War in the Pacific National Historical Park!

What Is War in the Pacific National Historical Park?

This park preserves and interprets the battlefields and Japanese defenses from the Battle of Guam, 1944!

What Makes It Historical?

On December 8, 1941, hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes began bombing the island of Guam, a U.S. outpost that was in no way prepared for open warfare! It was primarily a refueling stop for trans-Pacific flights, strategically located between Hawai‘i, the Philippines, and Japan, and so when Japan seized it entirely on December 10th, it severed American communication lines with Asia!

Japan held Guam for two years and 8 months, calling it Great Shrine Island, or Omiya Jima. They subdued most of the native CHamoru people, at best forcing them to learn Japanese customs, at worst killing and imprisoning them in concentration camps like Manenggon. In fact, by July 10, 1944, nearly the entire civilian population of Guam (18,000 folks) had been relocate to these camps!

But by then, the U.S. had already recaptured Saipan to the north and was on its way to retake Guam via Admiral Chester Nimitz’s Operation Forager! For two weeks leading up to the Battle of Guam, battleships bombed the shore, and Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) blew holes in the reef to make way for landing teams. On the morning of July 21, 1944, the two-pronged invasion kicked off: the Third Marine Division under Major General Allen Turnage at Assan Beach and the First Provisional Marine Brigade under Brigadier General Lemuel Shepherd at Hågat Beach! This became known as W-Day in Guam!

Facing intense fire from the coastal defense guns and ferocious banzai infantry attacks, it was sheer numbers that led the over 56,000 U.S. troops to victory over Lieutenant General Takeshi Takashina’s roughly 18,000 troops, but it still took three weeks of intense fighting! They stormed past the pillboxes and through the thick jungles, overwhelming the Piti Guns and the communication center on the Fonte Plateau! They pushed through elaborate defenses on the Orote Peninsula to secure its airstrip then blew up General Hideyoshi Obata’s command post on Mount Mataguac! The concentration camps were liberated by July 31st, and Guam as a whole was secured on August 10th, opening up new flight paths for Allied bombings of the Japanese islands!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Volunteer at War in the Pacific National Historical Park!
Become a member of Pacific Historic Parks!
Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!