Marine Fighter Squadron 124 (VMF 124), know as Death’s Head Squadron, made the first operational use of the Vought F4U Corsair aircraft during an escort mission attacking Bougainville. The morning before, the squadron arrived on Guadalcanal and flew their first mission before lunch that day with 12 F4Us escorting a PBY Catalina on a 230-mile mission to pick up two downed pilots at Sandfly Bay, Vella Lavella.
