34 replies to this topic

[Travelnsj]

I need a dive buddy for my....7th or is it my 8th....trip to Palau. I'll be going from March 1st thru the 14th...have I ever mentioned...Sharks, Mantas, Jellyfish, Sea Hare's, Dogtooth Tuna, Barracuda (of all sizes), Biggest Wrasses you will ever see, Giant soft Corals, WWII Wrecks...and so much more.

But the biggest bonus you may have....is from March 3rd thru the 10th is the 61st Iwo Jima reunion....These men enabled us to enjoy our freedoms we have Today. They may be on the plane with you from LA to Guam....If are lucky as I was this last March....you may be able to sit next to a few of these great Americans as I did....WOW....the History you learn!...Read my trip report....I had General Haynes (his men raised the flag on Mount Suribachi) and General Snowden, Battalion commanders on Iwo all sitting next to or around me.... I never felt so humble.

Come one come all for any part of the trip...I have given SD all the contact info to make you a Palau diver! ......or you can read my trip report again

Edited by Travelnsj, 13 August 2006 - 12:01 AM.

[rkymtwy]

Scott,

I've always wanted to dive Palau. Do you have details on the price, etc.

Que, you are a great roomie, so get that passport worked out.

Carla

[WreckWench]

Scott is right...he has given us his preferred vendors whom we are contacting and working out arrangements for the possibility of an SD group trip to Palau. Group pricing while in theory should be less it is not always the case. Some prices are based upon 6 so when you expand to 10 or 12 the price may increase. And the killer on a trip like this is the airfare. So you are still in the $3-4k range for 7-10 days.

If SD does not offer a group trip to this destination we will put together a package in the same timeframe that Scott is going so that if others wish to join him we can provide your travel services and help Scott find a dive buddy.

I hope to have this pricing in the next couple of weeks lined up and some idea from our members if 3 people want to go or 13 people want to go. We'll need a group of at least 12-15 to make it a SD led group. Many of our members have been wanting to dive Wakatobi so I'm guessing they can't do both. (If only my crystal ball would tell me which one more people want!!!!)

[rkymtwy]

Kamala,

Thanks for the response. If SD can do a trip to either Wakatobi or Palau you can definitely count on me going! They are both trips that I want to do. I am looking for a spring trip March/April/May timeframe.

[chinacat46]

I've been to both places and you can't go wrong with either. You won't see sharks and mantas(although you could) in Wakatobi but the diving is pristine and the nudibranchs will blow you away. Both places are on my list of places to return to. Although I can't make it in March of 07 as I will just be getting back from a different part of Indonesia around March 4th.



Scott who was your buddy's on the previous 7 trips?

[Travelnsj]

Scott who was your buddy's on the previous 7 trips?

Chuck,

LOL….None…LOL….I have dove a couple of times with my DM’s father and friends, locals I have dove with before or if I dive with Sams I know the DM’s…so they are like buddies to dive with…The reason I am looking for a Buddy?…some of people who read my trip reports are always going to go next year….so here is 7 months advance notice!

[Travelnsj]

Carla and Scott,

Did I mention that I lost my naturalization paper too and Homeland Security can not locate my naturalization file? I have to replace that first before getting another passport. With at least 7 months to work on this, hopefully I'll be able to travel by March

Que

So...Que...making any headway on that passport?....March will be here before you know it

[Cynthia]

Palau is on my list of trips to take/dives to dive before I leave this planet. I think you set the hook with WWII wrecks and the flight to there with the WWII vets/Marines/heroes. March travel gives me plenty of time to get the details all worked out (or maybe not?) plus, one more trip out to the Pacific and I should have enough miles on Continental to get a freebie...YEEEEEEHAW!! THEN WHERE?!?!?!? I suppose that's a whole other post, huh???.
I have zippo on my books as far as traveling (insert a dirty word of your choice here) and new dive gear...what's wrong with this picture????? I'm thinking Palau may have my name all over it.
Let me know what I need to do...(remember...newbie here...HELP!!)
Thanks so much,
Cynthia

[Travelnsj]

Cynthia,

Since you are into Military history….I was watching the Military History Channel last night….They had a special the Battle of Peleliu…I have heard that was one of the toughest battles in the Pacific Campaign. I never realized how bad it was. We lost 2,000 men there in the battle for Bloody Nose Ridge and 72 days to take the Island. I had never heard of Ulithi until you brought it up yesterday and I saw it in this program….Your Dad was one of the WWII pilots and shot down in that area?…WOW....I have met the Bentprop.org people for the last three years in Palau (they look for WWII MIA's) and met vets of the Peleliu battle. They do a presentation each year in March at Sams.

I have dove the Peleliu wall where the USMC landed and were cut down. In March I was invited by a USMC Korean war vet and Peleliu historical specialist, Jim Pilkington to come down to Peleliu to tour with his group…I could not find a boat going down to the area other than a dive boat on my no dive day…In 2007 I will find a way to get down there and do a land tour.

