VMFP-3 80s Flashback

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1983 Thru The Eyes Of The Corps.
By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025
May rolled around, and I was staring down the barrel of separation, half ready to cry in my chow, half ready to sprint for the gate. Four years of glorious chaos, and now I was about to be a civilian again. My last Open House airshow hit on 10 May, and our squadron got to kick things off. Lt.Col. Jim O’Donnell and Maj Larry Shreve took the RF-17 up for a photo flash run, then on the last day, they buzzed the crowd so low and fast I’m pretty sure a few toupees took flight. Not a bad way to say goodbye to El Toro, beats a handshake and a tray of meats.

Well, if you’re still here and haven’t run for the lifeboats, congrats, you survived my little time warp back to the 80s. Hopefully, you got a few laughs, maybe even a flashback or two if you were a Gyrene who served back then. If you showed up after the F-4s were mothballed, consider this your crash course on when MAG-11 was called Phantom Country. I’ve got a few more sea stories and bad decisions to sling your way before I hang up my flight suit for good. So give it one more read and thank you for supporting the site.

Personal Epilogue
My final thoughts and experences with VMFP-3

Alright, you glorious Rat Phixers and Phlyers, if we ever survived a TAD, a Det, or a BOHICA, who haven't, and you didn’t think I was the biggest gaff off in the squadron. Got a sea story, or some grainy photos your ex didn’t set on fire, and they’re only slightly illegal? Send ‘em by email, snail mail, or safety wire it to a carrier pigeon. I collect ‘em all, just nothing that would incriminate me.
80svmfp3@gmail.com

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