Return from UNITAS
Captain Charles G. Grow, USMC
Acquisition Number: 2012.1177.32
Medium: Oil on Canvas

The 2d Assault Amphibian Battalion participates in a multi-national sea exercise called Operation UNITAS, returning in this scene to Onslow Beach at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on 8 December 1988. The annual training, initiated in 1959, involves countries from North America, Central America, and South America. These tracked amphibious landing vehicles—AAVP-7A1s—are launched from ships, taking Marines and their equipment to shore in support of combat operations around the world. These vehicles were first fielded in 1972 and are still in the fleet.