“Gooney Bird: Unsung Hero of WWII”
“It’s said that when General Dwight D. Eisenhower was asked to name the weapons that led to the Allied victory in WWII, he didn’t mention bombers or fighter planes—he named the C-47 Skytrain, due in part to its ability to carry safely large loads of everything from soldiers and jeeps to ammunition and food.
As an aircraft that enabled complex wartime logistical operations, the C-47 isn’t the most glamorous or idolized aircraft of WWII. It earned the nickname “Gooney Bird” because its large, lumbering image mirrored that of the giant albatross birds found on Midway Island in the Pacific. Despite the goofy name, the Gooney Bird was critical to executing support operations that helped win the war. What made it such an indispensable logistics machine, and how did it come to be? It’s time to salute this unsung hero of WWII aircraft.”
Learn more about the history of the C-47 here. Image: Airwolfhound, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Marine Corp League History
“The Marine Corps League is the only congressionally chartered United States Marine Corps-related veterans organization in the United States. Its congressional charter was approved by the 75th U.S. Congress and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 4, 1937. The organization credits Major General John A. Lejeune, the 13th Marine Corps commandant, as one of its founding members.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_League
Gooney Bird Detachment History
One night in late 1976, a few World War II Marines met in the Old 76 Tavern in Old Tappan in a scene reminiscent of a similar played out in 1775 in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, where our beloved Marine Corps was founded. Those attending decided to gather together former Marines and form a Detachment for the Marine Corps League. Among those present were William Steffens, a Pearl Harbor survivor, and Tom Nevins, a former Marine Fighter pilot.
Over the following months, they began to recruit former Marines from all over Bergen County with meetings being held at places such as Old Hook Inn, Emerson Hotel, American Legion Hall in Park Ridge, Knights of Columbus Hall in River Edge, other taverns and restaurants, and members’ homes. Jack Hanley, having been a member of the Marine Corps League and Commandant of the Rockland Detachment, was deemed to have the expertise to get the group together and was duly elected to be the first Commandant.
The next challenge was to name the detachment, required so that a petition for a chapter could be filed. The members were all World War II veterans, with most having served in the South Pacific. So, it seemed logical to come up with a name commemorating a person or place in the South Pacific. Some members wanted the name to be the Black Sheep Squadron but that name was already in use by a Pennsylvania detachment. Other names were suggested but the final choice was the Gooney Bird Detachment.
Gooney Birds are a type of albatross that inhabit the South Pacific. While beautiful in flight, they are less gracious in landing and taking off. The name also commemorated the C-47 aircraft, nicknamed “Gooney Bird”, ferrying Pacific theater soldiers from small island landing strips back to the United States. The Marines in the South Pacific had nicknamed themselves Gooney Birds and, by extension, it became a nickname (although less popular than Jarhead or Leatherneck) for other Marines.
On 22 September 1978, the Detachment was presented with its Marine Corps League Charter at the Inn on Knickerbocker Road in River Edge by Donald Gast, the Commandant of the Department of New Jersey, Marine Corps League. There were 27 members in attendance. Later that year, on November 10th, we held our first Birthday Ball at the Old Hook Inn in Emerson. In two months, the membership had almost doubled to 44 members. And by 1979, the Detachment had grown to 90 members.
What About the bird?
“One of the most marvelous sights in the Pacific ocean is the graceful glide of a Laysan Albatross at play among the winds and waves. These expert soarers can travel hundreds of miles per day with barely a wingbeat. They nest on islands of the tropical Pacific...”
