As it did 70 years ago, the coastal township of Mahia became a US military outpost at the weekend.
While the marines who came ashore back in 1943 were sadly not part of the Marines@Mahia Labour Weekend event, as most lost their lives in the following months of war, many of the vehicles they used, and the US ambassador to New Zealand David Huebner, were in attendance, along with representatives of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the army and the navy.
The first US forces arrived in New Zealand in June, 1943, and part of their preparations for the push through the Pacific was to practise beach landings.
Mahia was chosen as one of the sites for the mock landings and the locals were astonished to discover one morning in October that the US Marine Corps had arrived in the bay.
It was especially memorable for the children of Opoutama School, which overlooked the bay, and that meant the students could observe the fleet of ships and landing craft.