Ascension : Day of Remembrance
Submitted by The Islander (Shari Parkhill) 10.04.2008 (Article Archived on 24.04.2008)

On the 30th of March 2008, the Ascension Island Heritage Society held a Day of Remembrance to commemorate the contribution of Americans to the history of Ascension.

 The event was held on this date as it marked the anniversary of the arrival of the men of the 38^th Combat Engineering Regiment.  These men left Charleston, South Carolina on a highly secret mission, told only that they were to build a runway on a tropical island.  Imagine their feelings when they landed on a barren rocky island.

Despite the hardships, they managed the remarkable feat of carving out a runway in three months.  This airfield allowed aircraft to refuel on their way to the African theatre during World War II, and is considered one of the major engineering accomplishments of the war.  Many thousands of aircraft stopped on Ascension, and many servicemen still recall their relief in seeing the island after flying for so many hours over endless miles of ocean. 

When the men of the 38^th moved on to build more airfields in Africa they left behind a detachment of their fellow servicemen to maintain and safeguard their accomplishments.  Not only had they built the runway, they had built a supporting encampment, including the 175^th Field Hospital, near the foot of Green Mountain.  This location was chosen for its inland location and more favourable climate.  It was also designated a “Last Stand Area” in case the enemy ever invaded the island.

Although the men who maintained Ascension never saw direct action, it must be remembered that they lived with the threat.  German submarines were spotted in the area on different occasions, and the threat of invasion was very real.  The servicemen lived in a remote location, many for over two years.  For much of the time, they were forbidden to disclose their whereabouts in their letters.  They dealt with a lack of supplies, food and water.  They alternated between periods of inactivity, and times of intense activity. 

These men played a very special role in the war, although they never set foot on a battlefield.  They supported the planes that carried service personnel and supplies to areas involved in the fighting.  They cared for survivors of plane crashes, and several shipping disasters.  The air crews based here searched the seas for enemy ships and submarines, engaging them when they were spotted.

Ascension Island’s importance in the Second World War is in many ways still a secret.  No battles were fought on it, but servicemen still lost their lives here.  There were motor vehicle accidents, drownings, training mishaps, and a number of plane crashes.  Sixty-four deaths are recorded on the island or in the seas surrounding it.  Thirty-four of these men were buried at the walled Military Cemetery in what is now Two Boats Village.  The rest were lost at sea. 

When the war was over, the base on Ascension Island remained active although at a much reduced level of activity.  The hospital was closed, and the medical personnel that remained were relocated to buildings near the airfield.  Many of the buildings were torn down.  In February of 1947 the bodies in the cemetery were repatriated to Fort Buchanon in Puerto Rico.  Then, in May of that year, the last of the military personnel boarded a plane and left Ascension.  The Americans were gone.

In the 1950s, the Americans returned, reactivating the base with a new mission.  It was the terminus in a 5,000 mile series of missile tracking stations that began in Cape Canaveral, Florida.  The space age had begun.

In the early sixties, these men were joined by NASA, who constructed a large complex at Devil’s Ashpit.  This Deep Space Network station tracked the space flights, and when manned missions began, they communicated with the astronauts.  With the help of the Cable & Wireless relay station, these communications were transmitted to the world. 

NASA has gone now, the area taken over by the Boy Scouts.  Only one building remains, but the concrete pathways and antenna supports are reminders of a by-gone era.  The US Base, Ascension Auxiliary Airfield remains.  The Americans have been back on Ascension for over fifty years now. 

The contribution of Americans to the history of one of the most unique and interesting little islands in the world is one that is both varied, and important.  In recognition of this, the Ascension Island Heritage Society embarked on a number of projects to promote awareness of the history of the American presence.

These included the development of four new Heritage boards.  The sites added to the Heritage & Conservation Trail include the Grotto of Our Lady of Ascension, built by American soldiers in 1944, the site of the US Army Hydroponics Station No. 1, and the sites of the 175^th Field Hospital and the US Military Cemetery.  Two “Americans on Ascension” booklets have been added to the publications available at the Fort Hayes Gallery and Museum.  The first, “Caring for Body, Heart and Soul”, is a brief history of the Grotto, Hospital and Cemetery.  The other, “The NASA site” details the history of NASA on Ascension, much of it in the words of those who worked there.

The Day of Remembrance was planned as both a memorial and a celebration to the Americans who have come before us, and have for a part of their lives, called this island their home.  It began with a memorial service at the Grotto, the wonderful little chapel the GIs built so many years ago, which still serves as a church, these days under the British Roman Catholic diocese of the South Atlantic Ocean.  We were privileged to have a USAF chaplain, Captain Chris La Pack, conduct the services, assisted by Father Peter Norris of the Falkland Islands and Canon Clive Duncan of St. Mary’s Church in Georgetown.  The service remembered those servicemen who died here during the Second World War.  Their final resting places may be far away, but for a time, many lay in hallowed ground on this island. 

            Following the service at the Grotto, the Heritage board was unveiled by Chaplain La Pack and Father Norris.  This board was sponsored by the Diocese.  Then the ceremonies moved on to the Hydroponics site.  For many, this was their first visit to an area most never knew existed.  As the years passed, Mexican thorn trees gradually took over, obscuring the site.  Frances Dixon, the Environmental Technician on the US Base, described the site, its important functions, and the efforts by the Island Conservation Department to clear the site of the invasive Mexican Thorn, and preserve it.  The new Board, sponsored by 45^th Space Wing Operations personnel, was then unveiled by Major Robert Light, the Base Commander, Ascension AAF

          The next part of the day’s celebrations took place at the edge of the Soccer Pitch at the base of Green Mountain.  In this area, the buildings of the 175^th Field Hospital once stood.  Dr, Milenko Gradinski, of the Georgetown Hospital, spoke about the men who once worked there, and the evolution of medicine on this island and in general.  The new heritage board was then unveiled by Mr. Michael Hughes, Station Manager for Computer Sciences Raytheon.  CSR kindly sponsored this board.