Extract from ABC News
Stephen Talu carefully measures unexploded ordnance. (Supplied: The HALO Trust)
The Second World War had been raging for three years when it first came to Ian Jijiro's Papua New Guinean village in the form of a crashing plane.
An American bomber slammed into a swamp not far from the small Oro Province community in 1942, and Mr Jijiro's grandfather was one of the villagers who saw it.
"He was scared because they had heard nothing about the war before that,"Mr Jijiro said.
"After that though, they knew."
Papua New Guinea became one of the main theatres of the Pacific War that year, and the conflict lived on in the province's oral traditions long after.
But tales of the war — once passed down the generations at village campfires — are being lost as it recedes further into the past.
And experts fear the loss of historical knowledge is playing out in dangerous ways.
Allied and Japanese armed forces left behind munitions, including mortars, grenades, landmines and artillery shells, after World War II. (Supplied: The HALO Trust)
As fewer Papua New Guineans learn of World War II and its impact on the nation's landscape, they're walking unawares into forgotten battlefields still laced with unexploded ordnance left over from the conflict.
It's having deadly consequences, and thousands of people have been killed or maimed by the explosives.
Now, an international non-government organisation dedicated to removing unexploded ordnance is planning to train Papua New Guineans to sweep areas riddled with hidden explosives — and remove the devices.
PNG's government and The HALO Trust, which was acting on behalf of the US Embassy, signed a memorandum of understanding last month to roll out the new program.
Thousands killed or injured by war's deadly legacy
It was the B-17 bomber — which remained at its crash site and captivated local people for 60 years — that helped keep memories of World War II alive at Mr Jijiro's village.
When it was salvaged and shipped to the US, the community lost its most visible reminder of the war.
"My grandfather and my father, they used to tell stories, and we would go and see the plane," Mr Jijiro said.
"With the plane gone, young people don't know as much."
Ian Jijiro learnt the stories of World War II from his father Gutari Logoni. (Supplied: Ian Jijiro)
As this knowledge disappears, communities are forgetting the location of unexploded ordnance left over from the conflict.
In Oro Province, a major battleground in World War II, the landscape is littered with thousands of tonnes of explosives.
Munitions left behind by Allied and Japanese forces have killed or injured an estimated 25,000 people in PNG, according to The HALO Trust.
Oro Province governor Gary Juffa fears that number will grow as memories of the war continue to fade.
Oro governor pens letter to have 'Swamp Ghost' returned to PNG.
Parts of the Kokoda Track — where Australian troops repelled Japanese forces — are among areas rife with unexploded ordnance.
Charlie Lynn, a guide who led Australian trekkers across the track for three decades, said he had encountered some of it.
"The battles on the Kokoda Track didn't involve large items, they were mainly small arms, hand grenades and mortars," he said.
"But there is no doubt they are dangerous."
The Kokoda Track was the site of fierce fighting involving Australian forces in World War II. (Supplied: Department of Defence)
The HALO Trust, which has removed unexploded ordnance from conflict zones including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iraq, says the contamination also extends closer to PNG's coast.
Its PNG program manager Stephen Talu said areas around Buna and Gona were also rife with hidden explosives.
"We were in Oro in January and came across two 500-pound bombs lying in the middle of a palm oil plantation," he said.
Community leaders hope the new HALO Trust program — which is setting up operations and will start recruiting next month — will make the former battlegrounds safer.
Papua New Guineans are in danger of injury and death if they enter areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance. (Supplied: The HALO Trust)
In a US-funded $3.38 million initiative, the NGO will initially train more than 20 PNG staff to survey hazardous areas for unexploded ordnance.
Later, they'll learn to use metal detectors and other technical equipment before eventually learning to excavate and remove the devices from the ground.
"Another component is to conduct explosive ordnance risk education," Mr Talu said.
"We'll go to schools and communities and teach them about the dangers."
Pacific Islanders stepping up to remove threat
It won't be The HALO Trust's first venture into the Pacific's World War II battlegrounds.
At Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands — an area that endured intense bombardment — it has trained local people to recognise and clear unexploded ordnance.
Calvin Sese, a non-technical team leader at The HALO Trust, was recruited to survey and assess contaminated sites at Guadalcanal, which is his home island.
"My family hate me working in this job," he said.
"But I tell them, if everybody is afraid of this line of work, then who would do it?"
Mr Sese said as Solomon Islands' population has increased, people have moved closer to contaminated areas.
As in PNG, memories of the war have also faded in the Pacific Island nation, with disastrous consequences for people who encounter unexploded ordnance.
Mr Sese said much of his work was raising awareness.
Calvin Sese surveys and assesses contaminated sites in Solomon Islands. (Supplied: The HALO Trust)
"When I was a kid, we saw these items on the surface, but over time items got buried further underground," Mr Sese said.
"So, the new generation has grown up not seeing them as much."
When he encountered a group of young people during one survey, one held up a WWII-era grenade he'd found on the ground and lobbed it in the air.
"They threw it at me like it was just a ball," he said.
"That's how the younger generation treats these items."
Back in PNG, Mr Juffa said unexploded ordnance had been put to more malicious uses.
He first requested US assistance more than a decade ago after World War II munitions fell into the hands of warring tribes in his province.
"I, for one, was almost shot with a World War II bullet from a homemade gun, trying to resolve the conflict," Mr Juffa said.
And he said unexploded ordnance was also robbing farmers of precious agricultural land sorely needed for an industry that makes up 80 per cent of Oro Province's economy.
True scale of contamination still unknown
Oro governor Gary Juffa and The HALO Trust signed the memorandum of understanding to remove the munitions in August, almost 80 years to the day since the Allies declared victory in the Pacific.
Experts say it will barely make a dent in removing the thousands of tonnes of mortars, grenades, landmines and artillery shells left behind by Allied and Japanese forces.
And some warn that the true scale of contamination remains unknown.
John Rodsted, a researcher at humanitarian organisation Safeground, said no systematic survey of unexploded ordnance had been carried out in the Pacific.
While he welcomed funding for the project, he said it was likely tied to a different, burgeoning contest between great powers in the region.
"There's always a foreign affairs agenda," he said.
"At the moment there's squabbling between China, America and Australia, so the strategic importance of the Pacific has come back into focus," he said.
Mr Juffa said the Trump administration had assured him funding for The HALO Trust project would be spared from its sweeping foreign-aid cuts in the Pacific.
Until PNG staff are trained and in the field, the dangers hidden in the country's forgotten battlefields will weigh on community leaders.
"It's always there in the back of our mind," he said.
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