09/02/2026
81 years ago today, September 2, 1945, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, officially bringing World War II to an end.
But the end of a war is more than a date in history.
It represents the millions of men and women who served, the families who waited at home, and the countless sacrifices made across the battlefields and skies of the Pacific.
For the United States Marine Corps, aviation played a vital role throughout the Pacific campaign. From the Solomon Islands and Tinian to Okinawa and Iwo Jima, Marine aviators flew into some of the most demanding conditions of the war.
These aren't simply photographs. They are pieces of someone's story.
Today, we remember the men and women who served during World War II, and especially the Marine aviators whose courage, skill, and sacrifice helped shape the course of the war in the Pacific.
81 years later, we remember.
We honor. We preserve.
🇺🇸 Lest we forget.
Photos include: Colonel Walter W. Wensinger, Commanding Officer of the 23rd Marines, dictating a report on Tinian Island,1944. VMF-323 "Death Rattlers" Major Dorroh Waving on the Wing of Vought Corsair at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, April 1945. VMF-323 Ace Capt. Joseph V. Dillard (2nd from right) standing next to Major General Francis P. Mulcahy (middle) and other squadron members. Solomon Islands, 1940s. Courtesy of Thomas Dillard, Capt. Joseph V. Dillard Collection. Iwo Jima from the top of Mt Subarachi, 1940s. Two Douglass SBD Dauntlesses midflight in the Pacific. This picture was taken from the window of a Douglass R4D-1 flying with South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (S**T). Courtesy of Roz Hodgins, Col. William K. Snyder Collection.
