This candid 1945 snapshot from a Marine Fighter Squadron 214 photo album captures the informal side of life at a Pacific forward airbase. VMF-214, famously nicknamed the 'Black Sheep Squadron' under Maj. Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington, flew the Vought F4U Corsair against Japanese forces throughout the Solomon Islands and beyond. Between combat missions, Marines relied on improvised shelters made from canvas and parachute cloth to escape the relentless tropical sun - a small but telling detail of daily survival far from home. Project: 218396