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Major John M. Elliott, USMC (Ret.) spent 24 years serving in the Marine Corps—from a private in 1941 to a major and aviation ordnance officer in 1966. He joined the Smithsonian in 1966 as the Chief, Collections Branch, National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board and became their contract administrator in 1975. After 18 years with the Smithsonian, he accepted the position of Assistant Naval Aviation Historian on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, where he worked for another five years on both Marine Corps and Navy aviation history. He is considered the world’s leading expert on U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft and paint schemes and has one of the largest private collections of early Marine Corps aircraft photos. Major Elliott has published numerous articles, written several segments of aviation history publications, and received the Admiral Arthur Radford Award for the Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Volumes I-IV, 1911-1993. Now retired, he serves as a docent at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.