FRIDAY FOTO (September 4, 2020)

Battle tested.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr.)

Two World War II era warbrids fly in formation over the Hawaiian island of Oahu on September 1, 2020, for the 75th Commemoration of the End of WWII.

In the foreground is a restored Grumman TBM Avenger, a torpedo/bomber flown off U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Future President George H.W. Bush piloted an Avenger in the Pacific. During a bombing run on the Bonin Islands in September 1944, his plane was hit by antiaircraft fire. The engine caught fire but Bush completed his bomb run before heading out to sea and bailing out. Two other crew members did not survive. Bush was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

In the background of the photo is a North American B-25J Mitchell medium bomber, a much upgraded version of the 16 B-25B bombers that flew from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet for an April 1942 air raid on Japan. The attack was in retaliation for the December 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. While the raid — led by the legendary pilot James “Jimmy” Doolittle — did minimal damage to Tokyo and other Japanese targets, it had major psychological effects. It raised morale in the United States and also raised doubts in Japan about military leaders’ ability to defend the home islands. For originating, planning and leading the daredevil mission, Doolittle was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for bravery.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Rodriguez Santiago/Released)

Fourteen World War II-era warplanes were transported from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in early August on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex. They were transferred by cranes from the ship to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, two weeks before they were to take to the sky for a series of flyovers to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the war’s end, according to Stars and Stripes.

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jaimar Carson Bondurant)