The 65th on Tarawa

Dear Eric: 

I have wanted to go to Tarawa for about 10 years.  I have been reading books about WWII history since I was a teenager.  I am strictly an amateur historian, however, I did appear on-camera as a naval historian in a film documentary about the heavy cruiser USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35) that was produced in 1997 and appeared on The A & E Channel and later The History Channel.  I also served as historical consultant for the documentary as well as a third documentary that was shown on The Discovery Channel.  I am frequently contacted by authors, journalists, etc. for information about certain aspects of WWII.  Last week I was contacted by a young lady from Hearst Publishing in New York.  She interviewed me for one hour on the phone. 

Two years ago, I traveled with Valor Tours to Guadalcanal and Gizo.  It was another great adventure trip.  Conditions on Guadalcanal are better than Tarawa, but it is still a third world country.

Anyway, I was prepared for Tarawa.  I had thoroughly researched the country for years and I was well aware of the conditions…..overpopulated, poor living conditions, and poor or lack of sanitation.  I knew what to expect.  I was not surprised or disappointed with the hotel or conditions throughout the islands.  I know two people who had visited Tarawa and had discussions with them.  Also, I had alerted Vicky Middagh earlier this year that there were widespread outbreaks of Dengue Fever throughout the Pacific Islands.  I informed her that 7 people had died from Dengue Fever in May 2008 on South Tarawa.  Hepatitis is widespread and the majority of the population has intestinal parasites and worms.  The Betio lagoon is regarded as a caulderon of infectious diseases which are continuously re-cycled back to the people through their consumption of contaminated fish.  While I wanted to walk on the invasion beaches, I certainly knew not to wear open toe sandals or flip-flops.  When we were out on Red Beach 1, Ross picked up an old cane that had washed ashore.  Molly Brown happened to see him and immediately shouted “Don’t touch anything out here!”.  Good advice. 

I had thoroughly briefed David about conditions and what type of clothing would be appropriate.  We wore long sleeves and long pants.  All of our clothing was treated with Permethrin to repel insects.  I had purchased “Buzz Off” clothing from Orvis that is commercially treated with Permethrin.  You can also purchase Permethrin in a soak kit and treat your clothes yourself.  Commercially treated “Buzz Off” clothing can be washed up to 25 times and be effective.  If you do the soak yourself, the treatment will last for about 4 or 5 washings and then has to be re-treated.   David and I purchased some Orvis “Buzz Off” clothing and soaked the rest of our clothes ourselves. 

I think it is a good idea when traveling long distances to wear a travel vest.  These vests are light-weight and have anywhere from 12 to 15 pockets.  Great for traveling and especially for going through security.  Just put everything you are carrying in your pockets in the vest and remove the vest and send it through security screening.  The vests can be purchased from Cabellas, Magellans, TravelSmith.

David and I each took along a mosquito net purchased on-line from www.longroad.com    Item number 301 or 302  $90 or $109

The mosquito nets we had were called “Travel Tent” or Travel Tent II”.   Each net sets up on top of the hotel bed and is completely self-contained, including a bottom.  The entire net weighs about 2 pounds and folds up into a sack tube about 18 inches long.  We soaked the nets in Permethrin.

Additionally, we used a silk sleep sack purchased from Magellans.  Very light-weight.  You sleep in the sack inside the mosquito net. This item can be purchased from Magellans or TravelSmith.    www.magellans.com  Item number SC546   Cost varies depending upon size, but about $70.  We treated the sleep sack with Permethrin.

A passport security holder is a good idea.  We had holders that we wore around our neck and tucked inside of our shirt.  It had multiple pockets and was light-weight.  I never left the room without wearing my passport.  Why take a chance on having your passport lost or stolen.  Item number SV603R at www.magellans.com

A couple more items from Magellans.  Drinking water bottle clips.  Clips on to your belt or gear bag and holds a bottle of water.  Item number FP342  Cost about $6

It is really a handy little item.  I always carried several bottles of water with me.  Travel toilet tissue is a good idea as well.  In most third world countries, it is common for public toilets not to have toilet tissue.  Travel toilet tissue item number TW570.

