This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Cpl Elizabeth Davis
to remember
Marine LtCol James Maurice McGarvey.
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
A-6A 152609 27 KM SE OF VINH, NVN, POSSIBLE WATER IMPACT, UTM grid reference is WF923471, A-6A 152609
On April 17, 1967, Major James M. McGarvey, pilot, and Capt. James E. Carlton, Jr., systems operator, were assigned a mission against a well defended target located approximately twenty miles southeast of Vinh, Nghe An Province, North Vietnam. At 11:12 p.m., during McGarvey's attack run, the aircraft trailing McGarvey's by approximately eight miles reported seeing a brilliant orange flash mushrooming from the area of the lead aircraft, after which no radio contact could be established with the aircraft. Search and rescue operations were initiated and lasted until April 26, 1967, with negative results. Both McGarvey and Carlton were declared Missing in Action.
This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii. with another in Graceland Township Cemetery, Kouts, Porter County, Indiana
On 1 October 1960 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina the squadron was reactivated as Marine Attack Squadron 242 flying the A4D Skyhawk. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, VMA-242 deployed to Naval Air Station Key West, Florida and maintained a ready posture until the Soviet withdrawal of offensive weapons from Cuba. In September 1963, VMA-242 embarked for duty with the 1st MAW. The squadron operated from MCAS Iwakuni, Japan until its return to MCAS Cherry Point in September 1964, at which time it transitioned to the A-6A Intruder and was redesignated VMA(AW)-242
VMTB-242 July 1, 1943 - November 23, 1945
VMA-242 October 1, 1960 - September 1964
