Task Force Dagger and ECU Team up to Explore Underwater WWII Sites | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Morgan Tilton, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    Task Force Dagger, a nonprofit organization that supports all U.S. Special Operations Command service members and their families, is joining forces with the East Carolina University Department of History's maritime studies program to explore and research WWII underwater archaeological sites in the western Pacific.

    The maritime studies program has several faculty and staff that work on military-related and WWII archaeological sites all over the world.

    Associate professor Dr. Jennifer McKinnon has been working on military sites in the Pacific for nearly 10 years. In partnership with Ships of Exploration and Discovery and the local community of Saipan, McKinnon developed the WWII Maritime Heritage Trail: Battle of Saipan in 2009. The heritage trail consists of nine underwater U.S. and Japanese sites in Saipan's crystal-clear, tropical lagoons. The sites include amphibious vehicles such as landing vehicles and tanks, aircraft, and shipwrecks, all lost in the 1944 Battle of Saipan.

    McKinnon said that the partnership with Task Force Dagger is a boon for continuing to research these sites. "Active military and veterans have an incredible firsthand knowledge of warfare, tactics and military material," she said. "Their knowledge and experience has the potential to contribute so much to the research we are conducting in the Pacific. It really is a reciprocal relationship."

    Charles "Keith" David, managing director of Task Force Dagger and retired U.S. Army Special Forces, said the organization is looking forward to solidifying the collaboration through a memorandum of agreement and seeking grant funding for the project.

    The Task Force Dagger Foundation will join McKinnon and the maritime studies program next summer in a special recreational therapy adaptive event that trains special operations command service members in scuba diving and underwater archaeology. The team will then travel to Saipan to continue locating and recording WWII underwater archaeological sites.

    For more information about Task Force Dagger visit https://www.taskforcedagger.org/. For more information about the WWII Maritime Heritage Trail visit http://www.pacificmaritimeheritagetrail.com/.

  • Contact: Dr. Jennifer McKinnon
  •     mckinnonje@ecu.edu

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Interprofessional Event Brings Health Sciences Students Together East Carolina University, School News, The Region, Neighboring Counties Geyer Recognized by Society for the Study of Reproduction


HbAD0

Latest Neighboring Counties

Members of the North Carolina Rural Health Association (NCRHA) visited Washington, D.C., on Feb. 14, 2024, to meet with elected officials and advocate for policies to improve access to care in rural areas.
The US Supreme Court will not take the case of Virginia-based owners of a Dare County beach home who challenged the county's COVID-related shutdown in 2020.
The North Carolina State Fair is set for the Raleigh state fairgrounds from October 12-22, 2023
A $2.5-billion-dollar bond referendum is slated to be placed on the November ballot this year, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) looks for support to fund 30 different projects in the school district.
Five Asheville-area residents are suing the city in federal court for refusing to appoint them to the local Human Relations Commission. The residents claim they were rejected because they are white.
Federal grant expands midwifery care for North Carolina
Pirates achieve historic sponsored activities funding
Innovative new MBA pathway provides leadership experiences for students, companies

HbAD1

Program immerses educators in conflict history, culture
5,400 students descend on campus for the new academic year
ECU undergrads find guidance in SECU Public Fellows Internship program
Psychology major inspired by role in data internship
Internship provides environmentally focused senior a real view of future work
Graduating senior receives career confirmation through PFI internship with art museum
Traditional, modern African art on display at ECU
ECU faculty, students are studying the impact of erosion on Sugarloaf Island
ECU, UNC Pembroke sign dental school early assurance agreement

HbAD2

 
Back to Top