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 You are here: Home | Yap Island WWII Tourism and Memorial Project Yap Island WWII Tourism and Memorial Project
Yap is considered a backwater to the overall Pacific war, however, most are very surprised to find out that the US attacked Yap Island almost daily from June 1944 to August 1945 with the loss of over 35 planes and hundreds of men. Yap is strategically located between the Philippines and Guam and was at a crossroads for many of the Pacific battles. Once the US decided not to invade Yap in September 1944 they needed to insure that it was isolated from the Japanese supply chains and that it could not be used as an offensive forward operating base. This was especially important once the US occupied the nearby deep water harbor of Ulithi in the fall of 1944. Keeping Yap out of the war was key to the US success in the rest of the Pacific theatre. A variety of attacks were launched against Yap including long range B-24 bomber raids, carrier raids, ship to shore bombardments, land based Navy and Marine planes and submarines. Pat Ranfranz and the Missing Air Crew Project has spent over 20 years researching the history of Yap during WWII and has been able to share not only the military history of the actual missions but the personal stories of many of the men who were lost so that their memories can be preserved for future generations to remember. Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) Links about Projects:
WWII Yap Banner Stands In 2008 Pat Ranfranz designed and created double sided banner stands for the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) to use throughout the island and at dive and travel shows to create awareness to their WWII history. The following four banners were created: Click on a thumbnail image below to view the full sized image.
Additional pictures of the banners can be viewed by clicking here. WWII Yap Fact Sheets In 2009 Pat Ranfranz designed and created fact sheets for the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) to use to educate visitors on the WWII history. If you’re planning a visit to Yap please download and read the following fact sheets to understand more about a few of the American losses during WWII. Additional fact sheets will be created moving forward.  American Planes and Men Lost on Missions to Yap Island (pdf file 10 MB) Quick Overview of the Japanese Airfield on Yap Island and the American Attacks to Destroy It… (pdf file 13 MB) The Anthony Crew B-24 Loss (pdf file 11 MB) The Coleman Crew B-24 Loss (pdf file 3.5 MB) Ens. Joseph Cox F6F-5 Loss (pdf file 3.5 MB) Lt. Girvis Halton, Jr. FG-1 Loss (pdf file 3.6 MB) Lt. Zack Lillard F6F-5 Loss (pdf file 3.8 MB) Ens. Howard Holding F6F-5 Loss (pdf file 3.6 MB) Lt. Harry Brown F6F-5 Loss (pdf file 5.7 MB) Major. William Clay FG-1 Loss (pdf file 4.3 MB) All-Weather Memorial Signs
One of the most complete memorials is the new Ens. Joseph Cox memorial. The memorial pays tribute to Ens. Cox as well as the USS Enterprise and the VF-20 squadron. It is one of the best memorial sites in the Pacific. We originally located the Cox Hellcat crash site in the Yap jungle in 2005, however, when we returned to Yap in subsequent years we found that the nearby Yap dump was going to overtake and cover the remains of the plane. We worked with the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) to move the wreckage away from the dump to a location a ˝ mile away on government land. The plane now sits on a concrete pad and has a granite memorial marker dedicated to Ens. Cox in front of the plane as well as an all weather sign next to the plane that provides an overview about Ens. Cox and his family, F6F-5 info, a mission summary explain how the pilot was shot down and information about the USS Enterprise. Visitors to Yap will no longer refer to the nameless junk in the jungle. They now can understand that the story that claimed a young man serving his country during a brutal war. Additional pictures and information about the Ens. Cox F6F-5 Memorial Site can be viewed at this link. The following memorial markers and all-weather signs have been created and are in the process of being setup at the wreck sites on Yap: Click on a PDF below to view the indiviudal memorial signs.
Ens. Joseph Cox Memorial Sign (pdf file 397 KB Ens. Howard Holding Memorial Sign (pdf file 2.7 MB Lt. Harry Brown Memorial Sign (pdf file 1.1 MB Maj. William Clay Memorial Sign (pdf file 1.2 MB Lt. Girvis Halton Memorial Sign (pdf file 2.6 MB Japanese Lighthouse at Dalap: Ens. George Armbruster Jr. & Arm3c. Harold Billings Memorial Sign (pdf file 397 KB Coleman B-24 Crew Memorial Sign (Pat's uncle's Crew) (pdf file 222 KB Crowley TBM-3 Crew Memorial Sign (jpg file 250 KB Lt. Zack Lillard Memorial Sign (jpg file 250 KB Sylor & Diederich B-24 Memorial Sign (jpg file 250 KB Additional pictures located at: Memorial Sign at the Dalap Japanese Lighthouse Pictures * The all-weather memorial signs above were created by Kevin Adams and Buzz Signs from Cameron, Wisconsin.
Additional marble memorial markers are being created for each sites. The marble marker were created by Bud Janzen with LMT Laserworks from Rochester, Minnesota. Bud did a great job creating the Ens. Cox memorial marker in 2009 and created five additional markers for our 2010 trip. The following memorial signs and markers were created and shipped to Yap Island for our July 2010 trip. We created signs and markers this year for Maj. William Clay, Jr., Ens. Howard Holding, Lt. Harry Brown, 1st.Lt, Girvis Haltom and the Coleman B-24 crew (my uncle's plane).
Patrick Ranfranz tradeshow speaking with the Yap Visitors Bureau In 2010 I had the honor being a seminar speaker at the "Our World Underwater" dive show in Chicago. I provided an overview of my Missing Air Crew Project and worked with the Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) to help promote travel to Yap Island. Cherie and I greatly enjoyed meeting and speaking to numerous people while working with the YVB in their booth at the show. I'm pleased to have another opportunity to represent Yap Island and work with the YVB. I will be attending and speaking at the nation's leading travel show in Chicago on January 28-29, 2012 (The Travel and Adventure Show). I will be speaking about travel to Yap Island and will then be part of a three person panel on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 12:30pm - 1:30pm Title, Diverse Asia & South Pacific ~ Experiences for Everyone Speakers/Panel:
Supinder Singh, Palace Tours Wendy Wu, Wendy Wu Tours Pat Ranfranz speaking at the 2010 "Our World Underwater" dive show in Chicago
For more information For more information please contact Pat Ranfranz at: pat@missingaircrew.com
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