Page 47 - UD Research Magazine Vol5-No1

Navy Chaplain O. Karl Olander giving a sermon aboard the USS Princeton.
O. Karl Olander’s scrapbook and journal provided Mark Moline a personal connection to the scientific work of searching for downed American aircraft in
Palau. Pictures, holiday menus and details about how many servicemen attended services and received communion gave a glimpse into life aboard the USS Princeton.
The University of Delaware’s Mark Moline knew that his grandfather, O. Karl Olander, was a Navy chaplain in the Pacific during World War II. But it
wasn’t until his mother shared his grandfather’s journal and scrapbook that Moline realized his grandfather had been on the USS Princeton, one of
the aircraft carriers that attacked Palau in March 1944.
During World
War II, the western Pacific islands of
Palau were a hotbed
for combat. The Jap- anese wanted to use
the islands for battle preparation and refueling grounds— and so did the
Allies. Numerous aircraft were lost
in the waters off
Palau, submerged
for decades with
little closure for the families of fallen airmen.
Moline, director of the School of Marine Science and Policy within UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environ- ment, and a colleague at Scripps Institu- tion of Oceanography began working with the non-profit BentProp Project in 2013 to apply underwater robotics technologies in search of lost U.S. airmen.
“About the time that we realized we were at the limit of our capabilities, we met the folks from Scripps and University of Delaware. Their technology changed
everything,” said BentProp founder Patrick Scannon.
The collabora- tion led to the discov- ery of two long-lost planes in 2014. The work was profiled on the CBS news maga- zine 60 Minutes and featured in a video by the mounted camera company Go Pro.
Underwater discovery
Since 2010, Moline and Scripps col- leagueEricTerrillhaveusedsophisticated technology to study and model the com- plex flow of water around the coral reefs, lagoons and islands of Palau, funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR). The researchers make annual field expeditions to examine currents, large-scale eddies and tides’ impact on water movement. The hydrodynamic research also focuses on the impact of super-typhoons on beaches and coral reef environments.
LISA TOSSEY
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