Distinguished Visitors Experience OCD 24
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John Schutte, left, Fifth Air Force deputy commander from Yokota Air Base, Japan, and Lt. Col. Matt Buchholtz, 36th Airlift Squadron commander from the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan, walk down a hallway at the Deployment Operations Center during Operation Christmas Drop 2024 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 8, 2024. 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, airdrop operations include 58 islands throughout the Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jarrett Smith)