What is Blunts Point Battery?
A huge coastal defense gun from World War II!
What Makes It Historical?
There have been coastal defenses here at Tulutulu (Blunts Point) since World War I when Germany had control over western Samoa, but things really started to heat up here in the next World War. The 7th Marine Defense Battalion arrived here in December of 1940 to set up defenses against Japanese expansion in the Pacific. They set up guns and pillboxes across Pago Pago Harbor and trained the 1st Samoan Battalion, Marine Corps Reserve. All of this was to maintain communication lines with Australia and New Zealand, which was extra precarious after Pearl Harbor! With orders to protect Australia’s supply line at any cost, military resources—8,000 personnel by June 1942—poured into Pago Pago, where a Japanese submarine had shelled a naval station that January!
As luck would have it, Pago Pago saw no further combat, thanks to the Allied victory in the Battle of Midway, and as the largest Marine Corps installation in the Pacific, American Samoa continued as a jungle combat training ground until July 1943. The guns at Blunts Point never saw combat, only firing sixteen rounds at a target on August 28, 1941, which may account for their preservation. Defense guns like these, at their original location, are incredibly rare!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
The trailhead is off Route 001 at these coordinates:
-14.284270180602304, -170.67649137312705
Utulei, AS 96799
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!