I liked wearing cargo type pants because of the multiple pockets.  David and I also took along high-powered Surefire pocket flashlights.  www.surefire.com

These flashlights are expensive, some costing several hundred dollars, but they are fantastic. Some of the flashlights offer bulbs which shine with hundreds of Lumens.  They operate with lithium batteries and are extraordinarily bright.  I have 6 different models.  I knew that a flashlight would be necessary to enter Admiral Shibasaki’s bunker.  It is also a good idea to have a flashlight around in the hotel room.  David and I used the flashlights inside Shibasaki’s bunker. 

I wore ten inch high Meindl brand leather waterproof boots.  I purchased the boots through Cabellas for a cost of about $300.  I have had several pairs of Meindl boots and they are great.  It is just a matter of being prepared.  When I traveled to Guadalcanal our trip included a flight up to the island of Gizo.  The airstrip at Gizo is located on a small island and a water taxi takes passengers across the bay in a small boat and takes about 20 minutes.  After a high speed and somewhat reckless boat ride from the airstrip to Gizo island through a driving wind and rain storm, we had about 4 to 5 inches of water in the bottom of the small boat.  I was okay because I had my 10 inch high leather boots.  Those wearing sneakers had wet shoes for the entire overnight visit to Gizo.  The next day when we left Gizo via water taxi, we had the same situation.  In fact, the boat driver was unable to get the boat up to the pier at the airstrip because of weather conditions so he drove the boat around to a beach and we all had to get out of the boat and walk through about 6 inches of water up onto the beach.  Our flight back to Guadalcanalwas delayed about 3 hours so some of our group sat around in wet shoes and socks.

Some other items:

Liquid anti-bacterial soap.  (take plenty)

Two toothbrushes.  (keep one in reserve) 

Small first aid kit containing bandaids, Neosporin or other antiseptic treatment.  David and I each had to use bandaids while on Tarawa.

Extra pair of bootlaces.

Spare batteries for camera and flashlights.

Plenty of Purell.  Small bottles easy to carry along.

Antiseptic individually wrapped wipes under the brand name of “Wet Ones”

Battery powered razor.  Don’t risk cutting yourself with a regular razor.

Power Bars

Rubber bands come in handy.

Several different sizes of ZipLock bags for whatever purpose.  (including holding dirty laundry)

Pepto tablets

Prescription anti-biotic drug from your physician for traveling.  For example, Cipro

Some type of over the counter medication like Tylenol, Aspirin, etc.

Mosquito and insect repellant in small tubes or sprays that are convenient to carry throughout the day.

Small security combination padlocks that can be used if necessary.

Small role of duct tape.  (Travel size can be purchased from Magellans)  I used some on the Tarawa trip.

Sunscreen

Packet of individually wrapped Life Saver candies.

Listerine or Scope

Chapstick, sunglasses, and hat

Pocket pen and small notebook for taking notes.  (Filling out custom forms)  I carried a Fisher Space Pen. Great compact item.

Small packets (pocket size) of Kleenex

A few paper towels

 

David and I packed in several foil packets of smoked salmon, smoked chicken, and tuna along with about 2 dozen Power Bars.  I always carried Power Bars with me during the day.  The food certainly came in handy.  We also took about 2 dozen Frisbees to give away to kids along with Life Savers and several Vera Bradley items to give as gifts.

I probably forgot something from the above list.  However, the key item to remember is to research your destination before traveling.  If anyone went to Tarawa expecting it to be a Pacific island resort, they would be disappointed.  I knew what to expect and I was neither surprised nor disappointed.  I had a great time.  It was a real adventure trip. 

I will be working on photos to submit to you.  I hope the above list is helpful.  Let me know.

Sincerely,

Dennis Covert