A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE: May 21, 1944
WEST LOCH EVENT May 21 2018
Remembering forgotten heroes who died seventy-four years ago in the West Loch Disaster at Pearl Harbor, two years after December 7, 1941 bombing.
Unless you live in Hawaii, it’s doubtful that you have ever heard of the West Loch Disaster. It happened on May 21, 1944, on a Sunday afternoon. Crew members from the 29th Decontamination Unit were loading ammunition and fuel on landing ship tanks (LSTs) in preparation for Operation Forager, an invasion of the Japanese-held Mariana Islands. At 3:08 p.m., an explosion suddenly ripped through LST 353 spreading fire among the tightly packed ships loaded with munitions and fuel. The fires last 24 hours destroying six LSTS and hundreds of lives. The incident is not well known, in part because it was classified ‘top secret’ until the 1960s.
On Monday, May 21, 2018, in collaboration with Hawaii Joint Military Forces, the public is invited to the 9th Celebration of Life & Memory of West Loch Internees at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at 2:00 p.m.WESTLOCH EVENT May 21 2018
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Contact: www.aadcch.org
808-597-1341