War in the Pacific National Historical Park: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, National Park Service
Germano V and Oelke Farley J. 2013. War in the Pacific National Historical Park: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, National Park Service. 975116. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
War in the Pacific National Historical Park is located on Guam, the southernmost island in the Mariana chain in the Pacific Ocean. During World War II, the Second Battle of Guam (1944) was one of the three significant battles (Saipan, Guam, and Tinian) during the Marianas Campaign; one of several campaigns in which the United States took control of islands occupied by Japan. The Second Battle of Guam (1944) is significant because of the island’s strategic importance to the United States’ war effort in the Pacific Theater, as Guam’s Apra Harbor was the only deep-water port in the Marianas. Guam would also become a critical supply point in the United States’ war effort. War in the Pacific National Historical Park demonstrates the significance of the events of the battle through its large-scale systems and historic features. Most important to the events of the battle were the natural features of the island, including the coral reef, limestone outcroppings, coastal cliffs, beaches, and steep interior mountain range. The dense vegetation of the island included coastal marshes, coconut groves, jungle-covered ravines, and savannas of dense sword grass; all of which influenced the movement of troops. The spatial organization of the battle is based on these natural features. Although the park totals over 2,000 acres of land and water, it includes only a fraction of the entire battlefield. The park encompasses significant areas of the early battlefield, and interprets the significance of the battle in the context of the war. The battlefield retains its setting through the natural systems and features, topography, spatial organization, and views that connect each of the seven units.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Germano, Vida; Oelke Farley, James
- Date of Issue
- 2013
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- WAPA
- Keywords
- Battlefield, Chamorro, Climate Change, CNMI, Coastal Zone, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, concrete stabilization, Cultural Landscape, cultural tradition, Erosion, Guam, Japanese, Liberation Day, Military, Typhoon, United States, World War II