Col. Scott Blankenship, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific G-6, presents the flag from the casket of retired Col. Julius Wirth "Buck" Ireland to his widow, Virginia, during Col. Ireland's funeral at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii, Aug. 9. The late Col. Ireland, a Marine F4U Corsair ace pilot credited with shooting down six enemy planes during aerial combat in World War II, earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses, 10 Air Medals, and a Letter of Commendation with Combat "V" during the war. He flew combat missions in 1944 with Marine Fighter Squadron 211 in the Rabaul, Solomons, and Bismarck Archipelago Islands areas, and with VMF-233 in the Ryukyus. After flying jets in the Korean War with VMF-324, he commanded the Marine Helicopter Task Unit in Vietnam in 1962, operating under combat conditions in Soc Trang and Da Nang. Ireland retired in February 1967 after 28 years of military service.