Capt. Dereck Monnier, 36th Airlift Squadron pilot and aircraft commander, looks at a fellow crew member during a flight over Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. Monnier wore a Santa hat because the flight was part of Operation Christmas Drop, a 61-year-old humanitarian airlift mission carrying donated supplies to remote islands in Micronesia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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Signatures and holiday greetings cover the surface of a bundle of humanitarian supplies and gifts on a C-130 Hercules destined for an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. The supplies were donated from around the Pacific Region as part of Operation Christmas Drop to help remote islanders who do not have access to modern industry and supply chains. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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The crew of a C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, look for markings of a drop zone on an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. The crew carried a bundle of donated supplies from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of Operation Christmas Drop. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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The crew of a C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, look for markings of a drop zone on an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. The crew carried a bundle of donated supplies from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of Operation Christmas Drop. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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Crew members on a C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, push a donated bundle of humanitarian supplies and gifts out the side door of the aircraft over an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. Each year, the C-130s fly to Guam to carry bundles to islands in need during Operation Christmas Drop. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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A bundle carrying humanitarian supplies and gifts drifts to the ground off the shore an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. C-130 Hercules crews from Yokota Air Base, Japan, flew missions out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, airlifting the donated bundles to islands in need as part of Operation Christmas Drop. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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A C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, makes a low pass off the shore an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. The flight was part of Operation Christmas Drop, the world's longest-running humanitarian airlift mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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Children jump and wave at a passing aircraft on an island in Micronesia, Dec. 18, 2012. The C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, had just dropped a bundle of donated humanitarian supplies and gifts during Operation Christmas Drop. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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Pilots from the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, walk away from their C-130 Hercules parked at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 18, 2012. The crew successfully completed the last airlift mission for Operation Christmas Drop, a 61-year-old humanitarian mission carrying donated supplies to the islands of Micronesia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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Operation Christmas Drop comes to a close

Published Dec. 18, 2012