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MARINES TRAINED
AT MANTEO: VMF-511
 By
Robert J. Yanacek
Most people living on the
Outer Banks don't even realize that Marines actually trained
in our area--on Roanoke Island!
Marine Fighting Squadron
Five-Eleven (VMF-511) was commissioned under the command of
Major Robert C. Maze on 1 January 1944 at Marine Corps
Auxiliary Air Field Oak Grove, North Carolina.
In mid-April of 1944 the
squadron was transferred to Simmons-Knott Field, North
Carolina where training continued. During July 1944
the squadron pilots were ordered to Naval Air Station Boca
Chica, Florida, Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode
Island and Naval Auxiliary Air Field Manteo, North Carolina
for training in the use of the 11.5-inch "Tiny Tim" aircraft rockets in
preparation for Project "Danny," a plan to knock
out the German V-1 launching sites in Europe.
When this operation was cancelled, the pilots of VMF-511
resumed their routine training syllabus until they received
orders for movement to the west coast. Arriving at
Mojave, California during September of 1944 with their F4U
Corsairs, the squadron was re-designated VMF(CVS)-511 the
following month and trained in flight operations aboard
aircraft carriers. Receiving orders for
deployment to the Pacific Ocean Area, the squadron embarked
aboard the USS Block Island and departed for Pearl Harbor,
Hawaiian Territory on 20 March 1945.
Following their arrival at
Pearl Harbor, the squadron remained aboard the USS Block
Island and sailed for the waters off Okinawa shortly
thereafter. During May and June of 1945 VMF(CVS)-511
flew combat missions in support of operations on Okinawa.
It was during these operations on 27 May 1945 that Major Maze was killed when he
attacked several small Japanese ships off Ishigaki Island
and was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Although his
aircraft crashed in shallow water, no trace of Major Maze or
his aircraft was ever found. With the loss of Major
Maze, the squadron continued operations off Okinawa under
the leadership of Captain James L. Secrest, who served as
its commanding officer for the remainder of the war.
Following the conclusion of
the Okinawa campaign the USS Block Island sailed for the
waters around Indonesia where VMF(CVS)-511 flew in support
of the landings at Balikpapan. Still aboard the USS
Block Island when the Second World War ended, VMF(CVS)-511's
final missions were flown in support of the Japanese
surrender of Formosa.
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