Father Robert Kelly
with US M4 Tank on Peleliu
Island
Battery Ramsay on Corregidor Island
Battery Smith on Corregidor Island
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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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