Army & Navy - MARINES: Flattops for Leathernecks

Without firing a shot or uttering one cuss word (in public), the Marine Corps won another notable campaign. Last week the Navy announced that several of its new carriers would be manned by Marine airmen. Their prime mission: support of Marine ground troops in assaults on Pacific beachheads.

Although the carriers are baby flattops (CVEs) and not big, slick beauties of the Essex class, the Navy's announcement quieted the Marine air arm's long clamor for a share in carrier-based flying. Before the war a few Marine outfits had been carrier-based, but by...

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