Guam and the NMI (Pt. 4)
Native islanders built their homes on 2-piece pillars of quarried coral called “Latte and Taga Stones”. The Taga Stone pictured on this post (Tinian); the crown was probably 6.0-6.5 ft in diameter on top and perhaps 12-15 ft tall. These most likely served as a structure base for a place of reverence or a person of status; Latte stones were shorter, typically 5-7 ft.
It was an adventure to discover this side of the Pacific, great people, great food, great fun, and educational to boot. One experience I will always treasure, was having dinner with an associate on Saipan.
He invited me to his home one evening after a tough recruiting meeting. Once home, he made sure I was comfortable, changed into a swim suit, grabbed his face mask, 3 prong spear and entered the ankle to knee-deep water, he stopped after about 200 ft; I imagine it was the edge of the reef, he donned his mask, took a breath and disappeared with a splash. A minute or so later, he emerged with a fish the size of a small car (jk), enough of a catch for his family, his wife’s parents, his parents, grandparents and a couple of neighbors…that was life on Saipan, not for all, but for many.
Idyllic islands with; beautiful people and landscape, majestic cliffs, warm crystal-clear blue waters, BUT, with a gruesome past…Saipan and Tinian’s pre-war population included many Japanese families as well as soldiers; they lived normal lives till the conflict arrived on their doorstep. One of the warnings given by the Japanese military was that, “…the American soldiers are merciless, you will be immediately executed if captured.”
War and the military’s edict made the landscape turned deadly for the Japanese families: the majestic cliffs became suicide sites to escape capture; families leapt and children were thrown if they resisted. Crystal-clear blue water turned red as bodies were minced against the sharp coral outcrops by waves, while other bodies flailed to keep afloat in the surging sea. Only arms and legs became visible as the pile of bodies grew while hundreds continued to leap off the cliffs behind the “Last Command Post”. Archive footage of mothers cradling their babies as they stepped off the edge assaulted my eyes and senses, and now cannot be unseen.
Tinan presented a “chicken skin” moment…standing before the pits where weapons that devastated a nation, and changed the world, was fixed to a B-29 bomber. I tried to imagine the feeling of those involved as they loaded the plane, but I could only feel sadness.
The images posted are from 40 years ago, I imagine the scenery is a little different now. The rusty tank and the cannons at the Last Command Post (Jpn) are probably a pile of rust flakes, tanks on the reef from the invasion (US, small dark spots on the calm water) are mere shadows of themselves, Tinian’s B-29 runways have been overgrown with coconut crabs scurrying about…I hope I’m wrong, these are reminders of a grisly time and must be preserved and remembered so that history will not repeat itself.
