The Snapshots in Time Collection

Military Air Transport Service Aircraft on the Ramp, Wake Island

Military Air Transport Service Aircraft on the Ramp, Wake Island

A Military Air Transport Service (MATS) aircraft rests on the ramp at Wake Island, a vital refueling stop on the trans-Pacific air route during the Cold War. Photographs like this one, preserved in a personal travel album, document the everyday logistics that kept American military airlift connected across the vast Pacific. Project: 218522