Editing Joe Foss (section)

===Return to combat===
[[File:USMC-C-Aces-29.jpg|thumb|L–R (foreground) Maj. Joe Foss, Maj. Marion Carl and advisor Charles Lindbergh in South Pacific, May 1944]]
In February 1944, Foss returned to the Pacific theater to lead [[VMFA-115|VMF-115]], flying the [[Vought F4U Corsair|F4U Corsair]]. VMF-115 was based in the combat zone around [[Emirau Airport|Emirau]], St. Mathias Group in 1944. It was during this second tour that Foss met and became friends with fellow Marine fighter ace [[Marion Carl]]. He also had an opportunity to meet and fly with his boyhood idol, [[Charles Lindbergh]], who was on assignment touring the South Pacific as an aviation consultant. After eight months of operational flying but no opportunities to increase his wartime score, Foss finished his combat service as one of America's top scoring pilots.<ref>[http://www.joefoss.com/blog/19-freedom/117-joes-jokers "The Story of Joe's Jokers."] ''The Joe Foss Institute.'' Retrieved: August 4, 2011.</ref>

Foss again contracted malaria, and was sent home to the [[Klamath Falls, Oregon]] Rehabilitation Center. {{#tag:ref|Foss had lost considerable weight during 20 bouts of malaria until successful treatment in the United States brought him back to health. He only weighed 140 lbs when he entered rehabilitation.<ref name="Bauer p. 82"/>|group=Note}}In February 1945, he became operations and training officer at the [[Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara]], California.<ref>[http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Whos_Who/Foss_JJ.htm "Brigadier General Joseph Jacob Foss, ANG (Deceased)."]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''usmc.mil.'' Retrieved: August 3, 2011.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Foss gained fame in the service and later, in civilian life, as a "cigar-smoking", Stetson hatted, larger-than-life boisterous character.<ref name="Legend">{{cite web |title=Joseph Jacob Foss |url=http://www.historicalmilitaria.com/Obituaries/Foss.html |website=Historical Militaria |access-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030304112609/http://www.historicalmilitaria.com/Obituaries/Foss.html |archive-date=March 4, 2003 |language=en |date=1 January 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref>|group=Note}}