I Found WWII Wrecks Under Indonesia’s Most Forgotten Island

Most people have never heard of Morotai. This small island in eastern Indonesia barely appears on a map — but in 1944, it was one of the most strategically important places on earth.

From here, Douglas MacArthur launched his return to the Philippines. Hundreds of aircraft flew daily missions. And when the war ended, nobody came back to clean up.

80 years later, the jeeps are still on the seabed. So are the planes.

In this video I explore Morotai on motorbike, visit a one-man museum built from decades of collecting war relics from the jungle, dive the sunken aircraft and jeeps near the old airstrip, and track down a huge Japanese warship that almost nobody has ever dived — with GPS coordinates from a friend and a lot of hope.

We see the swarming school of “baby” black tip reef sharks which are now fully grown adults.

Plus the extraordinary story of Teruo Nakamura — a soldier who kept fighting in the jungle here until 1974. Thirty years after the war ended. Nobody told him.

And yes, there are hammerheads.

#morotai #travelindonesia #scubadiving

🤿 Dive gear, travel info and more: indowild.org

📷 Instagram: instagram.com/sam_indowild

34 Comments

  1. Wow wow finally eager for this ,on my whole 2 flights from indonesia to india via sri lanka ,I almost finished 10 videos of yours ,luckily downloaded it ,great content ,the blend of music ,your documentary is amazing ,thanks mate for something great

  2. You produce some of the best content on Indonesia. Thanks so much for sharing places most of us will never get to see. Well done once again

  3. Amazing footages! Keep them coming, Sam. We enjoy watching your videos posted. As if we are the ones traveling every time we watch those videos you post.

  4. I’ve been watching your videos for a while and you create such good, informative and beautiful content. Love watching your stuff. Please keep going 🔥🙏

  5. You did it again! Great video, and you have added again to my long list of places I need to visit and dive. It would be great to see a list of the dive providers and accommodation used. Thanks again.

  6. So awesome there's a new video. I keep checking 😅. You have a gift for what you do. Peace, love, and safety to you and yours friend. Have to go. It just started…
    Thanks!!!!!

  7. Yesss, finally a new video drop! Your videos are getting better and better. Absolutely love it 😍 but man, that NDL alarm going off had me sweating!

  8. It was truly amazing diving there Sam. I'd forgotten how great that swarm of Blacktips were….

  9. I'm pretty sure you're living like a king in my beautiful country Indonesia right now, due to the USD to Rupiah exchange rate😂🤣. By the way, thanks for sharing another remarkable underwater view. It’s astonishing! Enjoy ur time in Indonesia

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