Hayne D. Boyden

Hayne D. Boyden was born on January 11, 1897, in Statesville, North Carolina, as the son of wealthy farmer John L. Boyden and his wife Mary Davis. He was a member of the prominent lawyer family from mother's side and his great-grandfather was Richmond M. Pearson, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1858 to 1878. Young Boyden completed grade schools in Statesville and Hill's private school before entered the Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. He graduated in summer 1914 and enrolled the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.[1][2][3]

Boyden completed four-year course in three years, graduating in January 1917 and then taught the geometry and trigonometry there until June 1918. He became interested in flying and took extra mathematics courses to increase his knowdlege. Boyden enlisted the Marine Corps Reserve Flying Corps on August 13, 1918, and was ordered to the Ground School, U.S. Naval Aviation Detachment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Cambridge for three-month course. Upon the completion of the ground school in December that year, he was sent as Gunnery sergeant to the Marine Flying School at Miami, Florida, together with another Marine sergeant, future general and Medal of Honor recipient Christian F. Schilt.[5][1][2]

By the beginning of June 1919, Boyden completed the course and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was subsequently ordered to Marine Officers' Training School at Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia for officers' instruction, unfortunately due to postwar reorganization of the Marine Corps and budget cuts, Boyden was relieved from active duty on August 18, 1919.[6][1][2]

However, due to resignations of several officers who had been selected for retention on active duty, he was re-appointed second lieutenant in the Regular Marine Corps on September 2, 1919. Boyden resumed his officers' training at Quantico and completed his instruction in December that year. He was then assigned to Squadron "D," Marine Air Forces, 2nd Provisional Brigade and departed for Santo Domingo.[7][1][2]

Boyden participated in air patrols over the jungles of Santo Domingo until July 1921, when his unit was transferred to Haiti for similar duty. While in Santo Domingo, Boyden unit was redesignated Marine Observation Squadron One and he designed squadron's insignia, the famous Ace of Spades. The distinctive emblem bore the letters "A" and "S". As conceived by Boyden, the ace being the first card in a suit stood for "First" while "A" and "S" represented the words "Air" and "Squadron". This design is the first official unit insignia to appear in the Marine Corps aviation.[8]

Boyden and a United States Senator in Nicaragua in September 1932.

During the flight from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince, the engine of Boyden's plane suffered mechanical failure over the Maimón mountains and he was forced to parachute to safety. He and his passenger survived the crash, but suffered a fractured skull, which also resulted in permanent loss of hearing in his left ear. Boyden was forced to march 25 miles through dense jungle for two days, before he reached help.[9][1][2]

He spent almost a year in hospital, before he was declared fit for duty again and returned to the United States by the end of April 1922. Boyden was then assigned to Marine Corps Flying Field Quantico, Virginia, and remained there until March 1923, when he was ordered to the Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois, for a course of instruction in aerial photography.[10][1][2]

In December 1923, Boyden completed the course and was assigned to special temporary duty with the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force of the United States Fleet. He was promoted to first lieutenant on June 16, 1924, and married Amanda Mayo, a daughter of Navy Captain Chester G. Mayo that year. Captain Mayo was the son of former Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Henry T. Mayo. Their marriage lasted only seven years, ending with divorce and no children. Boyden remarried to Dorothy A. Townsend in 1933 and they had one son.[11][1][2]

During the fall of 1924, Boyden was ordered to Port-au-Prince, Haiti on a special temporary assignment to photograph the valley of Artibonite River. Hie aerial map proved invaluable to the Haitian government in developing the valley for agricultural purposes. Photographing approximately 300 square miles of terrain from 10,000 feet, Boyden's work was highly praised. by the Adjutant and Inspector of the Marine Corps, Rufus H. Lane as well as by Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps, John A. Lejeune.[12][13][1][2]

Boyden then remained in Haiti as a member of Observation Squadron 2 and received a Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy, Curtis D. Wilbur for reaching year's highest score with the free machine gun during individual battle practice. He then resumed his photographic duties and participated in the photographing of Gulf of Fonseca. For his service in Haiti, Boyden later received National Order of Honour and Merit by the Haitian Government.[1][2]

In December 1926, Boyden returned to the United States and was assigned to the Naval Air Station North Island, California. He was subsequently tasked with the command of Marine air mapping expedition, send to make an aerial survey and mosaic map of the Olympic forestry region of the Pacific northwest.[14][1][2][15]

During March 1927, Boyden was attached to Observation Squadron 1 under Major Ross E. Rowell and departed for Nicaragua, where they were joined the 2nd Brigade of Marines under Brigadier general Logan Feland. Their task was to support ground forces of the brigade in combats against rebels called Sandinistas by their leader Augusto César Sandino. Boyden and his squadron also conducted air patrols over the jungles of Nicaragua in order to search for concentration of enemy forces.[16][1][2][3]

On July 16, 1927, Boyden was in command of an air patrol of two planes when he discovered the small Marine detachment at Ocotal to be besieged by a vastly superior force. The 37-man Marine Garrison on the ground was surrounded by several hundred sandinistas for whole night, cutting their telegraph line and using sniper fire to suppress their advance. At around 10:00 am, Boyden landed his plane near the town, grabbed a passing peasant and, after aquick interrogation, headed south to Managua to report the situation to Major Rowell.[4][1][2][17][3]

