Illustration of a cartoon wasp with white wings and yellow and black striped body, holding a green missile with red markings, against a red circular background with a yellow border, and the text 'VMA - 331' at the bottom.

VMA-331

Bumblebees — Harrier Operations 1985–1992

The Bumblebees were the Harrier II’s first team. Stood up at MCAS Cherry Point on January 30, 1985, VMA-331 became the Marine Corps’ first operational AV-8B Harrier II squadron, carried the new jet across the Atlantic and into the Western Pacific, and in 1990 sailed 20 Harriers to the Persian Gulf aboard USS Nassau. It flew combat from the sea in Desert Storm and lost two pilots in that war. The squadron was deactivated in September 1992.

Quick Facts

Nickname: Bumblebees

Harrier years: January 1985 – September 1992

Aircraft: AV-8B Harrier II

Home base: MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.

Parent units: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing

Tail code: VL

Distinction: The Marine Corps’ first operational AV-8B Harrier II squadron

Today: Inactive since 1992

The Harrier Years

1983 — VMA-331 is deactivated in January while it converts from the A-4 Skyhawk to the new AV-8B Harrier II.

1985 — Established at MCAS Cherry Point on January 30 as the first AV-8B Harrier II squadron, under Lt. Col. R. Cranford. Its first Harrier II arrives that month.

“My first Harrier squadron was VMA-331, the Bumblebees.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), VMA-331 pilot, Desert Shield and Desert Storm

1986 — In March, four VMA-331 pilots fly the AV-8B’s first nonstop round trip across the Atlantic: seven hours and five aerial refuelings from North Carolina to Rota, Spain, and nine hours and eight refuelings home against headwinds.

1987 — On June 5, a squadron AV-8B crashes into Barnegat Bay, N.J., after an engine flameout on a flight from Cherry Point to NAS South Weymouth.

Late 1980s — Deploys to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, the first squadron to take the AV-8B to the Western Pacific.

1990 — Sails in August with 20 AV-8Bs aboard USS Nassau for Operation Desert Shield.

1991 — Desert Storm: 243 combat sorties and 256 tons of ordnance from Nassau. Capt. Manuel Rivera Jr. and Capt. Reginald C. Underwood are killed. Nassau returns home April 20.

1992 — Deactivated on September 30.

Going to War

Desert Shield. USS Nassau sailed on August 18, 1990, with elements of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade embarked, and VMA-331’s 20 AV-8Bs reached the region in September. Through the fall Nassau took part in amphibious exercises including Imminent Thunder, and the Harriers flew from the ship in the Gulf of Oman. By Hancock’s account, the squadron sailed as a day-flying unit and had to qualify pilots for night operations from the deck before the war began.

“When we did Desert Shield, Desert Storm, VMA-331, we took 20 jets on board the USS Nassau. … 20 jets for Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and … when we sailed, nobody was night current, nobody in the squadron.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), VMA-331 pilot

“We were landing on the boat at night sometimes with 700 pounds of gas. … You had enough gas sometimes for one or two looks at the boat.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), on night recoveries aboard Nassau

A loss at sea. On the night of January 22, 1991, Capt. Manuel “Buick” Rivera Jr. was killed when his Harrier crashed during a night approach to Nassau on a training flight, off Oman’s Musandam Peninsula. He was among the first American casualties of the Gulf War.

Desert Storm. VMA-331 was held aboard Nassau in reserve for a possible amphibious assault on Kuwait. In mid-February it supported operations against Failaka Island, and once the ground war began it turned to close air support for Marines ashore. In all, the squadron flew 243 combat sorties and dropped 256 tons of ordnance from Nassau. It was the first Marine attack squadron to fly combat missions from an amphibious assault ship. Among its pilots was future NASA astronaut Charles O. Hobaugh, who flew combat missions from Nassau and later flew three space shuttle missions.

The last day. On February 27, 1991, the final day of the ground war, Capt. Reginald C. Underwood was leading a second section of four Harrier IIs from Nassau against Iraqi forces on the northern highway out of Kuwait City when his AV-8B was shot down by surface-to-air missiles near Safwan, Iraq. He was killed, the squadron’s only loss to enemy action.

At Sea

Late 1980s — Unit deployment to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan: the first AV-8B squadron in the Western Pacific.

1990–91 — USS Nassau, with the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade: Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

The Maintainers

The Bumblebees’ maintainers brought a brand-new jet into fleet service in 1985, then kept 20 day-attack Harriers flying from the deck of an amphibious ship through an eight-month war cruise.

