The Pacific War during WWII was mainly fought over water resulting in countless weapons of war sitting on the seabed. 80 years later, death has become life.
Hundreds of WWII warships were sunk across the Pacific: 80 years later, they have become thriving sanctuaries for marine life
Thousands of American and Japanese servicemen lost their lives in the Pacific theater of World War II, many of them when the ship they were on was sunk. Their tragedy though has created an opportunity for life to thrive through the sunken wreckages providing a haven for marine life like the USS Arizona which sits at the bottom of Peral Harbor.
The largest underwater graveyard though can be found at Chuuk Lagoon, known as Truk lagoon during WWII. The Japanese “Gibraltar of the Pacific,” located in the modern-day state of Micronesia, was the site of their own Peral Harbor, when U.S. forces launched a surprise attack that resulted in a massive defeat for the Japanese.
Sunken weapons of death now hosting life
The battle of Truk Lagoon, known as Operation Hailstone, lasted for 48 hours in which the Japanese forces were attacked by surface and air. Over 50 Japanese ships were sunk, including warships and merchant supply vessels. Also littering the bottom of the lagoon are some 250 aircraft.
These weapons of death now host a plethora of marine life as they have been colonized by coral, sponges and variety of other organisms, becoming artificial reefs. The past 80 years have draped the gray, rusting metal hulls and frames in bright colors of crimson, orange, pink, violet, and yellow, with schools of fish swimming among them.
This juxtaposition of death and life has made Chuuk Lagoon into a tourist attraction, with between 2,000 and 3,000 people visiting the site each year to dive among the coral reefs and wartime shipwrecks.
Unfortunately, the numerous wrecks lying on the bottom of the lagoon, across the Pacific, and in waters of other oceans around the world, still present a danger to life as they slowly deteriorate. The fuel tanks aboard contain thousands of tons of heavy fuel oil that will leak once the saltwater and organisms eat through the metal holding the hydrocarbons in.
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