of operations well into 1967.
From 1967 to 1975, the bulk of VMGR-152�??s missions were directly in support of action in Southeast Asia. Concurrently, the squadron was establishing itself as a mainstay in the Western Pacific. VMGR-152 conducted countless trans-Pacific (TRANSPAC) missions, which involved the refueling of entire squadrons of fighter and attack aircraft as they crossed the Pacific on deployment. VMGR-152 also participated in a myriad of exercises and the movement of tons of cargo and thousands of troops, securing VMGR-152�??s tenure in WESTPAC.
1980s - 1990s
During the 1980ï's, larger U.S. Air Force tankers specifically designated for the strategic movement and refueling of aircraft relieved VMGR-152 of its TRANSPAC mission. This allowed the squadron to explore a more tactical employment of the KC-130 in intra-theater refueling and transport operations, and employ a more effective use of the aircraft and its personnel in a tactical environment. In 1987, VMGR-152 became the first PCS (permanent change of station) aircraft squadron on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Since the early 1990s, VMGR-152 has experienced a steady increase in the number of missions flown. In June 1993, the squadron acquired five KC-130Rs, which provided the squadron with a significant increase in aircraft range and added to its effectiveness in refueling and transport operations.
In January 1995, VMGR-152 joined Special Purpose MAGTF in support of Operation United Shield, the final withdrawal of all UNOSOM forces from Somalia.
In November and December 2004, VMGR-152 participated in Joint Task Force 535, the Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief mission in the Republic of the Philippines after several tropical storms and typhoons struck the island of Luzon. In the wake of the December 26, 2004 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, and subsequent widespread tsunami in the Indian Ocean region, VMGR-152 deployed aircraft and personnel to Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia in support of Operation Unified Assistance.
The Sumos were again called upon this year to provide Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) to people in need. When mudslides devastated the small village of Southern Leyete, Philippines in February of 2006 and when an earthquake in Yogyakarta, Indonesia killed nearly 6,000 people in May of 2006, the Sumos were among the first to arrive with valuable medical aid and supplies. Due to the Sumos flexibility and readiness, US forces were able to play a significant role in aiding the international community and saving countless lives with their operations.
Safety
The Marines of VMGR-152 have consistently employed the KC-130 Hercules in a safe and efficient manner. By invariably demonstrating the ability to balance mission accomplishment with safety, the squadron has earned numerous unit citations and awards. These awards include the CNO Aviation Safety Award for 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005; the MCAA Commandant's Aviation Efficiency Trophy for 1992 and 1993; the National Defense Transportation Unit Award for 1993, 1995, and 2000; and the MCAA Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron of the Year Award for 1994, 2001 and 2006. The most noteworthy achievement occurred in April 2007, when the Sumos exceeded 260,000 mishap-free flight hours. VMGR-152 continues to play an invaluable role within III MEF and the U.S. Marine Corps. Through safety, the Sumos of VMGR-152 perpetually live up to their squadron's reputation as the
Description
The 1990 Luzon earthquake occurred on July 16 at 4:26 p.m. local time on the densely populated island of Luzon in the Philippines. The shock had a surface wave magnitude of 7.8 and produced a 125 km-long ground rupture that stretched from Dingalan, Aurora to Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija. The event was a result of strike-slip movements along the Philippine Fault and the Digdig Fault within the Philippine Fault System. The earthquake's epicenter was near the town of Rizal, Nueva Ecija, northeast of Cabanatuan City. An estimated 1,621 people were killed, most of the fatalities located in Central Luzon and the Cordillera region.
The earthquake caused damage within an area of about 20,000 square kilometers, stretching from the mountains of the Cordillera Administrative Region and through the Central Luzon region. The earthquake was strongly felt in Metropolitan Manila, destroying many buildings and leading to panic and stampedes and ultimately three deaths in the National Capital Region,[6] one of the lowest fatalities recorded in the wake of the tremor. The Southern Tagalog (nowadays Regions 4A and 4B) and Bicol Regions also felt the quake, but with low casualty figures.
