Truk lagoon – Diver Trek

The Hell Ships of Truk Lagoon.

February 21, 2015
Pacific Diving

Death on the Hellships by Gregory F.Michno — Gregory Michno’s book was the first to concentrate on this aspect of the POW experience.

February 20, 2015.
I have a strong interest in history, and I’m always reading to gain insights and context into the places that I have been or want to visit in the future. While reading Jerome T. Hagen’s excellent award winning series “War in the Pacific”, I was most struck by Chapter 9 (Vol.1), the “Hell Ships”. I have reproduced this Chapter below for your reading, with the author’s permission, in order to help promote awareness within the scuba diving community.
The Hell Ships are probably one of the least known atrocities that occurred in WWII by the Imperial Japanese. They earned their namesake from the survivors that describe the conditions on them to be the worst experience of their captivity, even when compared to the Bataan Death March (Michno, p.306).
Having dived several Japanese transports (“Maru”) at Truk Lagoon -the “Wreck Diving Capitol of the World”- I was interested to see if any of these may have been listed as belonging to the more than 150 known Hell Ships. There are at least two. (more…)

Truk Lagoon-last thoughts and a Major Motion Picture (March 24, 2014).

March 23, 2014
Uncategorized

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, best-seller list — Cover photo of Unbroken, 142 weeks on the NY Times best-seller list.

Truk has been the halfway point for some very distinguished POW’s enroute to imprisonment in Japan during WWII. The better known was Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, the top scoring USMC ace and Medal of Honor recipient of the famed “Black Sheep Squadron”. He actually witnessed the Hailstone raids (and had to take cover) while held captive there. Another person is soon to be added to that better-known list.

On the long flight to Truk, I read a top-seller book called ” Unbroken” , which is soon to become a major motion picture (release Dec. 2014), directed by Angelina Jolie and written by the Coen brothers. This book will grip you. (more…)

Diving Truk Lagoon- the last dives, Submarine I-169, Betty Bomber and Kensho Maru.

February 19, 2014
Airplanes / Pacific Diving / Shipwrecks / Submarines

Aug 3, 2013

Submarine I-169 at Truk Lagoon — The submarine I-169. Its heavily damaged in places due to depth charging. Here you can see the inner pressure hull exposed.

I’ve always been interested in submarines, beginning when I found out that my great-grandfather served in the Royal Navy on the ill-fated submarine HMS E24 in WWI. So when I asked about the I-169 Capt. Nelson said “We’re here to make your dreams come true”. (more…)