Last living member of Marine aviation legend Joe Foss’ ‘Flying Circus’ recalls Guadalcanal
Marine veteran Sam Folsom, 98, who flew fighters at Guadalcanal in World War II, where he shot down three Japanese aircraft, and served later in the Korean War is honored on the field at Dodger Stadium Aug. 14, 2018.
COREY DICKSTEIN/STARS AND STRIPES
By COREY DICKSTEIN | STARS AND STRIPES Published: August 31, 2018
LOS ANGELES — Sam Folsom had never flown an airplane above 10,000 feet or fired the weapons on the F4F Wildcat fighter he would soon pilot into combat when he arrived on Guadalcanal in September 1942.
The battle for the strategic, jungle-covered South Pacific island was raging, as Folsom and the bulk of his inexperienced fighter squadron VMF-121 joined the operation. They were tasked with finding and destroying Japanese G4M medium bombers – known as “Betty Bombers†– that had been wreaking havoc on American troops on their first major offensive in the Pacific theater during World War II.
https://www.stripes.com/last-living-member-of-marine-aviation-legend-joe-foss-flying-circus-recalls-guadalcanal-1.545362
