KIMIUO AISEK

Kimiuo Aisek witnessed Operation Hailstone, the American attack on the Japanese Imperial Navy's Fourth Fleet at Truk Lagoon in 1944. He was only 17 years old, but was old enough to know that life would change forever. Kimiuo was a walking history of the battle and had a photographic memory of the Lagoon at the time of the attack. By the mid-1970s he had been diving in the lagoon for years, located many of the wrecks and had brought diving to Truk. His fame as a Dive-master was common knowledge.

Born in Truk under Japanese rule in 1927, Kimiuo's compassion for Japanese navy and army men during the war years later led him to revere the underwater graveyards and the souls entombed within the sunken ships. Hundreds of visiting divers reveled in hearing Kimiuo "talk story" about Operation Hailstone.

His hospitality and caring nature endeared him to strangers who felt they were not just tourists, they had become a part of his extended family. Despite hosting the diving world's greatest celebrities, Kimiuo always remained a humble man.

When Kimiuo died in 2001 at the age of 73, he left a diving legacy unmatched anywhere else in the world.

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