The Snapshots in Time Collection

Scrapbook Page with Palm Frond Relic from Strafing Attack and Marine Aviator Snapshot (McAleer/VMF-914 Collection)

Scrapbook Page with Palm Frond Relic from Strafing Attack and Marine Aviator Snapshot (McAleer/VMF-914 Collection)

A page from a Marine aviator's wartime scrapbook preserves a literal fragment of a palm tree recovered from an aircraft's oil cooler after a low-level strafing run over a Japanese-held Pacific island, an incidental combat souvenir kept alongside a snapshot of the squadron's pilots. Such personal mementos illustrate the close, often dangerous, nature of carrier and land-based strafing missions during World War II. Project: 218193