 Following various duty assignments at Quantico, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, in 1937, he was transferred to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola in July 1938 to begin flight training.A year later he graduated and was designated a Naval Aviator.During the crucial battle for the Solomons, he led Marine Fighter Squadron 223 (VMF-223) on sorties against the enemy, during which the squadron accounted for 83 enemy aircraft destroyed.