War in the Pacific Cultural Resources Inventory

PART 1

War in the Pacific National Historical Park is the battlefield where the United States defeated Japan and liberated Guam. The island was initially attacked by the Japanese only hours after the Pearl Harbor attack (December 7, 1941 in Hawaii, December 8th in Guam (across the international dateline). Guam fell to the Japanese on December 10th, 1941. The Japanese occupied the island for two and one half years until American forces regrouped, reorganized and turned their attention to re-securing their presence in the Pacific. On July 21, 1944, American troops landed on Asan and Agat beaches. The island was considered secured twenty days later, on August 10th, 1944.War in the Pacific National Historical Park was listed on the National Register in 1978. Asan and Agat beach units were listed on the National Register as invasion beaches. Asan Invasion Beach was listed in 1979 and Agat Invasion Beach was listed in 1975. These landscapes and their associated features remain from a significant event in our national history. Criteria A (Event) - as a landscape that was associated with an event that made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of American history. Asan and Agat beach units also hold potential to yield important information. Criteria D (Information Potential) - may likely yield important prehistory or historic archeological information. The period of significance for the Asan and Agat invasion beaches is 1941 to 1945, marking the beginning and ending of the War in the Pacific. The landscape characteristics that contribute to the period of significance are buildings and structures, archeology, natural systems and features, spatial organization, topography, vegetation and views and vistas.

Asan and Agat beaches both contain coral rock outcroppings up to 100 feet high, and these provided vantage points, natural camouflage, and fields of fire over the beaches for the Japanese. These outcroppings were the best location for the Japanese to build defense structures. Pillboxes, bunkers, gun emplacements and batteries were built into the natural crevices and caves. When U.S. Navy pre-invasion strategists studied cloudy aerial photographs, the outcroppings were mistaken as simple sand hills and the gun emplacements did not show through heavy vegetation. Therefore, defense structures were not bombed during the pre-invasion aerial attack. This oversight caused the initial invasion to be much more difficult and costly to the American troops. These defense positions became Japanese strongholds from which intense artillery fire poured down on advancing Americans before they even reached the shore. "The men soon learned that terrain, rather than the enemy, would be their worst obstacle the first day ashore" (Lodge 1998:40).

Asan and Agat beach sites are both known to have been primary habitation sites from the period of initial contact and throughout the subsequent history of Spanish, Japanese, and American occupation. It can be assumed that these sites would likely yield subsurface archeological information. Although no specific archeological studies have been done on Asan or Agat beach units, it is probable that they contain subsurface information from WWII, pre-war, the Spanish Occupation Period, and periods of pre-history (Latte and Pre-Latte).The natural terrain designated that Asan and Agat beaches would be the primary landing areas and initial battlefields. These two invasion beaches are located six miles apart, on the west central coast of the Island of Guam. Asan is the northern landing beach and Agat is the southern landing beach. Both beaches are enclaves, backed by high foothills and ridges of Mounts Alifan, Chachao, Tenjo, and the Fonte Plateau. Asan and Agat beaches were separated by the Orote Peninsula. The Orote Peninsula, edged with 200-foot sea cliffs, contained the only functional airfield on the island and enclosed the north side of the Apra Harbor. This natural terrain was an asset to defensive troops which favored the Japanese forces and influenced the American offense strategy.

Securing the high ground was an essential part of the American invasion strategy, and an offensive line was drawn on the map extending from Facpi Point (south of Agat Beach) along the ridgeline to Adelup Point (northern edge of Asan Beach). This became the primary objective known as the Force Beachhead Line (FBL). American forces were to 1) establish a foothold on the two invasion beaches, 2) advance forward converging and securing the Orote Peninsula, and 3) capture the FBL. Therefore, although Asan and Agat battlefields were miles apart, they were part of one strategic plan, and the first major tactical maneuver to liberate Guam.Asan and Agat beaches became the initial landing fields, battlefields and sites of the most intense combat. This first day resulted in over 600 American and 200 Japanese casualties. By the morning of July 22, both beaches were secure and became supply nodes where supporting troops, medical supplies, personnel, artillery, and equipment were transferred from American ships anchored offshore. Once Asan and Agat beaches were secure, America again had a foothold on Guam and liberation of the island and its people. These battlefields commemorate the efforts by American troops to protect the United States Territory and liberate the people of Guam from Japanese oppression.