VMF-323

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323
VMFA-323 insignia
Active	August 1, 1943 – present
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Fighter/Attack
Role	Close air support Air interdiction Aerial reconnaissance
Part of	Marine Aircraft Group 11 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Nickname(s)	Death Rattlers
Motto(s)	"Come to Fight - Come to Win" or unofficially "Come to Drink - Come to Fight"
Tail Code	WS / NK/ NE/ NH
Engagements	World War II * Battle of Okinawa Korean War * Battle of Inchon * Battle of Chosin Reservoir * Attack on the Sui-ho Dam Vietnam War Operation El Dorado Canyon Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom * 2003 invasion of Iraq
Commanders
Current commander	LtCol Robert A. Tomlinson
Aircraft flown
Fighter	F4U Corsair (1943-53) F9F Panther (1953-54) F9F Cougar (1954-56) FJ-4 Fury (1956-59) F-8 Crusader (1959-64) F-4 Phantom II (1964-82) F/A-18 Hornet (1982-

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) but deploys with Carrier Air Wing 11.

VMF-323 was commissioned August 1, 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. According to oral history, the squadron got its name from three fighter pilots who killed a 6-foot rattlesnake and hung its skin in the squadron's ready room. VMF-323 began training in F4U Corsairs almost immediately for combat in the Pacific theater of World War II. Much of the new squadron's training was done at Marine Corps Air Station El Centro and Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California. In July 1944, the Death Rattlers departed for the Pacific aboard the USS Long Island. For the next nine months, VMF-323 flew training missions from secure island bases in the South Pacific.

On April 9, 1945, the Death Rattlers flew into Kadena airfield in support of Operation Iceberg during the Battle of Okinawa. Combat operations commenced the following day. Between then and the Japanese surrender in August, the Death Rattlers racked up 124 Japanese planes shot down without a single loss. Twelve Death Rattlers became aces.