National Geographic April 1988

Ghosts of War in the South Pacific
During World War II hundreds of aircraft and ships went down in the South Pacific. Peter Benchley recounts the action and, with photographer David Doubilet, discovers that marine organisms have transformed wrecks into magnificent living memorials.
Riddle of the Pyramid Boats
Why did the ancient Egyptians disassemble and bury two full- sized royal ships near the tomb of the great pharaoh Khufu? What purposes did the vessel serve? Peter Miller investigates the puzzle. Photographs by Victor R. Boswell, Jr.
Finding a Pharaoh’s Funeral Bark
Scientists penetrate a crypt near Egypt’s Great Pyramid to reveal a sacred craft unseen for 4, 600 years. By Farouk El- Baz, with photographs by James P. Blair and Claude E. Petrone.
Texas in Bloom
The Lone Star State finds a place in the sun for wildflowers, says the First Lady of beautification, Lady Bird Johnson.
Wildflowers Across America
Artist Jack Unruh captures the astonishing color and variety of the blooms that nature plants from eastern woodlands to high mountain meadows. With text by Michael E. Long.
Uganda- -Land Beyond Sorrow
Death has become a way of life in this once prosperous East African nation, ravaged by two decades of anarchy, chaos, and massacres, and now by the specter of AIDS. Robert Caputo reports.
Wreck of the [ Coolidge]
David Doubilet takes us on a tour of the President Coolidge, luxury liner turned troop transport, which sank in 1942 at Espiritu Santo en route to reinforce Allied forces at Guadalcanal.