Saipan : oral histories of the Pacific War / [edited by] Bruce M. Petty.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Petty, Bruce M., 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Saipan, Battle of, Northern Mariana Islands, 1944.

World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Mariana Islands.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xi, 204 pages : illustrations, maps, plans ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2002]

Summary:

The battle for Saipan is remembered as one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Pacific during World War II, and was a turning point on the road to the defeat of Japan. The island was a blaze of fire and steel for over three weeks in the summer of 1944. Visible reminders of the devastation still exist--one can still find human skeletal remains scattered on the jungle floor and in caves throughout the island. Emotional reminders still exist as well, for both the combatants and the civilians who survived the battle. In this work, the survivors--including Pacific Islanders on whose land the Americans and Japanese fought their war--have the opportunity to tell their stories in their own words. The author introduces the volume with a history of the Mariana Islands and other parts of Micronesia and arranges the oral histories by location: Saipan, Yap and Tinian, Rota, Palau Islands, and Guam in the first half, and by branch of service in the second half.

Contents:

Part I Micronesian Voices: Oral Histories of Pacific Islanders

1. Saipan

Japanese Father, Chamorro Mother / Vicky Vaughan 17

My Two Families / Sister Antonieta Ada 21

Escolastica / Escolastica Tudela Cabrera 24

The Fisherman's Son / Juan Blanco 27

The Policeman / Gregorio C. Cabrera 31

Messenger Boy for the Japanese Police / Manuel T. Sablan 34

Provisional Marine / Cristino S. Dela Cruz 38

Arrested by the Kempeitai / David Sablan 40

Carolinian Elder / Felipe Iguel Ruak 45

With Father Tardio and the Nuns / Marie Soledad Castro 48

The Boy from Taegu / Taeki Lee 51

2. Yap and Tinian

The Flemings from Yap / Alfred Flores Fleming, Rosalia Aldan Fleming 55

The White Russian from Yap / Alex Tretnoff 59

3. Rota

Digging Tunnels on Rota / Antonio Shimabukuro Borja 62

Hungry and Thirsty on Rota / Jose King 64

Chicken and Corn / Jose Hocog Mundo 69

4. Palau Islands

I Worked for the Kempeitai / Roman Tmetuchl 72

The Sailor from Angaur / Manuel S. Sablan 75

5. Guam

The Interpreter / Henry S. Pangelinan 79

The Interpreter's Wife / "Marikita" Palacios Crisostomo 82

From Sumay to Santa Rita / Gregorio Borja 85

Part II American Voices: Oral Histories of U.S. Military Veterans and Their Families

6. The Marines

The First Armored Amphibian Battalion / Dale L. Barker 93

The Bastard Battalion / Frank Borta 99

Farm Boy from Oklahoma / Paul E. Cooper 104

Sixth Provisional Marine M.P. Battalion / James A. Moore 108

Maug Island / Robert Owensby 113

Marines Don't Cry in Public / Robert Roland 117

Mr. Leary / Carl Matthews 121

7. The Army

Military Intelligence Service Attached to the Twenty-seventh Army Division / Benjamin Hazard 132

A Nisei's Story / Nobuo Richard Kishiue 141

The Thirty-third Coast Artillery Battery / Roland Fronheiser 147

Field Artillery Officer / Edmund Joseph Lyga 150

8. The Navy

Navy Civil Affairs Unit / Harris Martin 156

Gunnery Officer: USS Twining (DD 540) / William VanDusen 160

Patrol Bombing Squadron Twenty-two / Bob Willig 169

9. The Army Air Force

B-29 Lead Pilot / Ray Brashear 176

B-24 Nose Gunner / Gerald Shaffer 182

10. The Home Front

When Johnnie Didn't Come Marching Home / Bill Winnekins 189

Already I Miss You as Much as I Thought I Would / Jane Broome Plante 195.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0786409916

OCLC:

47232301