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Date: January 2007 -
BORA BORA
Operation
"Bob-Cat"
Bora
Bora is starting the creation of a big memorial to pay tribute to the American presence
on the island betwen 1942 and 1946 during Operation Bob-Cat...
 Like
our Hawaiian neighbors who knew how to attract tourists with the remains of Pearl
Harbour, Bora Bora is starting the creation of a big memorial to pay tribute to the
American presence on the island between 1942 and 1946. With
more than 120,000 tourists per year of which 40,000 are Americans and 15,000 Japanese
citizens, Bora Bora remains Polynesia's most visited island. Beyond
its exceptional qualities (gorgeous lagoon, magnificent hotel infrastructure, etc.)
the island's attraction is also in its past. During World War II, Bora Bora was transformed
as an American advanced post during the war of the Pacific.
Thousands
of US Citizens now come every year in "pilgrimage" to Polynesia to discover
what used to be one of the big American bases against the Japanese invaders.
Some
come in search of their grand parents' scraps of life, others come on a path of American
glory in the Pacific. Except for a few rusty canons, only few remnants remains of
this period on the island. Still, on Februray 17, 1942, they were some 5,000 Marines
to land on the island, transforming it for four years into "Little America".
Before it is too late and the actors of this page of History all disappear for ever,
it is time to gather testimonies of an adventure which has definitely modified the
life of the island's inhabitants.
A
large operation was just started to gather documents, photos, newspapers, items,
testimonies, etc. in one word, everything that could remind us of this period. The
goal is to constitute the most exhaustive memorial to let visitors immerse themselves
in Operation " Bob-Cat' and the 1940's. Polynesia's first airplane runway was
indeed built in 4 months in Bora Bora by these famous GI's. The presence of thousands
of American soldiers during these long years has left indelebile marks on the island,
of which a few descendants, whose anglo-saxon names leave no doubt as to their origins.
If
you have douments susceptible to get the interest of this project's initiators, here
is the e-mail address where to contact the persons in charge:
boragibase@gmail.com or regis.plichart@vice-presidence.gov.pf
 See our
article about the
Americans and Operation Bob-Cat
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