Pacific Battlefield Visits
In 1985, with a brother and my parents, I did a 4-week trip through Manila, Palau, Yap, Truk, Guam, Saipan, Ponape and Hawaii. Our focus was WWII relics and we found plenty.

On Peleliu and Param Island (Truk) there are aircraft dumps, and the latter is at the end of a strip where the aircraft were simply bulldozed into the sea. The locals charged us for the privilege of looking at the jumble of bits! We we were able to snorkel over a Zero on its back in about 20' of water near a strip on another island, Eten.

Allan has contributed these excellent detailed travel logs of his visits to a number of Pacific locations. In 1987 he made a trip to Corregidor as well as Palau, including Peleliu and Angaur. Angaur has some relatively "good" wrecks of a Liberator, Dakota and Corsair. We also snorkeled over a Zero in very shallow water on the reef.

Recently, in October 2000 I visited WWII sites in Cairns and the Tabeland areas. There are remains of the WWII airfield and some wrecks.

Cairns and the Atherton Tableland

Angaur

Corregidor

Marianas
In 1989 we went back to Saipan, and also had a good look at Tinian. On Tinian the big B-29 strips are still there, as well as a few of the Japanese buildings and the Atomic Bomb pits.

In 1993 we went to Saipan and Palau again, and in 1994, Manila, Corregidor, and Palau for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the landings on Peleliu on 15 September. I even met one of the Medal of Honor winners.

Guadalcanal
In 1996 we spent a week on Guadalcanal; and in 1998 and '99 we went across to Palau and Corregidor again. We really enjoy Palau because there is still so much left over from the war, and especially on Peleliu, it seems to be relatively untouched. On each trip we discover something new. As a result of all these trips the family and I have an extensive collection of photographs, video film and souvenirs of relics of the war in the Pacific. Dad is the aircraft expert, while my focus is vehicles.

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