Indonesia
and the US MacArthur Foundation are planning to build a World War II and
Operation Trikora museum on Morotai Island near North Maluku.
Morotai
played a strategic role in the US advances against the Japanese during World
War II, and was also used as a base during the struggle to win Papua from the
Dutch colonial administration in the early 1960s — an operation known as
Trikora. Planes were based at Morotai as a station to attack Biak island in
Papua.
“General
Douglas McArther, as the commander of the allied forces in the Pacific during
World War II, was known for his frog leap strategy. He jumped from island to
island and attacked Morotai island from Biak to paralyze the Japanese
occupation forces there,” said Al Busyra Basnur, the US consul general in
Houston, Texas in a press release.
The allied
forces then build seven airstrips on Morotai to facilitate air strikes on the
Philippines.
Coordinating
Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono and North Maluku Governor Thaib
Armaiyn made a visit on Monday to the MacArthur Memorial and MacArthur Museum
in Norfolk, Virginia, to discuss the plan, according to Busyra.
Busyra
added that the initial plans to build the museum coincided with the Sail Morotai
2012 event, which will include a parachute jump event, a rocket launch by the
National Aerospace and Aviation Institute (Lapan) and a parade of warships and
sailboats from various countries.
On Sept 15,
at the peak of Sail Morotai, World War II veterans and members of the Trikora
operation, will be on hand.
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