Baguio City
The popular tourist destination of Baguio City, situated over 5000 feet above sea level, was among the areas hardest hit by the Luzon earthquake. The earthquake caused 28 collapsed buildings, including hotels, factories, and government and university buildings, as well as many private homes and establishments. The quake destroyed electric, water and communication lines in the city.[8] The main vehicular route to Baguio, Kennon Road, as well as other access routes to the mountain city, were shut down due to landslides and it took three days before enough landslide debris was cleared to allow access by road to the stricken city.[8] Baguio City was isolated from the rest of the Philippines for the first 48 hours after the quake. Damage at Loakan Airport rendered access to the city by air limited through helicopters.[8] American and Philippine Air Force C-130s evacuated many residents from this airport. Many city residents, as well as patients confined in hospital buildings damaged by the quake, were forced to stay inside tents set up in public places, such as in Burnham Park and in the streets. Looting of department stores in the city was reported.[9] Among the first rescuers to arrive at the devastated city were miners from Benguet Corporation, who focused on rescue efforts at the collapsed Hotel Nevada. Teams sent by the Philippine government and by foreign governments and agencies likewise participated in the rescue and retrieval operations in Baguio City. One of the more prominent buildings destroyed was the Hyatt Terraces Hotel where at least eighty hotel employees and guests were killed. However, three hotel employees were pulled out alive after having been buried under the rubble for nearly two weeks, and after international rescue teams had abandoned the site convinced there were no more survivors. Luisa Mallorca and Arnel Calabia were extricated from the rubble 11 days after the quake, while hotel cook Pedrito Dy was recovered alive 14 days following the earthquake. All three survived in part by drinking their own urine and in Dy's case, rainwater.[10] At that time, Dy's 14-day ordeal was cited as a world record for entombment underneath rubble.
The United States Agency for International Development was sponsoring a seminar at the Hotel Nevada when the tremor struck, causing the hotel to collapse. 27 of the seminar participants, including one American USAID official, were killed in the quake. Among those who were pulled out alive from the ruins of the hotel was future senatorial candidate Sonia Roco, wife of politician Raul Roco, who was pulled out from the rubble by miners after 36 hours.
Cabanatuan City
In Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, the tallest building in the city, a six-story concrete school building housing the Christian College of the Philippines, collapsed during the earthquake, which occurred during school hours. Around 154 people were killed at the CCP building. Unlike in Baguio City, local and international journalists were able to arrive at Cabanatuan City within hours after the tremor, and media coverage of the quake in its immediate aftermath centered on the collapsed school, where rescue efforts were hampered by the lack of heavy equipment to cut through the steel reinforcement of fallen concrete. Some of the victims who did not die in the collapse were found dead later from dehydration because they were not pulled out in time.[ A 20-year-old high school student, Robin Garcia, was later credited with rescuing at least eight students and teachers by twice returning under the rubble to retrieve survivors. Garcia was killed by an aftershock hours after the quake while trying to rescue more survivors, and he received several posthumous tributes, including medals of honor from the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and President Corazon Aquino's Grieving Heart Award for his heroic effort that caught the world's attention of the quake due to quick media coverage in the city, since most of the buildings were damaged save for the CCP building which was collapsed totally. The Christian College of the Philippines was the only building in Cabanatuan City that collapsed during the earthquake. The city suffered about 363 casualties, (including 274 who were trapped ), with 154 of them dead. Most of the buildings here suffered moderately.
Dagupan City
In Dagupan City, about 90 buildings in the city were damaged, and about 20 collapsed. Some structures sustained damage because liquefaction caused buildings to sink as much as 1 metre (39 inches). The earthquake caused a decrease in the elevation of the city and several areas were flooded. The city suffered 64 casualties of which 47 survived and 17 died. Most injuries were sustained during stampedes at a university building and a theater.
La Union
Five municipalities in La Union were affected: Agoo, Aringay, Caba, Santo Tomas, and Tubao with a combined population of 132,208. Many buildings, including the Museo de Iloko and the Basilica Minore of our Lady of Charity, collapsed or were severely damaged. 100,000 families were displaced when two coastal villages sank due to liquefaction. The province suffered many casualties and 32 of them died.
