>Bjorn Vang Jensen wrote:
>>I never made it to Truk, but I found the wrecks of Palau
>>absolutely amazing.
>>One of the little details I admired most was that the wrecks of
>>Palau have everything there except the human remains that Truk
>>has unfortunately become famous for. I have always found the
>>display of skulls and bones on the wrecks in Truk to be singularly
>>distasteful. To the Americans on the list, I invite you to think
>>about how you would feel if Japanese divers regularly got
>>themselves photographed on the "Arizona", next to the remains of
>>American servicemen...

There are 3 sides to this - the people from Chuuk themselves.
Ive dived in Truk Lagoon twice now. During my first visit in the early 90's
the BF & I organised a private trip around Moen Island with some local folk
during our rest day (we normally take the 7th day off during a heavy 14 day
multiple dive schedule). As an extra thank you we organised lunch & drinks
for our impromptu tourist guides as our tender from the liveaboard wasnt
due in port till 2pm. The BF, who was very interested in history, was all
ears when one of the elders told us his memories of that time. It was awful
to hear how the locals were treated like slaves, the islands stripped of
vegetation so the locals were starving, etc. He said many of his folk were
not happy with the Japanese coming over to dive on the wrecks. That many of
the next generation of islanders hated the Japs so much for what their
parents were put through they urinated on their plaques near the airport.

I've heard a rumour that the Japs want to close this area to divers, out of
respect for their dead, but I doubt they will get much support from the
locals as it is their major tourist attraction.
Viv