Resources
Links
Kwajalein Underwater: underwaterkwaj.com
The website of Scott and Jeanette Johnson, long- (long!-) time Kwaj residents and divers. Beautiful photo gallery of marine life and scenery. Pretty much the best online resource for quick identification of fish and other critters specific to Kwajalein. The Sea Slug section alone, underwaterkwaj.com/nudi, is mind-boggling.
Dave Fortin's Scuba Page: dave.sixmeters.com
Provides a thorough repository of dive sites and wrecks around the atoll, including GPS coordinates, descriptions, and photos for many of the sites. Content was last updated well before 2010, but coral heads and ship wrecks don't move much.
Kwajalein MIA Project: kwajaleinmiaproject.us
The Kwajalein MIA Project website, presenting the mission and ongoing activities of the organization dedicated to locating WWII US crash sites in Kwajalein lagoon and assisting in the process of recovery and repatriation of American missing-in-action servicemen.
Divers Alert Network: diversalertnetwork.org
The largest association of recreational scuba divers in the world, DAN is supported by membership dues and donations. DAN's mission is to help divers in need of medical emergency assistance and to promote dive safety through research, education, products, and diving services.
Roi-Namur Dolphins: RND Facebook Group
Facebook forum of our sister club to the far north of the Atoll.
Books about the Wrecks
John D. Broadwater. Kwajalein, Lagoon of Found Ships. Kwajalein: Self-Published, 1971.
John Broadwater, later Chief Scientist of the expedition that located the USS Monitor, spent some time on Kwajalein.
Dan E. Bailey. WWII Wrecks of the Kwajalein and Truk Lagoons. Redding, CA: North Valley Diver Publications, 1982. (2nd Edition 1989)
History and descriptions of many of the larger wrecks of Kwajalein Atoll. Much of the book is dedicated to Truk.
Mark S. Miller. In the Arms of the Sea: a Historical Guide to the Shipwrecks of Kwajalein Atoll. Gig Harbor, WA: Enigma Books, 1991.
This book includes information on the histories of the ships wrecked in the Kwajalein Atoll.
Brandi Mueller and Alan Axelrod. The Airplane Graveyard: The Forgotten WWII Warbirds of Kwajalein Atoll. New York: Permuted Press, 2018.
Entertaining blend of history, description, and fun with beautiful photography focussing on the Roi-Namur airplane graveyard. By a recent former Roi resident, widely known underwater photographer, dive guide, instructor, world traveler, and all-around swell person.
Books about the Marine Life
Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, and Ned Deloach. Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific. Jacksonville, FL: New World Publications, 2015.
Paul Humann and Ned Deloach. Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific. Jacksonville, FL: New World Publications, 2010.
Terrence Gosliner, Ángel Valdés, and David Behrens. Nudibranch & Sea Slug Identification: Indo-Pacific. Jacksonville, FL: New World Publications, 2015.
Robert F. Myers. Micronesian Reef Fishes: A Field Guide for Divers and Aquarists. Barrigada, Guam: Coral Graphics, 1999.
J.E.N. Veron. Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993.
Sy Montgomery. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. New York: Atria, 2015.
Other Kwajalein Books
Bill Remick. Just Antoher Day in Paradise: A History of Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. Sun City, AZ: Bill Remick Publishing, 2015.
A finely-researched general history of Kwajalein after WWII, packed with historical photographs from the author's extensive archive.
Bo Flood, Beret Strong, William Flood, and Connie Adams. Micronesian Legends. Honolulu, Hawai'i: Bess Press, 2002.
Other answers to age-old questions like How the Islands were Created and Why Rat and Octopus don't get along.
Video
The Silent Wrecks of Kwajalein Atoll, Oceanic Research Group, 2007
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwarz, CBS Television Network, 1964-1967
Dramatized documentary series on the life and conditions faced by non-Marshallese shipwreck victims in an outer-island-like setting. With hilarious consequences.
Skipper: "Gilligaaan!?!" Gilligan: "Ok, Boomer."