Please tell us about your Coronado Memory
This is a story of war and peace; a tale of a venerated Coronado Admiral meeting with a Peace Corpsman in August of 2011. They met to talk about Micronesia in the 1940’s as opposed to Micronesia in the 1960’s.
A phone call from Bruce Davidson, longtime friend and Coronado resident, got the ball rolling.
“Herm,” my buddy Bruce declared, “you’ve got to come to Coronado and talk to Admiral James 'Jig Dog' Ramage. During WW II he was a young Navy SBD Dauntless dive bomber pilot who helped bomb the hell out of part of the Japanese Imperial Fleet anchored in Truk Lagoon in 1944. Those are the islands YOU were sent to in 1966 as a member of the first Peace Corps Micronesia contingent."
First flight I could catch out of Tucson, I was off to meet one of the most celebrated heroes in the history of American Naval Aviation.
As Bruce, Admiral Ramage, his daughter and I sat at a Ferry Landing café overlooking San Diego Bay, I was in awe as the Admiral began telling of his experience in bombing “Terrible Truk” in February of 1944.
“The worst fire came from the ack ack emplacements on the hillsides of Truk. Then there was fire coming up at us from the Japanese ships sheltered in the lagoon while Zeros were coming at us from out of the sky. But we were successful and this was our payback for Pearl Harbor.”
As a retired teacher of American History, it was the thrill of a lifetime to hear first-hand, first person this naval hero’s description of the strike on Truk Lagoon, a strike that sank 50 Japanese ships and destroyed 270 airplanes. I was hearing a first person account of one of the turning points in Pacific Naval Warfare History. The mighty Japanese Imperial Fleet’s power had now been greatly diminished.
When the razor sharp, 95-year-old Admiral ended his description of the Battle of Truk Lagoon, I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Sir, on behalf of the people of Micronesia I would like to thank you for liberating those islands from the Japanese. They treated the islanders horribly, called them 'baka,' or dogs, and used every opportunity afforded them to dehumanize the indigenous people.”
The Admiral’s eyes lit up and he chuckled softly upon hearing my comment. His daughter’s eyes danced, too.
Now for the Peace Corpsman‘s part of this story. Thanks to the heroics of Admiral Ramage, and other members of “The Greatest Generation," I was able to serve the people of Micronesia from 1966-’68 in Truk (now properly called Chuuk, a member of the Federated States of Micronesia). On the Outer Island of Ruo I taught English as a Second Language, was a Community Development Director, and was able to help my islanders create a Fishing Co-Operative, a Handicraft Co-Operative and a Housing Co-Operative to buy building materials to construct typhoon-proof houses for everyone on our island. This would never have happened had it not been for the heroics of young men like “Jig Dog” Ramage. Attrition rates for U.S. dive bomber crews during World War II were close to 50 per cent. These were true heroes.
As I put this story together on July 4, 2015, I harken back to my meeting with Admiral Ramage and thank God that I had the opportunity to thank him for his service to Micronesia. When Peace Corps met the United States Navy on August 15, 2011 “My Coronado Memory” was sealed.


Jim Herman


Author of recently-released
REI WAN: The Outsider
A tale of the brilliant life-
style of Chuuk’s Outer
Islanders
www.reiwan.com