WREP Comdr, Subj:
(UNCLASSIFIED)"
“Report on Survey Trip to Outlying Weather Islande
our wisit and Mr Midkiff furnished us with the names of civil administrators
at Majuro and Ponape and all available information on those and the other
islands, Mr Nedealf indioated thet on the previcus operation, all relations
between the WREP personnel and the island peoples was very satisfactory and
that they would weleome the retum of the PREP personnel.
The 57th Recomm Squadron was making a flight to Eniwetok on 13 September
and invited Col Bonnot, Col Slater and myself to go along with them.
accepted which gave us one day of leisure in Honolulu.
fe
We departed approximately 1400 LST and after one 2 hours stop at Johnston
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for
Island arrived at Kwajalein 0400 LST.
Captain Zackeo, JTF Seven Liaison
Officer met us and arrangsed for quarters for Colomel Bonnot and myself,
where we slept soundly until 0700, Captain Zackeo awakened us and took us
to breakfast at the Cfficers Mess, which consisted of two cold storage eggs
d cooked to order with the usual assessories. I strongly suspect that my cold
f , storage eggs had become warm for at least a considerable period of time,
I was unable to consume them entirely.
Headinr back toward headquarters, we
ran into Col Slater and members of the 57th S7S crew.
and didn't leave at 0500 as they had plamed.
They had engine trouble
Colonel Slater then decided
to go with us on the PEM to visit Rongerik and later to Eniwetok.
Colonel Bonnot and I then visited the Base Executive Officer, Captain
Sooy. Captain Sooy is a man with a very warm psrsonclity and seemed extremely
interested in our mission. He made arrangements for our PB wisits to the
islands and took us in to meet Admiral Clarke who was wery friendly and anxious
to assist us in any way possible.
I was greatly impressed by the general
attitude of cooperation and friendliness of all the Kavy personnel at
Kwajalein.
Later we met Commander Lyon, who was in charge of the PBN section oharged
with transporting us tothe islands. I requested that he obtain someone
familiar with LST operation to go alonz on the flight to Rongerik so that ve
could choose the proper island in the atoll for at least planning purposes.
Lt Comdr Grey was selected. We departed at 1000 and arrived at Rongerik Atoll
about ene hour later, We landed in the lagoon which is approximately 10 miles
in diameter after observing all the individual islands several times from an
altitude of about 1000 feet. Due to the coral formations surrounding the other
islands, Lt Comdr Grey said that Eniwet&k Islandg, the southernmost island,
was the only one suitable for IST beaching. We taxiied to within fifty yards
of the northwest side of the island and rowed ashore in a rubber liferaft.
We found the center of the northwestern side of the island excellent for LST
beaching and landing,
This side of the island has a high (50°) sand dune some
fifty feet from the water beyond which is dense vegetation mainly composed
a
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