Take a look at the F/A-18D in special color scheme to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.
On Aug. 7, 2025, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112 rolled out a special F/A-18D Hornet that turns a front-line jet into a flying storyboard of Marine Corps history. The Hornet, informally referred to by the squadron as “250,” honors the service’s 250th birthday with a commemorative scheme conceived by retired Staff Sgt. Dave “Crash” Roof and applied by the Corrosion Control Facility team at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The aircraft was ferried to the unit by VMFA-112 commanding officer Lt. Col. William Paxton, who brought the jet home for its first appearances with the Cowboys.
Our contributor Gherardo Fontana took the photos of the special colored jet as the two-seat “legacy Hornet” arrived at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, at 15.00LT.
According to VMFA-112, the design is more than an eye-catching paint job. It is a tightly curated tour of Marine heritage from Tun Tavern to today. The outer faces of the vertical tails carry perhaps the most famous Marine image of all, the flag raising on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima. The inner faces show the first and current versions of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, a reminder that the emblem has evolved while the identity has not. The EGA replaces the standard U.S. star and bars on each side of the fuselage, a conscious choice to center Marine aviation rather than generic national markings for this anniversary work. Down the spine, the squadron positioned the Marines’ Hymn along the speed brake.
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The canopy rails, on one side, feature the names of the first Commandant, Maj. Samuel Nicholas, and the first Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. Wilbur Bestwick. On the other are the names of the current senior leadership, Commandant Gen. Eric Smith and Sgt. Maj. Carlos Ruiz.
For VMFA-112 is a Reserve squadron that continues to fly the legacy Hornet while the Marine Corps transitions to the F-35. The unit is scheduled to begin conversion to the F-35 USMC Force Design 2030 Aviation Plan in Fiscal Year 2029. The Cowboys are scheduled to transition to the F-35C, the Carrier Variant of the Lightning II aircraft. Three USMC units are already flying the type: the VMFA-314 “Black Knights”, the VMFA-311 “Tomcats” and the VMFA-251 “Thunderbolts”.
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The F/A-18 has carried Marine markings for more than three decades and remains a recognizable symbol of fixed wing Marine aviation. As the service completes the shift to 5th generation aircraft, this Hornet carries forward the story of what Marine squadrons have done with legacy platforms in every theater from the Gulf to the Pacific. Pairing that story with the Corps’ larger history on a single airframe is a smart way to meet the moment without drifting into nostalgia.
