Over 1K WWII items featured at NMI Museum

About 1,005 artifacts, pictures, models, and documents of life before, during, and after World War II on the Northern Marianas are currently on display at the CNMI Museum of History and Culture as part of commemorations for the 60th anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

According to exhibit curator Noel B. Quitugua, the exhibit aims to present the transition from the Japanese Administration to the American Administration.

“This exhibit features items showing the ways of life in the CNMI during the prosperous years under the Japanese, the war, the aftermath of the war, the camps that were created, all the way to the signing of the Covenant,” he said.

Panels at the entrance of the exhibit features various infrastructure built between 1914 and 1941.

“This section details what the people did…the various building that were built, the education system, the hospitals, and of course, the sugar mining that was popular on those days before the war,” said Quitugua.

The exhibit continues on to the time of the war, with various weapons, artillery, and ammunition belonging to Japanese and American troops displayed alongside the many pictures depicting events from the invasion to the surrender of Japan.

A panel was also dedicated to the Enola Gay, including pictures of the airfield on Tinian, the two atom bombs, the huge mushroom cloud that rose from Hiroshima after the dropping of the atom bomb Little Boy, and the instrument of surrender by the Japanese delegation onboard the battleship Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945.

Also included were dedications to the Navajo Code Talkers, the 24th Infantry Regiment known as the Buffalo Soldiers, and the group of Japanese that were stranded on Anatahan after the war.

Quitugua said 25 Japanese men and a woman were on Anatahan and did not surrender until July 1951.

“They were unaware that the war ended. They thought it was still going on, and they survived by using scraps salvaged from a B-29 to make knives, pots, pans, and other utensils.”

The exhibit also includes crafts made by civilians while in Camp Susupe, pictures of the opening of camp gates on July 4, 1956, and the installation of the Trust Territory.

“I urge the people of the CNMI to come to the museum and see the exhibit,” said Quitugua. “It has a lot to offer in terms of learning about the history of our islands.”

Several of the artifacts and pictures were supposed to be displayed at the new Visitors Center at the American Memorial Park.

“Once completed, some will be transferred there, but not all,” said Quitugua.

Quitugua said the museum was granted some $5,000 from the organizing committee of the commemoration to fund the project, which was completed in 13 days. He said the museum spent between $3,000 and $4,000 to complete the showcase.

Quitugua said the full exhibit would be displayed until September, after which it will be downsized to make way for displaying cultural artifacts in honor of CNMI Cultural Month.

It will again be downsized in October, as the section on the prosperous Japanese years will be enlarged in honor of a Japanese festival.