ABSTRACT
During World War II, Ulithi Atoll in Western Micronesia served as the dry dock for the Allied Force's invasion of Japan. Islanders were moved to and confined on one island of the atoll, while the other three major islands were taken over by different branches of the US military. When the war ended, much of the military material was left behind: bedding, housing, and food supplies, but also jeeps, cranes, and other gas-powered equipment. The settling of the Island Pacific is one of the greatest human adventures of all time. These voyagers were sailing across an ocean that covers one-third of the planet, finding tiny dots of land, and traveling back and forth to settle these new lands. They were doing this on open, double-hulled canoes built with stone-age tools and materials. Modernity was built on the Agricultural Revolution, shaped by the Scientific Revolution, and fueled into high gear by the Industrial Revolution.