“Hats off to all the maintainers. … And they did it. I mean, at night on board a ship in the desert, in a tent city, … sometimes horrific, horrific conditions.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), VMA-331 pilot

“I couldn’t design the Harrier. I couldn’t build it. … I couldn’t fix it, but I could fly it.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.)

The Bumblebees

VMA-331 was activated at MCAS Cherry Point on January 1, 1943, as a scout-bombing squadron flying the SBD Dauntless dive bomber, and went on to fly Corsairs, Helldivers and Skyhawks before the Harrier II. Its Marines called themselves the Bumblebees, a name veterans trace back to those dive-bomber days.

“The Bumblebees, the name just didn’t strike fear in the hearts of the enemy, nah. … It was the World War II thing, the SBD dive bombers.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), VMA-331 pilot

Awards and Milestones

1985 — The Marine Corps’ first operational AV-8B Harrier II squadron.

1986 — The first nonstop transatlantic round trip by the AV-8B, Cherry Point to Rota, Spain, and back.

Late 1980s — The first squadron to deploy the AV-8B to the Western Pacific.

1991 — The first Marine attack squadron to fly combat missions from an amphibious assault ship: 243 combat sorties and 256 tons of ordnance from USS Nassau in Desert Storm.

In Memoriam

Capt. Manuel “Buick” Rivera Jr. — January 22, 1991, off Oman, on approach to USS Nassau

“Second generation Puerto Rican kid from the Bronx, New York. Great guy, just a superb guy, good pilot.”
— Col. Ben “Lawman” Hancock (Ret.), on Capt. Manuel Rivera Jr.

New York City renamed a playground in his memory on April 15, 1991, and a Bronx public school, P.S. 279, carries his name.

Capt. Reginald C. Underwood — February 27, 1991, near Safwan, Iraq

A native of Lexington, Ky., Captain Underwood was 27 and left a wife and a five-month-old daughter he had never met. He was enshrined in the Aviation Museum of Kentucky’s Hall of Fame in 2017.

This record is still being compiled. If you served with VMA-331 and can help us honor the Bumblebees we lost, please share your story.

Harrier Commanding Officers

Lt. Col. R. Cranford — 1985, first AV-8B commanding officer

Lt. Col. Joseph T. Anderson — late 1980s

This list is still being compiled. If you commanded or flew with VMA-331, help us complete it.

Sundown

Less than two years after Desert Storm, VMA-331 was deactivated on September 30, 1992, in the post–Cold War drawdown. Its Harrier years lasted less than eight, but the Bumblebees had introduced the AV-8B to the fleet and taken it to war from the sea. The squadron has not been reactivated.

The Harrier Legacy Project

The Bumblebees’ story is part of The Harrier Legacy Project, CALLSIGN Publishing’s 136-page commemorative book on the Marine Corps AV-8 Harrier community, built from more than two years of embedded reporting, original photography and firsthand oral histories. Learn about the book →

More Harrier Squadrons

VMA-211 Wake Island Avengers · VMA-214 Black Sheep · VMA-223 Bulldogs · VMA-231 Ace of Spades · VMA-311 Tomcats · VMA-513 Flying Nightmares · VMA-542 Tigers · VMAT-203 Hawks · VX-4 Evaluators · VX-5 Vampires · VX-9 Vampires · VX-31 Dust Devils

Frequently Asked Questions

Was VMA-331 the first AV-8B Harrier II squadron? Yes. VMA-331 was established at MCAS Cherry Point on January 30, 1985, as the Marine Corps’ first operational AV-8B Harrier II squadron.

When did VMA-331 fly the Harrier? From January 1985 until the squadron was deactivated on September 30, 1992.

What did VMA-331 do in Desert Storm? Flying 20 AV-8Bs from USS Nassau, the Bumblebees flew 243 combat sorties and dropped 256 tons of ordnance, becoming the first Marine attack squadron to fly combat from an amphibious assault ship.

Which VMA-331 pilots were killed in the Gulf War? Capt. Manuel Rivera Jr., killed January 22, 1991, during a night approach to USS Nassau, and Capt. Reginald C. Underwood, shot down near Safwan, Iraq, on February 27, 1991.

Why was VMA-331 called the Bumblebees? Veterans trace the name to the squadron’s World War II beginnings as an SBD Dauntless dive-bomber squadron.

Is VMA-331 still active? No. VMA-331 was deactivated in 1992 and has not been reactivated.