Marion M . Magruder Marion Milton Magruder ( June 27 , 1911 – June 27 , 1997 ) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps , and a pioneer in Radar Intercept Night Fighting . He was the first commanding officer of Marine aircraft squadron VMF ( N ) - 533 , then known as " Black Mac ' s Killers " , and led that squadron during the Battle of the Marshall Islands and Battle of Okinawa in World War II . Biography . Early years and beginning of military career . Magruder was born to William Marion Magruder and Augusta Tong Magruder of 456 Rose Lane , Lexington , Kentucky . He was the third of four children ; his siblings were Aliene , Eldon and Jane Magruder . He graduated with Honors from the University of Kentucky on May 22 , 1936 with a B . A . in Psychology . He was the undefeated Golden Gloves Welter Weight Boxing Champion of the University of Kentucky , a member of the Sword and Scabbard Military Fraternity and a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity . The Governor of Kentucky commissioned him a Kentucky colonel and the Mayor of Lexington presented him with the ‘ Key to the City of Lexington . ’ After graduating from the Reserve Officers ' Training Corps program at the University of Kentucky , Magruder accepted an officer ' s commission in the United States Marine Corps on July 1 , 1936 , becoming a Second Lieutenant . On July 5 , 1938 , Magruder reported for Flight School at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida . After graduating as Naval Aviator # 6008 , he was promoted to First Lieutenant . Magruder was assigned to squadron VMF - 1 at Marine Corps Air Station Quantico , Virginia . He was promoted to Captain in 1940 . In the Spring of 1941 he became Assistant Material Officer , Division of Aviation , Headquarters Marine Corps , Washington , D . C . In August 1942 Magruder was promoted to Major . World War II . On February 6 , 1943 , Major Magruder was deployed to England for a 3 month stint to learn as much as possible about Radar Intercept Night Fighting from the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . The United States Navy critically needed to establish effective night fighting capabilities for the Pacific Campaign . Magruder was assigned to develop the U . S . Naval Radar Intercept Doctrine that entailed extensive modification of the British system into an almost totally different operational syllabus . Admiral John S . McCain , Sr . , then Director Aircraft Pacific , required a single pilot , single engine aircraft that was capable of operating from a carrier while the British utilized a two seat fighter that employed an onboard radar operator . Magruder reconfigured the system to include a remote ground control intercept ( GCI ) radar operator to coordinate exclusively with his designated pilot , to give him a vector close enough to the target for the pilot ’ s own shorter range radar to locate the target . In June 1943 Magruder was assigned as Night Fighter Training Officer at the newly formed Marine Aircraft Group 53 ( MAG - 53 ) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point , North Carolina . On October 1 , 1943 , Magruder became the Commanding Officer of the newly formed VMF ( N ) - 533 , which eventually took the nickname " Black Mac ’ s Killers " . VMF ( N ) - 533 was the first Marine Corps squadron to receive the F6F - 3 ( N ) Hellcat night fighter . In November 1943 Magruder was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel . After a difficult radar intercept training program , the squadron deployed to Enewetak Atoll on May 6 , 1944 to take over the night defense of the area . On July 6 , 1944 the Magruder ' s squadron also set up a rotating contingent on Roi Island and Kwajalein Atoll for their night defense . On November 30 , 1944 " Black Mac ' s Killers " moved its base of operations from Enewetak to Engebi . On May 7 , 1945 , VMF ( N ) - 533 , with three days notice , was ordered to deploy to Yontan Airfield on Okinawa to shore up sagging night defenses during the Battle of Okinawa . With just a skeleton crew of fifteen pilots flying their fifteen Hellcats , and an extra thirteen officers ( 8 extra pilots , a Flight Surgeon , Flight Director and three key department heads ) , along with 57 enlisted men flying in 5 transport aircraft provided squadron VMR - 252 with whatever spare parts and gear that could be squeezed onboard ; they departed on the longest over - water flight of single engine fighters in World War II . The remainder of the squadron personnel and equipment followed by sea on LST s and would not link up again with this skeleton crew for more than a month . Arriving on May 10 , 1945 at Yontan Field , the squadron was operational in 36 hours . On June 15 , 1945 the squadron moved operations from Yontan Air Field to Charlie Air Strip , Ie Shima where they joined the rest of the squadron personnel and served out the remainder of the war . In spite of the fact that VMF ( N ) - 533 arrived 40 days after the campaign for Okinawa began , with terrible weather throughout , " Black Mac ’ s Killers " registered 35 enemy aircraft victories and 1 probable all Radar Intercepts , which was almost as many aircraft destroyed as all three other night fighter squadrons on Okinawa , combined . VMF ( N ) - 533 was the top scoring Night Fighter Squadron of the Pacific Theater in World War II . VMF ( N ) - 533 had the best safety record and the highest combat ready rate for any operational squadron in the Pacific . In 15 months of overseas deployments , the ‘ Killers ’ logged over 11 , 000 flight hours . For this action , the squadron were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation . On July 8 , 1945 Lieutenant Colonel Magruder transferred command of VMF ( N ) - 533 to his Executive Officer and returned to the United States for a War Bond Tour . Shortly after V - J Day , September 1945 , Magruder became the Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 53 ( a fully integrated Night Fighter Command ) at Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake , Texas . The group consisted of seven tactical squadrons , one service and support squadron , one headquarters squadron , one ground control radar squadron and one ground control approach radar unit . This totalled nearly 2400 officers and men with 146 aircraft . At the time this was the largest aircraft group in Marine Aviation . In February 1946 , MAG - 53 moved operations back to MCAS Cherry Point . In August 1946 Magruder assumed command of Marine Aircraft Group 31 . Education and joint billets . From July 1947 to July 1948 , Lieutenant Colonel Magruder attended and graduated from the Air War College , Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama . He co - wrote the thesis " The Impact and Role of Missiles In a War During the Foreseeable Future 5 – 10 Years . " From August 1948 to May 1950 , Magruder was assigned as instructor to Senior Course , Aviation Section Marine Corps Schools , Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . In June 1950 , Lieutenant Colonel Magruder was assigned to the Chief of Staff of Commander - in - Chief Europe , Heidelberg , Germany . Magruder was the only Marine officer assigned to this Theater Command . For this assignment Admiral Forrest Sherman , Chief of Naval Operations , after interviewing numerous senior Marine officers , personally selected Magruder for this special duty . Magruder became assistant head of the Plans Branch of the Operations , Plans , Organization and Training Division of the European Unified Combatant Command . Responsibilities included : Preparation and presentation of many U . S . “ Eyes Only ” plans to be placed into operation in the event of emergency and / or war , including " Operation Blast Proof " . As a member of the senior U . S . Command in Europe , Magruder was responsible for coordinating complete plans with all other major commands in Europe as well as many high level civil authorities in Germany , France and England . On January 1 , 1951 , Lieutenant Colonel Magruder was promoted to Colonel . In July 1952 , Colonel Magruder was assigned as Assistant Head of Plans and Operations Branch , Division of Aviation , Headquarters , Marine Corps . Responsibilities required preparation and presentation of many plans and staff studies for the training and operations of all Marine Corps Aviation , and determining operational requirements for aircraft and new aircraft characteristics in presentations to the Commandant of the Marine Corps , Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and Chief of Naval Operations . Magruder participated in the planning , preparation and coordination of the Aviation portion of the Marine Corps overall budgets . From July 1954 to June 1955 , Colonel Magruder attended and graduated from the National War College . His thesis , " Nuclear Weapons — An Instrument of National Policy " was classified and , because of its strategic implications , was not released for publication . Back to the Fleet . From July 1955 through June 1956 , Colonel Magruder commanded Marine Aircraft Group 11 at Naval Air Station Atsugi , Japan . This was the largest Marine Aircraft Group in the Far East and consisted of five fighter attack squadrons , one GCI radar station , one air base squadron for the maintenance and operation of group facilities and heavy group level aircraft maintenance , along with one headquarters squadron . The group consisted of 1 , 860 officers and men and 126 aircraft . MAG - 11 conducted continuous round - the - clock air operations providing for the airborne defense of Japan , and maintained readiness for immediate movement of all aircraft , to include all classes of materiel and supplies to sustain the Group for 90 days of combat to any area of the Far East . Duties included maintaining the on - site storing and employing of tactical nuclear weapon s and conventional weapon s in coordination with the Commanding General , U . S . Air Forces , Japan . Magruder ' s MAG - 11 also provided secure basing facilities for the Central Intelligence Agency ' s U - 2 program . From August 1956 to June 1958 , he was assigned as Assistant Chief of Staff G - 4 ( logistics ) , Fleet Marine Force , Pacific located at Camp H . M . Smith , Hawaii . This encompassed the largest single command in the Marine Corps — 2 Marine Divisions , 1 brigade , and 2 aircraft wings consisting of a total of 65 , 000 officers and men and 800 aircraft , with units located on the West Coast , Hawaii , Japan and Okinawa . Soon thereafter Magruder became head of the General Staff Section , G - 4 . Magruder coordinated and supervised the continuous flow of all classes of material for the training and operations of all elements of the command . His next assignment was from June 1958 through June 1960 , as Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay , Hawaii . The Air Station encompassed the greater part of the Kaneohe Peninsula — of industrial and barracks buildings to include 5 large aircraft hangars , extensive bomb and ordnance storage , including tactical nuclear weapons and air - sea rescue facilities . On June 12 , 1960 , Colonel Magruder prepared for and was host of President Eisenhower and his staff of 62 VIPs . ( The President originally planned a three - day visit to MCAS Kaneohe Bay ; however it was extended to five days when riots in Japan forced the cancellation of that State visit . ) In August 1960 , Magruder was assigned as Director , 12th Marine Corps Reserve , Recruitment District headquartered in San Francisco , California . This posting included responsibility for training , operational readiness , logistical support , preparation and justification of budgets and operation of District Offices and Branch Offices , 42 Reserve Units of company and battalion size , 5 recruiting stations and 81 substations located throughout the District encompassing 9 Western States — - 400 officers and 10 , 000 men . This command ranked 6th out of 7 districts when Colonel Magruder assumed command . Within 8 months this District placed 1st among all U . S . Districts in recruiting and retention of Marine Corps personnel and force readiness . On August 31 , 1961 , Colonel Magruder retired from active duty after 26 years of service in the U . S . Marine Corps . Later life . On January 1 , 1962 , Magruder began his civilian career , becoming the Assistant to the President of Stanley Aviation in Aurora , Colorado . On August 1 , 1963 , Magruder became Executive Vice President of Peoples Bank and Trust in Aurora , and on April 29 , 1964 he became president of his own corporation , The M ’ s Inc . , with the purchase of his first McDonald ’ s Franchise in Grand Junction , Colorado . Within 15 years , Magruder placed all five of his sons in McDonald ’ s Franchises in Colorado , Arizona and California . Magruder continued to be highly involved in national affairs with communications and associations with military and civil authorities on the highest levels . Colonel Magruder served on a number of ‘ national policy boards ’ and organizations , and was a lifelong Rotarian . Colonel Marion Magruder peacefully died on his 86th birthday , June 27 , 1997 in Paradise Valley , Arizona . Personal life . On July 2 , 1938 , Marion Magruder married Martha Ann Kelly of Lexington , Kentucky at St . Paul ’ s Catholic Church of Lexington . They had five children :