Original Items: Only One Lot of 3 Available. This is a lovely trio of US Marine Corps mess night menus. While they appear to just be menus for a Staff NCO club, Ewa Field was just 7 short miles away and watched as Pearl Harbor was bombed until the Marines themselves had to fight for their lives at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa. The menus are dated November 10, 1941 (Marine Corps Birthday) and November 20, 1941, a few short weeks before that fateful day which will Live in Infamy.

Marine Corps Air Station Ewa (MCAS Ewa) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located 7 miles (11 km) west of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The base was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later served as the hub for all Marine aviation units heading into combat in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The base also served as a staging point for the Battle of Midway, The base was closed in 1952 because its runways were too short for jet aircraft, and expansion was impossible due to the proximity of Naval Air Station Barbers Point. Ewa has been abandoned since 1952; however, two of its runways are still visible from the air and many of the revetments still remain in good condition.

Mess night is one of the Corps’ most celebrated traditions, surpassed only by the Marine Corps’ birthday. The mess night is fashioned to fit a formal gathering, with a military flavor present. Mess night is a ceremonial occasion where Marines, wearing their dress blue uniforms with ornate medals, gather to share the Corps’ customs and courtesies as well as build camaraderie and solidarity.

The menus themselves are in great condition with all text and imagery still easily discernible. There is a little rolling to the menus but this should be easily corrected just by placing them under a stack of books.

A lovely assortment ready for further research and display.