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Kwajalein Travel Guide
Over the years, the major atoll of Kwajalein has established itself not only as one of the world's largest coral atolls surrounding one of the biggest lagoons on the planet, but also as an important player in wartime history. In Marshallese cosmology, Kwajalein was the domicile of a copiously flowering utilomar tree from which great blessings flow according to the Ralik tribe. People from all over the place would then gather the tree's flowers. The name Kwajalein has been derived from Ri-ruk-jan-leen or "people who harvest the flowers."Simply called Kwaj by the English speakers, Kwajalein is on lease by the US military since 1944 when American forces captured the atoll in the Battle of Kwajalein. The atoll is now home to at least 1,000 American and Marshallese employees who are engaged in US programs such as missile testing, space operations support, and navigational systems. Kwajalein's military history has made tourism almost non-existent. One should easily recollect that it was the target of most of the bombs released during the 1944 Pacific War. More than 36 thousand shells of naval and ground artillery left at least ten thousand casualities on the Island. The mass graves of the Americans, Japanese, Koreans and Marshallese who died in the war are strewn all over the atoll, marked by memorials, which are often visited by their bereaved families. The Japanese revere the memorials as sacred, and so are the sites of sunken ship and airplane wrecks in Kwajalein Lagoon, but still, divers keep on coming. A particular must-see is the soaked German cruiser Prinz Eugen, which was used during the Bikini Atoll weapons tests. Spear fishing and deep-sea fishing are also common. During low tide, it is possible to wade across Kwajalein's reef towards the nearby Little Bastard Island. However you will need a boat for hopping to other islands such as Nell, Enmat and Bigej, which have lush tropical jungles, traditional villages, and corals for snorkeling. Ebeye Island, which has one of the highest population densities on Earth, is a good destination for its wall-to-wall tenements and friendly children greeting strangers with a warm "yokwe" (hello).
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