U.S. Air Force photo by Yasuo Osakabe ()
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM -- Members of the U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and Republic of Korea Air Force pose for a group photo during Operation Christmas Drop 2022 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 3, 2022. Operation Christmas Drop is the Department of Defense’s longest-running humanitarian airlift operation. The tradition began during the Christmas season in 1952 when a B-29 Superfortress aircrew saw islanders waving at them from the island of Kapingamarangi, 3,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. In the spirit of Christmas the aircrew dropped a bundle of supplies attached to a parachute to the islanders below, giving the operation its name. Today, air drop operations include more than 50 islands throughout the Pacific.
