Marine Corps Base Hawaii -- More than 50 former members of the Ugly Angels Squadron, bonded together by pride, leadership and combat experience, dedicated the Ugly Angel Memorial Saturday to the 33 Marines the squadron lost in its seven years of deployments to Vietnam.
Almost 40 years ago, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-362 was the first Marine Unit to deploy to Vietnam. The unit set a precedent of taking care of their own in Vietnam, which lives on, in former members even today - 25 years after the end of America's involvement there.
"When we arrived in Japan in 1962, the squadron we were relieving had a banner atop the hangar that said 'Welcome Archie's Angels,'" said retired Col. Archie Clapp, the squadron's first commanding officer.
The name was changed to Ugly Angels, supposedly in a joking reference to the Marines in the unit. In explanation, Clapp simply asks, "Did you ever see 'em?"
Many members of the squadron didn't know ahead of time that they were going to Vietnam.
"I couldn't tell the men where we were going until we were practically there when we left our last port. Then I told them in small groups that we were going to Vietnam. Most men only asked 'Where is that?'" said Clapp.
"Spirits were high when we were there. We were able to do what we trained for. When a warrior trains for war, that's the best place for him to go," said Clapp.
"Col. Clapp set a precedent," said retired Col. Tom Hewes, president of the Ugly Angel Memorial Foundation, who served with the 362 in 1967.
"The tone of a squadron when it first starts up usually carries throughout the squadron's life-span - which was definitely the case with 362," added Hewes.
The squadron served more time than any other in Vietnam, serving off and on from April 1962 until August 1969, just before being disbanded.
The memorial, in the shape of an angel wing, has each fallen Marines' name engraved on it and stands alone in the northeastern corner of the base chapel grounds.
The veterans decided to place the memorial in Quantico with the belief that as long as there is a Marine Corps, their fallen Marines will always be remembered at the Corps' Crossroads. The men gave special thanks to BGen. Leif Hendrickson, base commanding general, and all the base Marines who helped bring about the dedication of the memorial.
Taking care of their own is what men and women do while they are in the Marine Corps, but the Ugly Angels of Squadron 362 are still taking care of their own, proving the old adage "Once a Marine, always a Marine."