Major Rowell then flew a five plane detachment of DHs to help relieve the garrison. The dive-bombing runs from low altitude made by Rowell, Boyden and their men marked one of the first coordinated dive-bombing attacks in aviation history. The guerillas fled, many abandoning their arms and leaving 56 dead with only one U.S. Marine killed in action and five wounded. For his service during the battle, Boyden was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross and also Cross of Valor from the Government of Nicaragua.[4][1][2]

Boyden (center) with 1st Lt. Caleb T. Bailey (left) and Shirley Temple on the Set of The Little Colonel, 1935.

Boyden had gained a reputation as an aerial photography expert and his services were required again in September 1927, when he was ordered to Naval Air Station Key West, Florida. He was tasked with photographing the whole north and south coasts of Cuba. His excellent work was later praised by then-Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Rear Admiral Richard H. Leigh from whom he received a Letter of Appreciation.[1][2]

Upon finishing his task in Cuba, Boyden and his unit were sent to Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, where he conducted an aerial survey of the Gulf of Panama. He photographed 10,000 square miles of territory, before returning to the United States to complete his photographic work for the Cuban Expedition. Boyden again astonished Commandant Lejeune and Chief of Navigation Bureau Leigh and received another Letter of Commendation from them both.[1][2]

In October 1928, Boyden was transferred to Marine Observation Squadron 6 at Marine Corps Air Station, Quantico, Virginia and served as the squadron's acting commanding officer during October that year. He remained at Quantico until November 1929, when he was transferred to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, for duty as an instructor at the Naval Aviators' School.[1][2][18]

In May 1930, Boyden was on a flight above Pensacola Bay with a student pilot, when the plane suddenly went into a spin and dove 3,000 feet into the bay. The student was uninjured but Boyden suffered a brain concussion and fractured skull. He spent five months in the hospital, before he was declared fit for duty again and ordered to the Headquarters Marine Corps. Boyden was then tasked with the photographing Marine Barracks Parris Island, South Carolina, and making a large mosaic map of the base, that could be used in the planned development of the facility. He later received another Letter of Commendation from Major General Smedley Butler, commanding general of Parris Island, for his work.[19][2]

Boyden then resumed duty as Squadron's Photographic Officer of the Aircraft Squadrons, East Coast Expeditionary Force under Major Roy S. Geiger and remained in that capacity until June 1932, when he embarked for Nicaragua again as a member of the Aircraft Squadrons, 2nd Marine Brigade. The main task of the Marine forces in that country was to supervise the Nicaraguan elections of 1932, peacekeeping operations and training of the members of Nicaraguan National Guard.[1][2]

Boyden as Major in September 1938.

In August 1932, Boyden participated in the search for Marine patrol of three men, which lost in the jungle. Upon locating them, he flew food and supplies out to them and in addition, he dropped emergency supplies to a rescue patrol of the Nicaraguan National Guard and then guided them to the lost Marines. For his second tour in Nicaragua, Boyden received a Presidential Medal of Merit with Diploma from the Government of Nicaragua and also shared the Letter of commendation won by the squadrons for their cooperation during the elections.[1][2]

Boyden returned to the United States in September that year and was stationed again at Quantico until June 1933, when he embarked for Port-au-Prince, Haiti as a member of the Observation Squadron 9. He remained in Haiti until July 1934, when he returned to the United States for brief period before he was ordered back to Nicaragua for his third tour. The Marines were withdrawing from the country following the mutual agreement between two countries and Boyden was tasked with the preparation of the evacuation flight of all Observation Squadron 9 planes still remaining in Nicaragua.[20]

The flight consisted of nine observation land planes, one observation amphibian plane and one transport amphibian plane. He completed the task successfully and received another Letter of commendation for the excellent performance of a difficult mission. Boyden was promoted to Captain on November 30, 1934, after ten years as first lieutenant.[1][2]

He then joined Aircraft One at Marine Corps Air Station Quantico, Virginia, and remained in that capacity until October 1935, when he flew two Department of Agriculture engineers on an inspection trip over the interior of Puerto Rico and later went to that island to be Officer-in-Charge of the construction of a landing field at Culebra. Boyden later served at the Marine Corps Air Station at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, before returned to the States in August 1936.[21][1][2]

Boyden was subsequently ordered to the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Air Force Base, in Montgomery, Alabama, for a course in instruction. He was in the same class as future generals William O. Brice and Vernon E. Megee and they graduated in July 1937. Boyden then joined Aircraft Two in San Diego, California, and remained there until July 1938, when he was promoted to Major and succeeded Major Frank D. Weir as commanding officer of Marine Bombing Squadron 2.[22][23][1][2][24]

He led his squadron during the series of exercises aboard aircraft carrier Ranger and participated in the winter fleet operations in the Caribbean based at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Boyden remained in that command until the end of January 1940, when he was ordered to Washington, D.C. for new assignment.[1][2]