The sad thing...this was supposed to be the staging area for the invasion on Mindanao and they went into Leyte Gulf instead of Mindanao….the battle served no purpose.

To the lesser important stuff….Peleliu has the best diving in the Palau area…it also has the Tigers…and currents that can take you to the Philippines! When I go diving there this next year I will view the area in a different perspective!

[Cynthia]

Peleliu?!?!?! Bloody Nose Ridge?!?!?!? That's where he got shot!! (I'll have to double check, but I think he was shot down off of Ulithi, but he bombed the beejeezus out of 'em at Peleliu and once on the ground there he got shot by a sniper (and he laughs and adds while standing in the chow line). I don't know if that part is true...he poo poos everything, but once I get really serious about taking a trip I'm pretty bad about holding his feet to the coals and dragging information out of him.
He sunk a ton of stuff off of Ulithi and told me if I wanted to dive on something he sunk that would be the place. I thought I had it figured out...the chief lives on Yap and you have to get his permission to go, but then you could fly over on a missionary type plane and there was 1 hotel there. I was told a couple of weeks ago that the airplane is no longer flying and the hotel is closed...
You cannot imagine what my tummy's doing right now!!!!!!!! Honestly, if you go there on land, sea, air, or digging under the sand all of the way there....PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE save me a spot and if we're digging, I'll dig your share, too!! I'd give my right arm...
This man is my adopted Daddy and is a Marine...my real Daddy was in the Army Air Corps and died in 1989. This man is a childhood friend (like when they were 5) of my Mom's and a "young marrieds" friend of both Mom and Daddy. I'll explain sometime if you want to hear... (if you want to see his picture on the World War II Memorial go to www.wwiimemorial.com and click search the registry. His name is Leete Jackson...nothing like a pilot in his dress whites!!
HOWEVER...you've just got my heart pounding!! I really want to see some more of his "stuff" while he's still around to 1) know that a lot of people still care about what he did and 2)he's still here for me to ask a zillion questions of!!
I just betcha he sunk/shot down the Japanese at Peleliu, too...he would have had to, wouldn't you think? If he was on the ground there it would have had to have followed bombing runs to even get in.
I'll call him tomorrow!!!!!!!!!
I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! Kamala do y'all have a group going/planned/maybe interested??? Scott, you're going in March??? I have to do this...Come hook or crook...
Scott, you have no idea what this means to me....
Cynthia

[Travelnsj]

Cynthia,

I think Kamala is working on this to offer pricing for a group or an individual....so it could be a SD trip or if worse comes to worse a buddy trip.

Regarding ...Leete..drag the info out of him...10 years from now you will not be able to. I spent hours talking to Colonel Ripley in March...when I apologized for spending all that time talking to him....he said he was delighted to talk to me as it seemed like nobody was interested!...He then introduced me to Colonel Wiedham, General Haynes and Snowden...Goggle these guys...they have thousands of pages about them. Ask Leete if he knew them or served under them.

Regarding going down to Peleliu...lets see what Kamala does as I know the people who can put that excursion together or I can e-mail Jim and see if he is going to be down there leading a tour.

The bombing Leete did had to be in Peleliu...as that was where the main action was then they moved north cleaning out all the Palaus. He was probably landing on the small airstrip they carved out in Peleliu or Carriers and Ulithi...but ask him...find out and share the info.

You know this should be on a Military history thread...LOL.....Now the diving...for those who are not historical nuts...well it is probably the best there is

[Travelnsj]

This must be him...Wow...I'm impressed you know this man...Kamala we have just met our match for the love of Military History!


Leete Jackson, Jr.


BRANCH OF SERVICE
U.S. Marine Corps


HOMETOWN
Lubbock, TX

HONORED BY
Jane Ann Jackson, Wife

ACTIVITY DURING WWII
CAPTAIN. PILOT U.S. MARINE CORPS 1942 TO 1945. FLEW THE AVENGER TORPEDO BOMBER IN THE PACIFIC THEATRE. HIS MISSIONS TOOK HIM ALL OVER THE PACIFIC; GUAM, ESPIRITU SANTO, BOUGAINVILLE, PELELIU AND ULITHI TO NAME A FEW. HIS SQUADRON VMTB-232, THE 'RED DEVILS' WAS THE MOST HIGHLY DECORATED SQUADRON IN THE MARINE CORPS.

[Cynthia]

You're too kind...I'm just a nut about WWII history in general and Leete's history in particular. I've talked him in to going to the airshow with me in Midland the 1st week in Oct. and they're going to have at least 2 Avengers flying...I'm reallllllllly jazzed!! BUT...the reallllllllly good part is I'll have him all to myself for 2 hours in the car both directions and all day at the show. (I wonder if he'd think I was weird if I pulled out a notebook and took notes...hahahahaha!). I'll be dragging all the info out of him that I can, but I think it'll be much easier when he's watching his plane do "bombing runs"....
I wish you knew how much you've done for me..........my week...no...my month....no...my year is just made!!!!!!!!!
Cynthia