February 20, 2024

This is my first time to the Microasian islands of Guam and Saipan. Enroute to Japan I have always travelled through the South Pacific so it is always fun to visit somewhere you have not been before.

Guam and Saipan both have a strong US military presence so it is typical to see McDonalds, convenience stores and lots of gas stations. But like many places I have visited, especially in the middle east, it is what you don’t see that really tells the story.

It was on December 8, 1941, only hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, that Guam was captured by the Japanese, who occupied the island for two and a half years. During that time, Guamanians were subjected to forced labor, incarceration, torture and execution. During the many battles, including the Battle of Guam, 6015 American soldiers were wounded and !8,350 Japanese soldiers were killed.

The battles were so fiercely fought that they revealed the story of Shoichi Yokoi. Shoichi Yokoi was 26 years old when he was drafted into the Japanese Army in 1941.

At the time, Japanese soldiers were taught that surrender was the worst possible fate for a soldier – so when US forces invaded Guam, Yokoi fled into the jungle.

He dug a cave near a waterfall, covered it with bamboo and reeds, and survived by eating frogs, rats and eels as well as fruit berries. He had no idea when he was discovered on January 24, 1972 by two hunters near a river, that the war had ended. He had remained in seclusion for over 30 years!

Saipan was even more critical in that Japan considered Saipan to be the last line of defense for the Japanese homeland, thus were strongly committed to defending it. The Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy garrisoned Saipan with 30,000 troops based on the island. Of the 30,000 Japanese defenders, only 921 were taken prisoner. All the others perished including over 20,000 Japanese civilians.

One of the most tragic events was the saga of “Suicide Cliff”. Thousands of Saipan civilians jumped to their death, sometimes holding their children, because they were told by the Japanese armed forces that American soldiers would commit atrocities against them if they surrendered. A tragic event, indeed.

I noticed in travelling the first place that many people go to is a gift shop.

Sometimes, it is best to venture off to places not so frequently visited.

It’s not what you look at; its what you see.

Thanks for travelling with us…