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Marine Col James Cupp.
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"With the Betty gone, the full impact of my situation hit home. I still had a Zero behind me, and he was filling my tail with arrows. ... Home was over 200 miles behind me and turning would give the Zero even more of an advantage... I still had a good engine running, so I just stayed in a gradual turn. ... He gained on me at the end of the turn, but our speed was about equal. He finally pulled off in a chandelle. He'd done his best."
- Capt. Jim Cupp, describing an action at Vella Gulf on July 15, 1943
Jim Cupp was decorated during the Chosin Reservoir campaign while serving with the 1st Marine Division. His work calling in air support greatly assisted the men on the ground and their defense against repeated assault from seven Chinese divisions.
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In March of 1943, VMF-213 arrived in the Solomons, equipped with Wildcats, but re-equipped with Corsairs before entering combat. With 13 kills, Captain Cupp was one of the highest scoring aces of this outfit.
His squadron suffered some early confusion, in the switch-over to Corsairs but they started to operate from Henderson Field on April 1. Their first job was to learn the geography of the Solomons: the islands, The Slot, the location of enemy troop concentrations, the airstrips, etc. Typical missions involved escorting bombers up to Bougainville, a Japanese stronghold in mid-1943. Their CO, Major Britt, drilled them for months on the importance of sticking together in combat. Sometimes Cupp had to work at this because his plane (its engine overdue for an overhaul) had a disconcerting tendency to flood its carburetor and cut out, usually when right over their objective.
VMF-213 took six weeks of R&R in Australia from mid-May through late June.
June 30, a typical day of that period, saw VMF-213 fly an intercept mission to Rendova in the morning and went out again in the afternoon to cover shipping in the same area. They flew for three and a half hours, but could not locate any enemy planes. Others in the squadron (Maj. Weissenberger and Lt. Wilbur Thomas) were more successful, and shot down a number of Zeros.
On an escort mission to Kahili on July 17, he tangled with some Zeros, and finding himself alone, he fell in with a group of returning bombers for protection. He caught up with them while they were playing cat-and-mouse in the clouds with two Zeros. Cupp took advantage of the situation and flamed one of the Zeros.
While on patrol over Vella Lavella on September 17, Cupp and his section intercepted a large group of Vals and Zeros. They took out a few Zeros before attacking thXevalXs. The dive bombers were old and so slow that it was difficult for the Corsairs to get in a good burst before passing over them. It was a "pathetic" battle, as the Marines disintegrated thXevalXs about as fast as they could line them up. They had brought down several when they were jumped by four Zeros. Cupp was hit by a 20mm shell, and he considered ditching, but happily discovered that his Corsair responded well when he shoved the throttle forward, and he ran for home.
The next day, he took off on dawn patrol, to catch "Washing Machine Charlie," the regular Japanese nighttime nuisance bomber. Taking off at 0500, he spotted a Japanese Betty in the distance. After a long chase, he caught up, and approached the plane from his supposedly unprotected belly. To Cupp's astonishment, the bomb bay doors opened up, to reveal a cannon, which instantly hit him three times. His Corsair caught on fire; Cupp was badly burned, and forced to bail out. He was picked up by Americans, and spent the next 18 months in the hospital, undergoing 14 operations.
Marine Corps Base Quantico, also known as MCB Quantico, is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly 55,148 acres (86.169 sq mi) of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County. Used primarily for training purposes, MCB Quantico is known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps".
Quantico Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County and Stafford counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 4,452 at the 2010 census. The designation Quantico Station is not in widespread local use, but is simply a name used by the Census Bureau to describe base housing on Marine Corps Base Quantico.
The U.S. Marine Corps' Combat Development Command, which develops strategies for U.S. Marine combat and makes up most of the community of over 12,000 military and civilian personnel (including families) is based here. It has a budget of around $300 million and is the home of the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School. The Marine Corps Research Center at Quantico pursues equipment research and development, especially telecommunications, for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Brig, a military prison, is also located at Quantico.
The FBI Academy, the principal research and training facility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the principal training facility for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are also located on the base.
In 2001, the base was designated as part of the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. This district includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture, and a water tower located within the Mainside area of the base. The contributing properties with separate entries include Tennessee Camp, Camp French, Commanding General's Quarters, and Rising Hill Camp.