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27-544: Boulevard Higinson, the main street that runs through Luganville, contains mainly tourist boutiques and general stores. During WWII, the Americans used the Espiritu Santo as a military base ; as a result of the occupation, Boulevard Higinson is unusually wide, as a base commander insisted that four tanks should be able to drive along the road simultaneously. At one end of Higinson is the port, one of two main ports for

54-453: A base. In 60 days they had built a second field and began work on two more. In October, the 15th CB arrived, followed by the 35th CB on January 27, 1943. In February, the 36th Naval Construction Battalion arrived as did the 40th CB . Built at the bases were personnel housing, piers, roads, shops, power plants, water plants and large storage depots with fuel, ammunition, food and other consumable supplies. Fuel for ships, planes and vehicles

81-601: A major R and R destination for the fleet. At the start of the war Espiritu Santo was one of a string of roughly 80 islands under the rule of a joint British and French New Hebrides colony. The administration was the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides. U.S. troops first set up a base in May 1942 on the nearby island of Efate , as a defence against the expanding Imperial Japan . In July 1942

108-406: Is a base for wreck and reef diving ; wrecks accessible to divers include those of SS  President Coolidge , USS  Tucker , and MV  Henri Bonneaud . Recreational fishing is a year-round activity. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been active on Aore since the early 20th century, and operates a co-educational boarding secondary school, Aore Adventist Academy , located on

135-484: Is a popular site as are the coral reefs), and is a destination for many cruise lines. Its other main industries are agriculture, cattle, and offshore financial services. The market along Boulevard Higinson is popular for its inexpensive food. Northern Provincial Hospital is one of two main referring hospitals on Espiritu Santo and serves people from other northern islands in Vanuatu as well as its own residents. Luganville

162-653: Is also serviced by a number of taxis, buses, and public transport trucks. Luganville features a tropical rainforest climate ( Af ) under the Köppen climate classification . The town features relatively constant temperatures year-round, with average temperature hovering around 25 °C or 77 °F. Average precipitation is roughly 2,920 millimetres or 110 inches annually. Luganville is twinned with: Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo Second Sino-Japanese War Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo , most often just called Espiritu Santo ,

189-637: Is home to Vanuatu Health Training Institute, one of the two medical training schools on the island, but there are not enough graduates to prevent a shortage of medical professionals. Though medical expenses make up 50% of the government's budget, the hospital still relies heavily on donations. There are six main banking organizations in Luganville: Reserve Bank of Vanuatu , Wanfuteng Bank, the National Bank of Vanuatu , Bank South Pacific , BRED Bank, and ANZ Bank . Broadband internet

216-543: Is home to the South Pacific WWII Museum dedicated to preserving the history of World War II across the South Pacific region initiated in 2012 by the mayor Peter Sakita. By the second half of the 20th century, Luganville was largely French-speaking and initially resisted the attempts to gain independence leading up to its declaration on July 30, 1980. French troops initially attempted to quash

243-446: Is humid tropical. The average annual rainfall is about 3,000 millimetres (120 in). The island is subject to frequent cyclones and earthquakes . Large colonies of bats occupy the island's many caves . The Aore language is spoken on the island. Tourism and plantations are Aore's main providers of employment and economic revenue. There are numerous resorts on the island catering to tourists, weddings , and baptisms . Aore

270-470: Is part of the tentative list of World Heritage Site listing. At the end of the war a vast amount of vehicles, supplies and equipment at the bases was deemed not needed and too costly to ship to the U.S. Also it would have hurt home front industries in bringing all the gear home as there was already a vast amount of military surplus . The U.S. attempted to sell much of the gear to the French for 6 cents on

297-612: The 1st Construction Battalion (CB) sent a detail from the 3rd CB Construction detachment that was on Efate to Espiritu Santo to build a bomber strip to attack the Japanese on Guadalcanal . The 4th Marine Defense Battalion and the 24th Infantry Regiment both on Efate respectively sent an anti-aircraft battery and an Infantry Company to help the Seabees. Together, working around the clock, they built Turtle Bay Airfield in 20 days. In August, 7th CB arrived tasked with constructing

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324-468: The Fleet's operations from fleet logistics in fuel, food, and ammunition, to transport embarkation for combat operations or returning to the continental United States. The ship repair facilities and drydocks were capable of attending to most damage and routine maintenance. Had it not existed, ships would have had to return to Pearl Harbor, Brisbane , or Sydney for major repairs and resupply. The base became

351-541: The Pacific. By the end of the war it had become the second-largest base in the theater. To keep ships tactically available there was a demand for bases that could repair and resupply the fleet at advance locations, rather than return them to the United States. Prior to December 7th , Pearl Harbor was the U.S. fleet's largest advance base in the Pacific. Espiritu became capable of all aspects necessary to support

378-601: The South Pacific . The stories became the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific . As many troops stayed at or passed through the base, the island became a tourist spot, including a popular scuba diving spot. The Navy base is now part of the city of Luganville. There is a plan to build a South Pacific World War II Museum on Espiritu Santo in the town of Luganville . The site will be at Unity Park, Main Street, Luganville, Vanuatu. On 26 October 2017

