When 1945 met 1995
Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)
Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)

Today’s 75th anniversary of D-Day had me harkening back to this event in 1995 when I was honored to have been part of an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and its air wing were tasked with taking part in the ceremonies at Pearl Harbor. As part of that, we transported a number of old warbirds, some of which had seen service during WWII.

Best of all, when we arrived on station off the coast of Hawaii, the vintage planes took off from the deck of the carrier! To my knowledge, this was the only such event that has done this – it was extraordinary!

The pics are scans from old negatives and need some work but I wanted to post them today given the significance of the date.

Our nation is truly blessed and it is humbling to consider what the Greatest Generation accomplished.

Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)
Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)
Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)
Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)
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Dawn on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson as it prepares to launch World War II era warbirds in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. (© Tony’s Takes)
An F4U Corsair stands ready to launch from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
An F4U Corsair stands ready to launch from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
An F4U Corsair launches from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
An F4U Corsair launches from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
A B-25 Mitchell launches from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
A B-25 Mitchell launches from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
A B-25 Mitchell launches from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)
A B-25 Mitchell launches from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. (© Tony’s Takes)

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