into Baghdad on the first night of the war. On 2 May 2005, two F/A-18C Hornet fighter jets from VMFA-323, BuNo 164721 and BuNo 164732, collided over south-central Iraq, during a sortie from , killing the executive officer and a junior officer. Squadron aces Miscellaneous Information An F-4N Phantom painted with VMFA-323 squadron markings can be seen on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. Jerry Coleman, then second baseman for the New York Yankees, flew with VMA-323 during the Korean War. See also List of active United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons United States Marine Corps Aviation CVW-17 Citations References Bibliography Chapin, John C. Fire Brigade: U.S. Marines in the Pusan Perimeter. Washington, D.C.: Marine Corps Historical Center, 2000. Pitzl, Gerald R. A History of Marine fighter Attack Squadron 323. Washington, D.C.: Marine Corps Historical Center, 1987. Wolf, William. Death Rattlers: Marine Squadron VMF-323 over Okinawa. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1999. . External links 323 Death Rattlers VMFA: Death Rattlers Afloat - Naval Aviation News (July–August 2003) Oral history interview with Alfred Palombizio, a member of the "Death Rattlers" during World War II from the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University A History of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323: By Gerald R. Pitzl, 1987 Fighter attack squadrons of the United States Marine Corps FS0323