This is a non-profit public service and educational website developed in conjunction with storyboards that are on display for visitors to Aitutaki.
The project began out of a concern that little information or recognition of the US presence here during World War II was evident on the island.
With the passing of time, evidence of the various military installations had been bulldozed over or had eroded. The accuracy of written and verbal information had also eroded. For instance, the most visible legacy of the war is Aitutaki's airfield. Yet despite its importance, one of the myths that is commonly perpetuated is that the Aitutaki airfield was built by a 1000 man strong US military force. In fact, the main elements of the base and airfield on Aitutaki had been completed by the NZ Public Works, a private US engineering company and local labour, well before the arrival of the main US military force.
Researching and gathering factual information has involved many hours of digging into military records and through private collections of photos and diaries. It will always remain a work in progress as more people come forward with additional material to add to this valuable repository. We welcome any additional material or information that will add value to this website - CONTACT US HERE
A number of people have contributed time and materials to this project. Every endeavour has been made to acknowledge the folk that were happy to be named, but apologies to those that have been missed in the process.
A small group of financial contributors, who made production of the storyboards and the set up of this website possible are also mentioned on the acknowledgements page.
To all of you - a big meitaki atupaka.
