Naval Academy Honors Marine Aviators With Harrier Display

The U.S. Naval Academy and the Marine Corps formally dedicated a decommissioned AV-8B Harrier II static display at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, Nov. 8.  

The display honors more than a century of Naval Academy graduates who led as Marine Corps aviators in peacetime and conflict across the globe. 

Senior Marine Corps leaders joined Naval Academy leadership and distinguished aviation veterans who gathered at the stadium to mark the permanent installation of the iconic attack aircraft. 

“As the senior Harrier pilot on active duty, I have had the profound privilege of flying, fighting and serving within the [Harrier] community for over three and a half decades. I’ve watched the community evolve, fight and win my entire adult life,” said Lt. Gen. Bradford Gering, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. “Today’s dedication is a tribute to the enterprise that developed it, the pilots who tamed it, the maintainers who kept it flying, the ordnance crews who armed it, and the leaders who sent it into the fight.” 

The ceremony featured a precision flyover of F-35B Lightning IIs, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 231 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Lightning II took over the Harrier mission as the Marine Corps retired the last AV-8B in fiscal year 2026. 

Later in the day, two UH-1Y Venom helicopters, two MV-22B Ospreys and two CH-53E Super Stallions conducted flyovers during the Navy-Temple football game.  

These flyovers were orchestrated to showcase the strike capabilities and operational reach of Marine Corps airpower and the professionalism of Marine Corps aviators. 

The dedication carries historical significance given Annapolis’ foundational role in naval flight. Across the Severn River from the Naval Academy, at Greenbury Point, Marine aviation began in 1912 when 1st Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham reported for orders, becoming the first Marine to earn his pilot’s wings. 

Installing the AV-8B display roughly four miles from Cunningham’s historic flights anchors the memorial directly to the birthplace of Marine flight operations. 

“From nose to tail, this Harrier tells the story of all Marine Corps aviation, born right here in Annapolis in 1912,” said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, Naval Academy superintendent. Today, 114 years of lethal heritage comes full circle, right where it all began.” 

The Marine Corps aviation dedication event honored the unbroken lineage of innovation, grit and sacrifice from Cunningham’s early maneuvers to Naval Academy graduates serving as Marine aviators worldwide today.