405-588: The South Pacific World War II's Museum Museum Project Development Office opened. A few quonset huts and other remnants can still be found on the island. Aore Aore is an island in Sanma Province , Vanuatu . It is located opposite Luganville on Espiritu Santo and has an area of 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi). The estimated terrain elevation above sea level is some 89 metres (292 ft). Aore's climate

432-577: The airfield. The base also supported the US New Caledonia base, 300 miles (480 km) to the southwest and the Fiji training base, 600 miles (970 km) to the east. Crushed coral was used or the runways, ramps and road. Local coconut logs were used in building the base. Auxiliary floating drydocks were used to repair ships. Three large floating drydocks were stationed at the base. Advance base sectional dock (ABSD) were able to repair

459-509: The dollar. The French hoped that by buying none of the gear the U.S would abandon the base and get everything for free. But the U.S had the Seabees build a ramp into the sea near Luganville Airfield. The gear was then dumped into the sea. The base was abandoned in February 1946. Today the site is a tourist attraction called Million Dollar Point . In 1948 author, James Michener wrote a sequence of fictional short stories called Tales of

486-621: The flag-raising in Luganville, but returned to France in August instead. Some unrest arose between political parties vying for power, but has since been largely peaceful. As of the 2016 census, 98.7% of Luganville was of Melanesian and/or Ni-Vanuatu descent. Those of non-Melanesian descent are a minority and are European, other Pacific Islander, and Asian peoples. Part of the city is formed by squatted informal settlements such as La Milice, Mango, Pepsi, Rowok, Sarakata and St Michel. Mango

513-557: The island. During World War II , the American military erected two bases on two islands of what is now Vanuatu (a British-French colony known then as New Hebrides ), one of which being Espiritu Santo. A village of small, spaced-out communities was established into one city: Luganville. Base Button is the largest U.S. base in the South Pacific , covering 38 miles, and was used mainly for maintenance and supply storage. Luganville

540-557: The largest of the Navy's ships. SS  President Coolidge sank at Espiritu Santo. Coolidge was built as luxury ocean liner in 1931. In 1941 the US War Department converted the ship to a troopship with a capacity of 5,000. On 26 October 1942 it was sunk by two U.S. Navy mines when it unknowingly entered a mined area. It was run aground to keep from sinking while the crew and 5,340 troops safely disembarked. Two died from

567-443: The mine explosions: a fireman in the engine room and a captain of the 103rd Field Artillery Regiment who had returned to the ship when he heard men were still trapped in the infirmary. As the ship went down it slipped off the reef and sank in the channel. The President Coolidge is the largest and most accessible wreck dive in the world. The ship has vast array of corals and fish, including barracuda and sharks. The President Coolidge

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594-571: Was a major advance Naval base that the U.S. Navy Seabees built during World War II to support the Allied effort in the Pacific . The base was located on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides , now Vanuatu , in the South Pacific . The base also supported the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps , U.S. Coast Guard , and US Marine Corps . It was the first large advance base built in

621-538: Was a major part of preparing American units for the Guadalcanal campaign . Four airfields were built; Palikulo Bay Airfield , Turtle Bay Airfield , and Luganville Airfield no longer exist, but the Bomber 3 was turned into Santo-Pekoa International Airport . Other facilities built were five military hospitals, Luganville Seaplane Base , Pontoon Wharf, a floating drydock, and thousands of Quonset huts . Luganville

648-487: Was first settled by Vietnamese migrants who constructed shelters out of scrap metal left behind by the United States Army . The Vietnamese were repatriated in the 1960s and it was then occupied by Ni-Vanuatu migrants. Luganville's economy suffered after Vanuatu declared independence in 1980. It has a strong tourist industry, namely in the areas of World War II artifacts and scuba diving ( SS President Coolidge

675-522: Was in much demand. The build up of Espiritu Santo was both a defense strategy and then a staging point for the offense against the Japanese. The base supported action in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea . The base was very active in the Solomon Islands campaign and New Guinea campaign . There were always fears that New Hebrides and Espiritu Santo would be invaded. To build all the bases and airfield tens of thousands of tonnes of equipment

702-434: Was not available in Luganville until late 2006. Luganville is one of Vanuatu's busiest ports, especially as a transshipment point for copra , coconut oil, and cacao . Canal du Segond , the body of water separating the main island and Luganville from Aore Island , provides the town with an excellent sheltered harbour. The town is served by Santo-Pekoa International Airport , the second largest airport in Vanuatu. The city

729-422: Was shipped to the base. By the end of the war 9 million tonnes of equipment had been shipped there and over 500,000 servicemen and women had spent some time at New Hebrides and Espiritu Santo. US Navy seabees built four airfields near the naval base, three to support United States Army Air Forces bombers , one to support fighter aircraft . The Royal New Zealand Air Force and US Marine Corps also operated at

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