I still think we’re viewing one event in 1945 through the lens of 2016 sensibilities and standards. The decision to dump that equipment was probably made by an Army lieutenant colonel or Navy commander -- faced with orders to get his troops off Espiritu Santo by xx date – and with just enough room on the transports for the men, with none left over for equipment – which had already been unloaded anyway. He couldn’t legally sell it, and (technically) he couldn’t give it away either. What he could (legally) do was dump it. The whole pile was probably worth $50K or so – about the same cost as a single P-51 Mustang. The Army was buying fuel for 10 cents a gallon and Jeeps for $500, and any Navy F4F Hellcat that broke a landing gear when landing on a carrier would be pushed over the side. Only lives counted – bring the troops home (now). If the decision had gone up to CincPac or Army HQ, wiser heads might have suggested finding some way to store it – but that probably didn’t happen.
Mistakes and dumb moves happen all the time, especially during wartime -- when saving lives and winning victories were paramount – and saving surplus equipment and worrying about the environment were not even on the list. For hundreds of years, the way to get rid of anything unwanted was to either bury it or dump it in the sea.
Short (somewhat related) story: During WW I, the Army and American University built a chemical warfare lab on vacant land in DC near the American U campus. When the war ended, the Army demolished the lab and buried everything left over in place. During the 1930s and 40, a very nice neighborhood on large lots was built on that land. Over the years, bits and pieces of that stuff surfaced – but around 1990, a couple of live munitions and rusty cans of mustard gas showed up. The houses there now go for $1M or more. So now the Army is digging up everyone’s yard, and having to replace all the landscaping when they’re done. Several houses had to be torn down completely. Stuff happens.
Mistakes and dumb moves happen all the time, especially during wartime -- when saving lives and winning victories were paramount – and saving surplus equipment and worrying about the environment were not even on the list. For hundreds of years, the way to get rid of anything unwanted was to either bury it or dump it in the sea.
Short (somewhat related) story: During WW I, the Army and American University built a chemical warfare lab on vacant land in DC near the American U campus. When the war ended, the Army demolished the lab and buried everything left over in place. During the 1930s and 40, a very nice neighborhood on large lots was built on that land. Over the years, bits and pieces of that stuff surfaced – but around 1990, a couple of live munitions and rusty cans of mustard gas showed up. The houses there now go for $1M or more. So now the Army is digging up everyone’s yard, and having to replace all the landscaping when they’re done. Several houses had to be torn down completely. Stuff happens.
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