Kids and adults gleefully welcomed Santa’s sleighs disguised as US Airforce’s C130s delivering early Christmas gifts at Meyuns Airport ramp on Sunday, December 4th. This marks the return of Operation Christmas Drop since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The boxes filled with goodies parachuted out of the US Airforce and Japan Air Self-Defense Forces C130 aircraft into the water and collected by Koror State Rangers for later distribution.
The boxes are said to contain school supplies, clothing, books, and toys for children in Palau. Other boxes were being dropped into remote islands across Micronesia, bringing Christmas cheer to many.
An estimated 200 boxes filled with goods such as food, supplies, educational materials and toys will be dropped to 57 island communities across the region.
Operation Christmas Drop is the longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world and the longest-running U.S. Department of Defense mission.
This year’s Operation Christmas Drop includes five countries’ airforces, PACAF’s 374th Airlift Wing from Yokota Air Base in Japan, the 36th Wing from Andersen AFB in Guam, the 15th Wing from Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Airmen from Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Republic of Korea Airforce and Indian Air Force.