Yap Upward Bound visit WWII Historical Sites

(Colonia, Yap State)- Yap Upward Bound (UB) students took a tour of World War II Historical Sites as part of their Friday extra-curricular activities this Summer.  These sites showcase actual remnants of WWII fighter planes scattered over the southern and middle part of the main island of Yap. 

UB students and staff visited five sites which have been developed by the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB), a governmental organization charged with the development of the tourism sector in Yap.  At each wreck site (which was also the original crash site in most cases) YVB has prepared a marble memorial marker and all-weather displays which include a photo of the pilots and/or flight crew, and background information on the fighter planes as well as the missions during which they were shot down.

Guiding the tour was Tom Tamangmow, Product Development Officer for YVB.  He provided background information on events leading up to the involvement of Yap and its citizens in the conflict between Japan and the US during WWII, highlighted key information regarding each site and answered questions during the trip. 

As explained by Tom, the memorial sites are the fruits of a partnership between the Missing Air Crew Project, spearheaded by Patrick Ranfranz, and the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB).  This project is part of Ranfranz’s larger search effort for the Coleman Crew, of which his uncle T/Sgt John R. McCullough was a member and whose plane went missing over Yap during the war.  The two organizations have been working together over the past several years to document the history of Yap during World War II and create memorials to remember the lives lost during the war. 

Many thanks are extended to Tom Tamangmow and YVB for making this educational and moving experience possible for the Upward Bound students. For more information on the memorial sites and information related to the history of WWII in this part of the Pacific please visit www.missingaircrew.com.