Photo courtesy of Maj. Larry Rannals From Left to Right, Maj. Larry Rannals, Capt. Mike Healey, 1Lt. Jim Lingar, Capt. Tom Vegh, Capt. Jack Hughs, Capt. Paul Bless, Capt. Scott Boles, Maj. John Hill, Maj. R. O. Neal, Capt. Mike McBride We had, what I think were the hottest sticks in the Marine Corps aviation at that time. These guys were take charge fly by the seat of their pants types. Shit! You had to have balls to fly an aircraft into enemy air space with no guns, bombs just cameras. My hats off to these men. It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Aviators of the RF-4B Phantom squadrons. -Lt.Col. Chuck "Overstress" Storm- 1979-1983 I miss the lead sled !!!! I have been out of touch for so long ....now in my 21st year with Northwest...now merged with Delta....I'm a Captain on the Airbus 319/320 in Memphis TN....have a home there, as well as Laguna Beach. I truly enjoyed P-3 ...the flying ....the dets to Japan and Midway...then went to VMFA-323 and flew the Hornet and the Med cruise....tried to go fly with the Blues three times and was a finaist the third attempt....so close !!!! Spent 4 more years with VMFA-134 again flying the F/A-18 in the reserves there in El Toro before they moved to MCAS Miramar. My sons are Charles, now 25 and Sam, closing in on 22 this summer....you can see Charles at www.CharlesStrongRacing.com he's pretty quick and having fun being a different type of speed-merchant. Sam has done some acting and modeling ....he's in "Good Times" by Tommy Lee and had a part in "The Viking Saga-Son of Thor"...you can see him in the trailer on YouTube or just get the movie at Amazon.com. -Col. Gregory "Snake" Raths- 1977-1986 OverStess Strong, Where are you??? -Lt Col. Billy "Asia" O'Hara- 1975-1979 Retired USMC after 25yrs Settled in Yuma AZ where I had my first "date" with the Phantom as a 1stLt; June '75. My oldest, Garrett, is now a "shoe" and the junior Ensign aboard USS Juneau home-ported out of Sasebo. Praise God for all His blessings and the Mechs & RSO's that kept me alive despite my best efforts to kill myself in the mighty beast. -Capt. George D. Nilson - 1980-1981 It was a "Very Sad Day" when they decommissioned VMFP-3. I attended the ceremony and there were many tears shed by Marines that day. Col Dennis Fitz (Former CO when I Retired) is my broker and I will ask him about Maj Beam (Was he in Operations?) Capt Chuck Strong (I saw him last at the decommissioning ceremony) and Col Joe Thomas was stationed in DC the last I heard (and that was a looooong time ago). -Roy "Shadow" Stafford - "VMCJ-3" Larry Rannals was one of the finest human beings I've ever met in my life... Of all the folks I flew with and knew in J-3 and P-3... Rannals and Denny Fitz were the two class acts... wish them him well for me. -Lt.Col. James H. O'Donnell - 1978-1983/1986-1989 I'm now retired and living in Fallbrook, California working for the Marine Corps Programs Department (MCPD) out of the Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook... right next to Camp Pendleton. -CWO-3 Robert Adao - 1988-1990 Ioved my tour with the rhinos as a ground officer ... the ready room was an education for me (haha) ... many great memories like air show friday nights at the o'club, working hard on det and partying harder, best of all being a part of a great marine corps team of professionals. rhinos forever!! -Maj. Donald "Beak" Beck- 1977-1989 I had attended 11 different schools and lived on three continents. I saw my first RF4 in 1966, my dad flew them. It was a wonderful looking plane. I had no wish to fly until that moment. I attended the University of Colorado and became a Lt. in the Marines where I spent 20 years, mostly flying the RF4.I retired and have participated in many activities since, mainly centered around the computer. I found I was comfortable with them while getting my first Masters. -Maj. Rick Popovsky- 1985-1987 I was the MMCO prior going to flight school. Did a couple of Westpacs. Had a lot of fun. -Capt. Mike Kowalski- "VMCJ-1,2,3" I was an RF-4B and EF-10 pilot when they were still the J squadrons from 67 until 70. I served in all three: 2 before going to VN, 1 while there and 3 after coming back. I recognize some of the names on your address list for this message. While one of our members, who I flew with personally, climbed pretty high in the USMC heirarchy, his fall was equally if not more spectacular! Besides Dave Foss, who was a family friend along with his wife, and commanded the squadron at one point, I have lost track of all my other squadron mates. I would love to hook up with them again. Unfortunately. I hope that you will remember me to the other vets of the Js and P-3. -CWO-2 Jerry O'Brien- "VMCJ" I started flying backseat in the RF in May or June of 65 and continued until 1972. I was one of four R.O.s that went to the first Comapny school at St. Louis. The other three are long gone. Two warrant Officers, a Tech sergeant and me, a staff sergeant at the time. Recommended Screen Resolution 1024 x 768 Enable pop-ups to fully enjoy this site. This website is not affiliated with the U.S. Government or the United States Marine Corps in any way. This website is a copyright and the property of the Phabulous Phantom Productions and the information and photos gathered for this website are intended for the purpose of providing un-official information and entertainment for those interested in the history of Marine Corps RF-4B Squadrons and the RF-4B Phantom II aircraft.