Welcome to
The South Pacific WWII Museum
From the birthplace of Tales of the South Pacific and the legendary heroism of aviators, soldiers, and sailors, comes a forgotten wartime history. On Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, tranquil coconut plantations were transformed into Base Button, the largest military base in the South Pacific during World War II, hosting over 500,000 service members.
Today, we honour this legacy by sharing it with descendants of those who supported the Allied war effort with the South Pacific WWII Museum. Plans are underway to create a larger, world-class museum, preserving the remarkable history of the New Hebrides for future generations of Ni-Vanuatu and visitors worldwide.
Honouring the many
Latest news from the Museum project.
USS Strong takes centre stage
The Museum has created a very special memorial to commemorate the 46 lives lost when the US Navy destroyer, USS Strong sank off the Solomon Islands in July 1943. You can read more about the memorial here.
News in brief
Aug 5 – July was a very special month for the museum. Tammi Johnson joined us from Kentucky to unveil the new USS Strong memorial. It has been created by the Museum to remember the 46 sailors who went down with the ship in July 1943. We’ve also got a great story on two amazing dives by Museum board member Mayumi Green and her husband Kevin on a Catalina and a WWII tugboat. Plus, we’re re-running the remarkable story of Hugh Barr Miller Jr. A Strong survivor who went on to fight Japanese forces single handedly, on a small island, before being rescued. All this and more in this month’s newsletter that you can find here.
New Museum gallery opens
Say hi to Raymond Lemy Nacisse
Our newest Museum staff member comes from a diverse background of volunteering. (story)
