During World War II, the sleepy island of Santo was transformed by the United States Armed Forces into the largest Allied military base in the South Pacific behind Hawaii’s Pearl Harbour. Codenamed Base Button, Santo hosted over 500,000 servicepeople throughout the war years – nearly 10 times more people than the entire population of Vanuatu at the time. The legacy of this era can be explored at many places above and below the water in Santo today.

