Thank you

Beginning last Saturday, the CNMI began its weeklong celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian, with most of the major commemorative events taking place this week. The steering committee behind this event has come up with a truly impressive lineup of activities that would surely do our heroes—the veterans—proud. Because all of these—the USO-style show, the parades, the unveiling of memorials, the attendant ceremonies—all boil down to one thing: our simple expression of thanks and gratitude toward the veterans of that war, the likes of which some of us could only vaguely remember and most would never truly understand or imagine. Let me borrow then from this spirit of gratitude to say my thanks.

To the veterans of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian, and to all the American veterans of World War II, thank you. Small words indeed when seen against the colossal sacrifices made by that generation but nevertheless, thank you. If for nothing else, those sacrifices taught these islands the horrors of war, engendering a love for peace that has endured since then. That pacific nature has become the bastion by which the CNMI is known for, transforming these sleepy islands into a paradise for tourists who come to these parts of the world to bask in the sun, frolic on the sand and surf, and ponder on distant memories and echoes of a bloody past.

To the Japanese people, former enemies and now staunch allies, the world has become a much safer place when you renounced your martial past and embraced the tenets of peace, enshrining the ideals of pacifism in your post-war Constitution. For this we thank you. The trouble that must be borne fell on you, becoming the first nation in the world to learn what has never been taught before—the effects of nuclear war—and teaching the world in turn to abhor war in all its forms.

To the steering committee of the 60th commemoration of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian led by Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, thank you. The efforts you all have spent into putting up a truly remarkable series of events to mark this week’s occasion deserve kudos. To be sure, not everyone will be happy with the choices you made but the work, collaboration, and intensity of preparations for what would be a noteworthy week is already an achievement in itself. It was a daunting task to begin with, one that involved months of preparations and meetings, endless discussions, a mind-numbing task of sifting through all the possible events that should be featured, and coordinating with hundreds of people to pull these things off. It is a feat worthy of gratitude.

A special thank you goes out to Dr. Barbara Moir and the CNMI Museum of History and Culture. Dr. Moir, together with the museum’s board, kindly allowed the Saipan Tribune to participate in its small way in the 60th commemoration events by featuring on our newspaper “Personal Histories of World War II in the Marianas.” These personal histories, appearing every Saturday since May, have enabled our readers to get a glimpse of what happened on these islands 60 years ago. Nothing brings home the horrors of war more than an individual’s personal recollections of its tragedies and it is hoped that these series of articles have enabled today’s generations to at least get some measure of what the past generation went through.

Another person who deserve out thanks and plaudits is forensic economist and military historical cartographer William H. “Bill” Stewart, who, of his own volition, has contributed several articles to the Saipan Tribune on World War II events, particularly as they relate to the CNMI. His well-researched stories give vivid glimpses of the war and its aftermath, giving depth to dry historical facts and painting a colorful canvas of life before, during, and after the war. Watch out for his stories as they will continue to be featured on this paper until the end of the celebrations.

I would also like to thank Juan “Pan” Guerrero for contributing articles to the paper, as well as Marie Castro for allowing us the use of her book “A Stone’s Throw From Tokyo,” from which we used some pictures showing the 101st Battalion SEABEES in action after the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

Lastly, my gratitude goes out to all those people—veterans and civilians alike—who have made themselves available to reporters of this newspaper for their wartime lives to be featured as part of a series of personal recollections of the war. The memories are sure to be painful yet these people have opened themselves up unselfishly to pass on bits and pieces of their past so that future generations will never forget. And by not forgetting, they will avoid the curse of reliving the past.

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(The writer is the publisher of the Saipan Tribune.)