New monument at Pensacola Navy museum honors Marine Corps electronic warfare squadrons

A monument honoring those who served in Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadrons has been dedicated at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola.

The nonprofit VMAQ Monument Foundation commissioned sculptor Sandra Van Zandt from Owasso, Oklahoma, to create the piece.

It features three bronze statues representing people who served in the now-retired Marine EA-6B Prowler squadrons — a pilot, an electronic counter measures officer and an aviation maintenance Marine — as they prepare to launch a flight.

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The ECMO depicted is a female Marine, making the monument "In Every Clime and Place" the first bronze statue depicting a female Marine Corps aviator in the country, according to a press release announcing the dedication.

With the piece, Van Zandt continues the timeline she began with "The Spirit of Naval Aviation" in the atrium of the museum.

The monument stands about 12 feet tall and 15 feet wide and is displayed on an etched granite base. The 9 feet tall, 700-pound, bronze figures were modeled after air crew from VMAQ-2 on the final EA-6B deployment to Qatar in support of combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria in 2018.

VMAQ Monument Foundation raised over $400,000 for monument

The VMAQ Monument Foundation was formed in June 2018 and raised over $400,000 to complete the project.

Fundraising was a grassroots effort supported by many with close times to the VMAQ community, including former Assistant Commandant to the Marine Corps, retired Gen. John R. Dailey, a former director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

"The Marines, of all ranks in the VMC, VMCJ and VMAQ community have never ceased to impress me, no amaze, is a better word, as to what you can do as a team when you decide to take on a challenge," Dailey said in a press release about the monument's dedication. "The monument tells the story, about an outfit that most have never heard of, even though their lives may have depended on it. Bronze has a long shelf life even in a salt air environment, so it will be around to tell the story of a gang who knew how to get the job done."

While viewing "In Every Clime and Place," visitors to the museum can also examine an EA-6B Prowler, a Martin Baker ejection seat, an AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) and many other historic Navy and Marine aircraft.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: VMAQ Monument in Pensacola honors Marine electronic warfare squadrons