Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 Makes Final Flight from Greensboro, Delivering Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes to Hurricane-Ravaged Jamaica
BOONE, N.C., Dec. 4, 2025 —This Friday, December 5th, the last U.S.-registered DC-8 will embark on its final mission—carrying 9,200 shoebox gifts to Jamaica. These Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are packed with toys, school supplies, and personal care items and will be distributed to children devastated by Hurricane Melissa. They will remind them that God loves them, and they are not forgotten.
Over the past 10 years, the DC-8 cargo plane served as the N.C.-based organization's primary heavy-lift aircraft, carrying more than 9.2 million pounds of life-saving cargo on 218 missions worldwide. Friday's 219th mission will be its final flight before it is given to Liberty University where it will remain on display in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty University has one of the largest faith-based collegiate aviation programs in North America, and the historic DC-8 will continue to remind students how God can use aviation as a tool for the Gospel.
“For a decade, the DC-8 has helped us reach more people around the world for the Gospel—getting the right supplies and people to places devastated by disasters and crises. As the DC-8 prepares to complete its final mission, we praise God for how He has used this plane to change lives,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. “Aviation plays a critical role in our work, and we replaced this 1968 DC-8, which has reached the end of its service life, with a 767, allowing us to transport even more supplies to people in need in Jesus' Name.”
Shoebox gifts on-board the DC-8 were packed by Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University students, faculty and staff—some of whom will have the opportunity to fly on the DC-8 to personally deliver shoebox gifts to boys and girls in Jamaica.
"We are deeply grateful to Franklin Graham, the Graham family, and Samaritan's Purse for their friendship in the faith and their partnership in the Gospel," said Liberty University Chancellor Jonathan Falwell. "For generations, they have shared the love of Jesus and served people in crisis around the world. This DC-8 is not only a remarkable gift — the first of its kind to Liberty — but a powerful symbol of our shared commitment to reach the world with the life-changing message of the Gospel while meeting urgent humanitarian needs. As Liberty trains the next generation of Champions for Christ, this aircraft will remind us of God's faithfulness and inspire our students to carry the Gospel to the nations."
When: Friday, December 5th 9am takeoff
*Media Interviews available at 7:30am prior to the DC-8's takeoff
Where: The Samaritan's Purse Airlift Response Center
1 Samaritan Lane, Greensboro, N.C.
The Samaritan's Purse 767 expands the ministry's capacity to respond rapidly when a disaster strikes. Its increased cargo capacity can carry the largest Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital in a single flight. To date, the 767 has flown six missions, airlifting lifesaving food and supplies for families suffering in Gaza and delivering our Emergency Field Hospital, water filtration units and other emergency supplies to Jamaica.
Based in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan's Purse responds to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations—especially in locations where few others are working. Led by President and CEO Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse works in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, poverty, famine, and persecution. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.org.
