7.3 magnitude earthquake causes widespread damage on island nation of Vanuatu

ktla ^ | 12/17/2024

[BenLurkin]

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck just off the coast of Vanuatu on Tuesday, causing widespread destruction in the South Pacific island nation as the injured began arriving at a hospital and unconfirmed reports of casualties emerged.

A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake. With communications still down hours later and official information scarce, witness accounts of casualties began to surface on social media and through patchy phone calls.

The earthquake happened at just before 1 p.m. at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers west of Port Vila, the largest city in Vanuatu — a group of 80 islands that is home to about 330,000 people. It was followed by a magnitude 5.5 aftershock near the same location, with tremors continuing throughout the afternoon and evening.

[woodbutcher1963]

Dad had lots of stories about training at March Field east of Los Angeles out in the desert. About someone trying to get him to buy real estate out in the desert. A place called Palm Springs that nobody had heard of.

He told about going to the Brown Derby in LA and seeing Clark Gable and some other movie stars. Then being shipped out to Oahu. Training on Waikiki Beach. There were no hotels on the beach back in 1943/44.
He had pictures of cannons being pulled by horses.

Then when they got to New Guinea he said there was a Japanese destroyer sticking straight up in the air at a 90 degree angle at the north shore port town of Wee Wack. It had run around on a reef apparently trying to escape the US Navy.

They also found a Japanese ship way up a river in the jungle. Again, the Japs had driven it up there to use as a base because if it had stayed in the ocean it would have been sunk by our navy.

He told about how they made “jungle juice” by distilling local fruits and berries in a pot still they made. Then running the copper tubing through a mountain stream to condense it.
He was a diesel mechanic/heavy equipment operator in the US Army Air Corp. So, he was in charge of repairing runways and roads after we had bombed them. To make them usable by our air corp.

He had grown up on a dairy farm, so they made a lot of those guys into heavy equipment operators and diesel mechanics. He also told how he and another GI found a sunken Chris Craft cabin cruiser. They repaired the small hole and floated it and got it running. They had it for ONE DAY when MacArthur saw them driving it and took it for his own personal use.

He was also there when they invaded the Phillippeans. The invasion of Leyte Island. My father came in on the third day of the invasion. He said he had to walk on the bodies of US and Australian marines just to get up on the beach. They cleared the beach of bodies then MacArthur waded ashore and gave his famous speech “I have returned”.

FYI, the wading ashore was just for the cameras. There was a quay/pier just to the right of where he came ashore that everyone else came in on. Stepping off a landing craft and wading through the water onto the beach was just to be dramatic.

The rest of the invasion dad did not talk much about. Except when we asked him how he lost all his upper teeth. It was from the butt end of a Japanese rifle. He also was shot through his helmet. He assumed the round was a ricochet because it went through the helmet, penetrated his skin but not his skull. He was then shot in his lower abdomen. Where it became infected in the jungle environment. He returned from the South Pacific in a hospital ship. Spent six weeks in the hospital.

He told us he had two Samurai swords and several other souvenirs but they were all stolen by other GIs because they thought he was dead.

He was promoted in battle to a Captain one day. He said all the officers were either dead or injured. He was the senior Staff Sergeant at the time. Which was his top rank. He went in as a Private. Discharged as a Staff Sergeant.

[CatHerd]

What a great read and what an incredible story! Thank you for sharing it! I loved reading about your Dad’s adventures and exploits. I am so sorry he had to endure all that and see all that horror, though.

Wars can be so strange, with weird sights and happenings people who are strangers to war could never imagine. I love how the homemade jungle juice still and the resurrection of the Chris Craft. Stinky of MacArthur to confiscate it from them. Americans always find a way to get or make booze and the Aussies can make “barbies” out of just about anything — I remember how they cut up diesel drums and made rather impressive “barbies” out of them they carted about on the backs of their trucks in Cambodia.

MacArthur’s stage-managed wading ashore comes as no surprise, but it was fun to read about from your Dad’s first-hand account.

I hope his stories are written down to be shared with future generations. Again, I really appreciate your sharing. It’s accounts like these that bring history alive for us. It sounds like your Dad was a *very* cool guy, brave, ingenious, can-do, and resilient.

MacArthur’s