In our blog post “WWII Remnants on Wotje: Part I” we discover loads of anti-aircraft guns, coastal defense guns, a cannon, Betty Bomber engines and propellers and more. But we had discovered so many more artifacts in Wotje that we spit it over two blog posts. In Part II, we will show you more WWII buildings, artifacts and Japanese signage.
We found this fallen water tank in the jungle, along with an exploded shell, and a cannon sticking straight up into the sky. One of the things we noticed is that the WWII remnants on Wotje are in far greater disarray than those on its neighboring island of Maloelap.
We were not sure what this WWII building used to be but it was some type of manufacturing plant based on the machinery inside. It was way too dilapidated to risk going inside.
WWII Defense Bunkers
We walked the entire perimeter of the island (about 7.5 miles). There were several places that had 1.5m tall walls made of concrete and stone. Of course, they were not 100% in tact, but they were still standing. About every 15m they had a gun placement hole.
The shoreline was full of these defense bunkers. As you can see most are in complete shambles, but then again, they are 80 years old. We did find two gun placement attachments in the widows (lower right photos) which was a first find for us.
We also discovered some new types of defense bunkers (top right and bottom right). These are new versions to us as we did not see anything like this on Maloelap. Wonder why they had wide open windows? It seems to leave them pretty exposed.
Japanese Signs from WWII
Another new find on Wotje was this bunker which still had two, original Japanese signs inside. The top right says “danger flammable’s” loosely translated. The other sign above the door could not be translated as too many characters were faded. So, inside this large bunker is another locked room with a massive steel door. This is where Matt is standing. They stored their ammunition in this room.
Another defense bunker with a Japanese sign. Unfortunately it is illegible and we were unable to translate it.
Making the Best out of the Wreckage
The building in the top left used to be the Seaplane Command center. Wotje built a seaplane dock and had dozens of seaplanes coming and going at any given time. The Japanese used these seaplanes to scout out the enemy. Today, this building is used as a storage building for drums of fuel (top right). The middle right and bottom photo are both WWII buildings that have been converted into homes for the locals. Look at the bottom photo with its huge steel door for both the window and the front door.
We found several pieces of machinery that we could not figure out their original purpose. We have guesses…but who knows. The top left photo might be some type of coral grinding machine for making cement. The top middle photo is a NAK 3DM engine powering a pump of some sort….maybe to pump water from the sea to a generator?
We hope you have enjoyed coming on this walk through WWII history. It was a great learning process for us, but also truly tragic and heartbreaking to think of all the lives lost.
Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. This blog post occurred during the 2nd week of November 2024. Be sure to catch Part I of WWII Remnants on Wotje.