and Marshall Islands and in the Marianas. He remained in this capacity until mid-October 1944 and was decorated with the Legion of Merit with Combat "V" for his service in that capacity. He was subsequently transferred to Guam and appointed chief of staff, 3rd Marine Division under Major General Graves B. Erskine. Hogaboom knew Erskine well from his time under General Smith in the Aleutians and thus the cooperation worked well. Hogaboom took part in the planning of Iwo Jima campaign and the landing itself in February 1945 and earned his second Legion of Merit for his service. Postwar service Marines & Helicopters Following the war, Hogaboom took part in the occupation of Japan and returned to the United States in December 1945 for duty as a director of the Amphibious Warfare School at the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico under Brigadier General Oliver P. Smith. Hogaboom received orders from the commandant, Alexander Vandegrift, to form and head the committee of the academic board, which conducted research on the desired characteristics for an assault transport helicopter. He and his board concluded, that "On the premise that the helicopter offers a valuable means of accelerating and dispersing the ship-to-shore movement, it is recognized that the complete replacement of all existing ship-to-shore conveyances may at some future date be desirable. Under such conditions, it would appear necessary that there be designed a relatively small type helicopter for transportation of assault troops, as well as large type helicopter capable of lifting all divisional loads. However, examination of current technical developments indicates that the latter type may not be practical for some time to come. Accordingly, it is considered more realistic to approach the problem in increments, establishing initially the characteristics for a purely assault conveyance...."' His reports were forwarded to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air, Vice Admiral Donald B. Duncan, who distributed it through the command structure of the navy. Hogaboom and his effort helped to promote the use helicopters for future combat operations. Chowder Society Hogaboom later became a member of the so-called "Chowder Society", special Marine Corps Board under general Gerald C. Thomas, which was tasked by Commandant Alexander Vandegrift to conduct research and prepare material relative to postwar legislation concerning the role of the Marine Corps in national defense. Due to cuts in Marine Corps budget, the threat of merging of the Marine Corps into the United States