The Marshall Paul Wees Memorial Scholarship is named for a US Navy doctor who served the people of Ulithi Atoll during the War in the Pacific.
Dr Wees, working with limited supplies and assisted only by a pharmacist’s aide, stamped out the terrible scourge of yaws, a debilitating disease then ravaging the Ulithian population.
Dr. Wees’ service to the Ulithians was recounted in King Doctor of Ulithi, coauthored by Father Francis Beauchesne Thorton, as well the semi-fictionalized book The King Fassarai, by David Divine. A brief summary of his work also appears in the Ulithi Encyclopedia.
Marshall Wees, MD, passed away June 15, 1955 in La Jolla, California.
The Marshall Paul Wees Memorial Scholarship is awarded by Habele each year to a student from Ulithi attending an independent elementary or high school on Yap, Chuuk or Pohnpei.
Micronesian students can apply for a Habele K12 tuition scholarship here.
If you’d like to help support Habele’s scholarships, please consider donating.
Established by former Peace Corps Volunteers, Habele is a 501(3) nonprofit supporting Micronesian students.