Vanuatu: Espiritu Santo Island – Million Dollar Point

After the end of WWII, the US military abandoned their sprawling base on Luganville. Being the largest base in the South Pacific, Luganville had tons of supplies and equipment – tanks, vehicles, food, clothing, and so on – millions and millions of dollars worth. All this stuff was offered to the British/French administrators of Vanuatu at 6 cents on the dollar. The British/French however reckoned that the US had no use for all this stuff and it would just leave it behind for free – and so they rejected the US military offer. The US then, in perhaps a rash decision to spite the allies, bulldozed everything into the deep sea – including all the machinery and suppliers, and then drove the bulldozers into the abyss as well. So now this place is known as the “million dollar point” and divers can dive here in search of treasures.
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