The Ulithi Atoll is situated in the Western Sector of the Caroline Islands Chain. It lies some 360 miles Southwest of Guam and approximately 1300 miles South of Tokyo, Japan. The Ulithi Lagoon encompasses more than 180 square miles. The average depth of the water in the Ulithi Lagoon was between 80 to 100 feet. The Atoll has about three dozen small islets. The largest Islet, Falalop, is approximately one half square miles in area. In September 1944, the US Navy took control of the Ulithi Atoll. The Japanese Army had already abandoned the islands. (There were 3 Japanese Soldiers that had apparently been left behind). Ulithi became an overnight Naval Base of Operations. It had become the largest Naval Base in the area. During the next few months, the Navy amassed an armada consisting of battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers and hundred of support ships in preparation for their next strike along their path towards the Japanese homeland. In the continuing push through the Pacific Chain of Islands, many islands, still being held by the Japanese Army, were bypassed. The Navy blockaded these islands cutting off the enemy supply lines, thereby, leaving the resident Japanese Army both isolated and stranded without food or supplies. Aerial Reconnaissance was maintained to monitor all activity on the islands and to acertain that no supplies were reaching the stranded troops. Any unusual activities would generally result in a bombing raid on the island or on specific targets by the Air Force, Navy or the Marine Corps. The VMD-354 detachment to Ulithi was responsible for maintaining the aerial surveillance of these Japanese held islands and to seek out any signs of change through Aerial Photographic Reconnaissance. The squadrons base of operations was on Falalop. This island was extremely small. The aircraft take-off and landing strip was approximately 3500 feet long and ran across the island stretching from beach to beach. The pilot detachment to Ulithi included Lts. L.J. Corboy,Jr., J.H. Ferguson and L.D. Slattery. The small group of enlisted personnel, led by T/Sgt. C.E. Youngberg, provided the ground support for the detachment. The Ulithi detachment had, basically, the same mission as did the Peleliu unit, i.e., the surveillance of the bypassed Japanese held islands in the Palau-Yap Group. The first operational combat mission of the squadron, was flown by the Ulithi detachment on 1 July 1945. This flight came exactly two years to the day that VMD-354 was commissioned at MCAS, Cherry Point. NC. In flying a Photographic Reconnaissance Mission over Truk Island, Lt. Slattery's aircraft was hit by Japanese AA. He was forced to ditch his aircraft in the ocean about seven miles offshore. After floating in his life raft for several hours, he was picked up by a US Destroyer. Ulithi-Pictorials