American Graves Show U.S. Commitment To Pacific by Jim Garamone, DOD News
September 10, 2020
The Pacific is full of American graves.
Defense Secretary
Dr. Mark T. Esper and Palauan President Tommy Remengesau placed
wreaths in the water above the sunken wreckage of a Navy TBM Avenger
that crashed in the waters off the city of Koror, Palau, in 1944.
All three of the bomber's crew members died.
Esper and
Remengesau honored their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of thousands
of Americans throughout the Pacific.
August 28, 2020 - Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Palauan President Tommy Remengesau
along with several others observe a moment of silence after placing wreaths in the water above the wreckage of a Navy TMB Avenger that crashed in Palau during World War II. (U.S.
Department of Defense photo by Jim Garamone)
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The TBM was lost in July 1944 as the United States was gearing up
for the invasion of the neighboring island of Peleliu. Thousands of
American Marines and soldiers lost their lives in that fight. The
TBM crashed into the bay. It was flown by Navy Lt. Noland R. Houle,
Petty Officer 3rd Class Walter E. Mintus and Chief Petty Officer
Otis E. Ingram. The remains of Mintus and Ingram were recovered.
Houle remains missing.
The area where the plane crashed is a
jewel called the Rock Islands. It now draws divers from around the
world to take in the stunning scenery and fabulous underwater world
of Palau. The plane remains as an underwater memorial to them.
''The chance to have that moment with you, Mr. President, to
honor them means a great deal to the United States,'' Esper said
during a press conference with Remengesau. ''We are bound together
by their sacrifice and many others who carry on this legacy today.
And together, we remain committed to upholding the international
rules and norms and promoting the free and open order that ensures
security, stability, prosperity and sovereignty for nations of all
sizes and all situations.''
The Palau TBM is just one grave
of thousands. In Palau alone about 350 U.S. personnel from World War
II remain unaccounted for, according to Navy officials.
Esper and the country remembered them on September 2, 2020 when the
nation commemorated the end of World War II aboard the USS Missouri,
docked in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Just ahead of the Missouri ... where the Japanese signed the
unconditional surrender documents in 1945 ... is the wreckage of the
USS Arizona. It, too, is a grave for about a thousand sailors and
Marines killed in Japan's surprise attack on Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans were killed in the Pacific
during the war. Most were returned home. Others rest in the
beautiful American Battle Monuments cemetery in Manila and in the
Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii. But many died at sea, in the air, or
on land and their bodies were not recovered.
The Battle of
the Sunda Strait saw the loss of the cruisers USS Houston and HMAS
Perth in February 1942 and more unmarked graves.
U.S. service
members called the water around Guadalcanal ''Ironbottom Sound''
because so many ships were lost in the bloody 1942-43 battle for the
island.
There are graves within the USS Yorktown, sunk during
the Battle of Midway, which the U.S. won. There are more in the USS
Lexington, which was lost during the Battle of the Coral Sea. There
are more graves around the U.S. destroyers that served as picket
ships in the Battle of Okinawa. Japanese kamikazes did most of that
damage.
There are American graves in Bataan, the Philippines,
New Guinea and on the various islands of the Philippines.
June 21, 2020 - The U.S. Navy’s Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group participates in trilateral exercises with Japanese and Australian units in the Philippine Sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Codie L. Soule)
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All of these American graves are evidence of the United States'
commitment to the Indo-Pacific. There are strong ties created by
values, friendship, trade and blood that bind the U.S. to the
nations of the region.
''Palau, as you all know, is a close
brother, friend and ally of the United States and is representative
of the many, many friends of the United States here in the
Pacific,'' Remengetau said during the press conference.
Now
the area ... like the rest of the Indo-Pacific ... is battling COVID-19
and increasing Chinese pressure to change the international
rules-based environment that has created an open and free Pacific.
''We continue to work alongside our allies and partners to
protect the international system that is under threat from China,
and its ongoing destabilizing activities in the region,'' Esper
said.
The secretary met with Palauan officials and with
Marines that are at the island nation aboard the USNS City of
Bismarck. He also met with a Seabee civic action team.
Note: Minor editing without impacting any facts.
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