USMC AVIATORS, MARINE CORPS AIRMEN IN THE PACIFIC 1941-1945 GRÉGORY PONS

When Japan attacked the United States on December 7, 1941, Americans realized they would be fighting on the largest battlefield in history: the Pacific Ocean. The evolution of this conflict, which started with carrier strikes, made aviation and aircraft carriers the dominant elements of the two majors combatants. Among those deployed by the Americans were elite aviators attached to the Marine Corps from ground-based or embarked units. Fighting in a hostile environment thousands of miles away from home, these men performed courageous exploits daily. Using original source material from the photographic albums and the archives of some of them, here is their history.