The squadron's first combat tour ended on July 23, 1943, after which it returned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on August 16, 1943.

For the next year after their return to the States, the squadron was reorganized and retrained at Marine Corps Air Station El Centro, California.

The squadrons ability to provide napalm and rockets, both new weapons systems, greatly aided in the destruction of the last Japanese strongholds on the island.

Following the surrender of Japan, VMF-122 returned home to Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station Oak Grove, North Carolina in January 1946.

During its six-month cruise on board the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), the squadron's twenty jets flew more than 2700 hours, during 1800 missions, completing more than 1750 carrier landing with no loss of aircraft.

In February 1968, while supporting Marines during the Siege of Khe Sanh the squadron flew 629 sorties and dropped 1300 tons of ordnance.

They were then ordered to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan as a Joint Chiefs of Staff directive to counter a North Vietnamese offensive against South Vietnam.

With the decision not to accept the Tomcat into the Marine Corps inventory, VMFA-122 was reactivated at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina and refitted with the F-4J in September 1975.

This allowed Hornet squadrons from Beaufort to deploy to Kuwait in anticipation of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in January 2003.

The Crusaders were dispatched from MCAS Iwakuni to many locations in the Pacific Rim, including Marine Corps Air Facility Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii and Clark AB in the Philippines.

In September 2006 the "Crusaders" again returned to MCAS Iwakuni with detachments to Clark AB in the Philippines, Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa, and Khorat, Thailand.

[7] The squadron began its first combat deployment in more than 30 years when it left MCAS Beaufort on 29 August 2010, for Kandahar Airfield, KAF.