Greg's journey to the islands was his first adventure of many over the following year. A Raiders of the Lost Ark-style map would pinpoint stops in London, Singapore and Brisbane, Australia, before he reached Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands on Guadalcanal Island. Greg next flew on a leaky, 16-seat prop plane to Gizo, the capital of the western province and the home of the bishop. "Arriving at Gizo Airport," Greg says, "Bishop Chris was there to greet me with a custom shell necklace and a quick boat ride to the island where the Dominicans lived. I stayed there for two days and learned about my final destination and my work. I was to be a teacher at a secondary boarding school in Nila on Shortland Island, one of the most remote regions of the country," Greg says. More boat rides and hiking through the jungle led Greg to the place where he would spend the next year of his life: Tuha Secondary School, a 10-minute paddleboat ride from the Nila Parish.
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A leaky prop plane brought Greg Oswald (right) to his destination at the Solomon Islands, where he worked as a missionary and teacher for a year.
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"I can't quite remember the exact moment," he says. "It had been something I would frequently think about. I knew that this type of work would be extremely rewarding, but also extremely demanding. So I knew I would have to bide my time and wait until I was older and more mature."
Greg's arrival was cause for a large celebration. "A feast was prepared in my honor where the 'Big Men' - chiefs of various tribes in the parish - came and welcomed me to their home, giving me gifts such as food, shell necklaces, tobacco, rolls of linen, custom baskets and mats. There were speeches, songs and dance.
"Ninety percent of the people in the Shortland Islands are Roman Catholic because the Catholics were the only ones to set up a mission in such a remote area. I was loved instantaneously, not only because I was there to help the community, but purely for the fact that I was American."
Greg soon learned that the Solomon Islands had endured a brutal occupation by the Japanese and had seen some of the most ferocious battles of World War II, most famously the battle of Guadalcanal. "With the American liberation of the islands," Greg says, "and the way the American soldiers treated the natives - like equals - they were not quick to forget. So my being an American gave me instant fame."
Greg lived in a house adjacent to Tuha Secondary School, "overlooking an inlet," he says, "a million dollar view." There were 150 students at the school, and their level of schooling was equivalent to the seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Classes were taught in English, but Greg learned pidgin in order to better communicate with the students. There were four other teachers, all natives, at the school. Only two of them were educated on the university level and were fluent in English.
"I had my hands full," he says. "I taught English, science, social science, religions and some mathematics, and I was the soccer coach. I was also the school agriculturist, which made me responsible for the school farms [a food source for the children].
"I was quite surprised. These people grow up on the land and learn from a very young age how to use the land. I don't know how to farm, but regardless I was the agriculturist. As it turns out, I was able to produce a successful crop, developing several projects. It might be that my biology background aided me.
"When I arrived, the farms were in bad shape, partly from neglect, partly from wild pigs and dogs. With the help of the students during daily work sessions, we cleared about three acres of jungle and expanded the crop. Using techniques that I had learned in botany, we grew seedlings in a spare bedroom in my house and then transplanted them into the farms. We grew cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, papaya, pineapple, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and pumpkin. The students had more to eat and more variety in their diet."
A typical day for Greg started at 5 a.m. "After my morning prayers I would walk to the shore and have a swim. Next was a shower back at my house and breakfast." Greg's breakfasts (and lunches) always consisted of a cup of coffee, some large Navy biscuits and a piece of fruit.
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