Staff Sgt. Rogelio Gomez, airframes maintenance chief with Marine Attack Squadron 211, observes one of eight AV-8B Harrier jets taxi after landing on Wake Island Jan. 8, 2009. The return of VMA-211 to the remote Pacific atoll marks the first time since May 1993 the squadron, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers," has returned to its symbolic birthplace where a handful of the unit's Marines helped defend the island from an overwhelming Japanese invasion force from December 8-23 in 1941 before it was captured. The squadron departed Jan. 10 and flew to Iwakuni, Japan, where it attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for a seven- to nine-month deployment. VMA-211 is based in Yuma, Ariz. (Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bill Lisbon) - Staff Sgt. Rogelio Gomez, airframes maintenance chief with Marine Attack Squadron 211, observes one of eight AV-8B Harrier jets taxi after landing on Wake Island Jan. 8, 2009. The return of VMA-211 to the remote Pacific atoll marks the first time since May 1993 the squadron, nicknamed the "Wake Island Avengers," has returned to its symbolic birthplace where a handful of the unit's Marines helped defend the island from an overwhelming Japanese invasion force from December 8-23 in 1941 before it was captured. The squadron departed Jan. 10 and flew to Iwakuni, Japan, where it attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for a seven- to nine-month deployment. VMA-211 is based in Yuma, Ariz. (Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Bill Lisbon)