VMFA - 323 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 . History . World War II . 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 Corsair s 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 Japan ese surrender in August , the " Death Rattlers " racked up 124 Japanese planes shot down without a single loss . Twelve " Death Rattlers " became aces . After the war , the " Death Rattlers " were based at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro , where they conducted training exercises . It was around this time that the squadron appeared in the 1949 movie Sands of Iwo Jima . Korean War and post - war . When the Korean War began in 1950 , VMF - 323 began combat operations from the USS Badoeng Strait " as part of Marine Aircraft Group 33 ( MAG - 33 ) , supporting ground forces in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter , Battle of Inchon , Battle of Chosin Reservoir and almost every other major campaign of the conflict . During action near Kosong , on August 11 , 1950 , a VMF - 323 Corsair pilot , Captain Vivian M . Moses , became the first Marine aviator killed in Korea . The unit also took part in the attack on the Sui - ho Dam in June 1952 . The squadron was re - designated Marine Attack Squadron 323 ( VMA - 323 ) in June , 1952 . The " Death Rattlers " left Korea in July 1953 . Once back home , the squadron began flying the F9F Panther and then the F9F Cougar , a swept - wing version of the Panther . In 1956 the squadron adopted the FJ - 4 Fury , with which it deployed to the western Pacific in 1957 . That year , the " Death Rattlers " flew armed patrols over the Quemoy and Matsu islands to support Chinese nationalist forces . Returning to MCAS El Toro in 1959 , the squadron switched to the F8U Crusader and were assigned to the USS " Oriskany " . In 1964 the squadron returned to MCAS Cherry Point , where they received their present designation of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 ( VMFA - 323 ) . This same year , the " Death Rattlers " began flying the F - 4 Phantom II . During the Dominican Crisis in 1965 , the " Death Rattlers " provided air cover while American citizens were evacuated . Vietnam War . As the United States grew closer to war in South Vietnam , the " Death Rattlers " deployed to Da Nang Air Base beginning on October 25 , 1965 . Combat operations started the day after they arrived . The squadron lost its first aircraft a week after they arrived when the squadron ' s executive officer was shot down by a Surface - to - air missile over North Vietnam . It was the only Marine F - 4 felled by a SAM during the war . 323 remained in Vietnam until 1969 , flying combat sorties from Da Nang and Chu Lai . 1980s to 2001 . On September 14 , 1982 , VMFA - 323 transitioned to its current aircraft , the F / A - 18 Hornet . In October 1985 , the squadron deployed again aboard the USS Coral Sea ( CV - 43 ) , this time to the Mediterranean Sea . In spring of 1986 during Freedom of Navigation exercises held in international waters and airspace off the coast of Libya . Later on April 15 , 1986 provided SAM suppression and fighter Combat Air Patrol ( CAP ) sorties during Operation El Dorado Canyon . In 1994 , 1995 , 1997 , 1999 , and 2001 the " Death Rattlers " flew missions in support of Operation Southern Watch . Global War on Terror . On 2 November 2002 , VMFA - 323 deployed aboard the USS " Constellation " as part of CVW - 2 to conduct Operation Southern Watch . While on this deployment , the Death Rattlers transitioned from Operation Southern Watch to Operation Iraqi Freedom conducting sorties into Baghdad on the first night of the war . On May 2 , 2005 , two F / A - 18 C Hornet fighter jets from VMFA - 323 , BuNo 164721 and BuNo 164732 , collided over south - central Iraq , during a sortie from the USS " Carl Vinson " , killing the executive officer and a junior officer .