VMA - 217 Marine Attack Squadron 217 ( VMA - 217 ) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps that was activated and fought during World War II . Known as “ Max ’ s Wild Hares ” , they fought in many areas of the Pacific War including the Battle of Iwo Jima . Following the surrender of Japan , the squadron was deactivated on March 10 , 1946 . They were briefly reactivated as part of the Reserves but were again deactivated in 1964 and remain in an inactive status today . History . VMF - 217 was activated at Marine Corps Air Station El Centro , California on September 15 , 1942 . The squadron did the majority of its training on the F4F Wildcat as there was a shortage of F4U Corsairs . They remained there and trained until December 12 , 1943 when they went to Naval Air Station North Island , only to be embarked on the USS Barnes ( CVE - 20 ) a week later for transit to the Pacific Theater . The squadron arrived on Espiritu Santo on January 5 , 1944 , and soon moved to Bougainville on January 28 , 1944 . Two days later the squadron began striking the bypassed Japanese garrison at Rabaul . The flight echelon returned to Espiritu Santo on March 19 , 1944 and remained until June 1 , 1944 when they embarked on the USS Santee ( CVE - 29 ) , USS Cetus ( AK - 77 ) and a few other ships for a voyage to Guam . The successful conclusion of the Solomon Islands campaign and the neutralization of Rabaul meant that there was an excess of Marine Fighter Squadrons available in the Pacific at this time . Beginning on August 7 , 1944 , the squadron commenced strikes against the island of Rota . All personnel from VMF - 217 were ashore on Guam by August 20 , 1944 . On February 16 , 1945 , the squadron took part in a raid on Tokyo as part of Task Force 58 . Taking off from the USS Wasp ( CV - 18 ) they , along with their sister squadron VMF - 216 , participated in an attack on the airfields at Yokosuka and Tateyama . After the Tokyo bombing , the squadron went to Iwo Jima to provide close air support for the Marines on the ground during the battle . In May 1945 , the squadron returned to the United States , Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara , California , for reorganization and training for escort carrier duty . It was here that the squadron began training on the F6F Hellcat because all of the available F4U Corsairs were needed for anti - Kamikaze duty . At the time of the surrender of Japan they were attached to Marine Carrier Group 7 ( MCVG - 7 ) aboard the USS Point Cruz ( CVE - 119 ) and were preparing for another deployment . The squadron was deactivated at Naval Air Station San Diego on March 10 , 1946 . VMF - 217 was briefly reactivated from 1953 to 1964 in the Marine Forces Reserve , flying the A - 4 Skyhawk at Naval Air Station South Weymouth , Massachusetts . In 1955 , they were redesignated VMA - 217 . After deactivation , its assets were transferred to VMA - 322 . Unit awards . A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited . Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation . VMA - 217 has been presented with the following awards :