On September 8, 1943, just a few days after the landing of American troops on Nanumea, Japanese planes from Tarawa overflew the island and bombed the church. It sustained damage to the roof and ceiling below, as shown in these photos. The top two pictures are courtesy of Peter McQuarrie. The photo showing interior damage is from Peter Fiori, whose father, also called Peter Fiori, took the photo. Unfortunately, the Sr. Peter who took the photo later died in a plane crash at Nanumea just two months later, in November 1943.