Memorial honors local war dead

In memory of the Chamorros and Carolinians of the Northern Marianas who died during World War II, the newly constructed Marianas Memorial will be dedicated with a special Mass at American Memorial Park on Sunday, June 13, 2004. The dedication will be one of the highlights of the Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

A public reading of the 933 names engraved on the Memorial will begin at 8am, followed by Roman Catholic Mass at 9am. Hundreds of family members, community members and World War II veterans are expected to attend the solemn occasion.

The Marianas Memorial honors Chamorros and Carolinians who lost their lives as a result of war-related causes from the beginning of American aerial bombardment in Saipan on June 11, 1944, to the closure of civilian camps on July 4, 1946.

“The Marianas Memorial is dedicated to the memory of our loved ones who died as a result of the war, many of whom have no tombstone to mark their final resting place,” said Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Juan L. Babauta, also chairman of the American Memorial Park Visitors Center Exhibit Design Committee. “Having this place to remember and reflect on the toll of war among innocents will have meaning for generations to come.”

In 2003 the Marianas Memorial Sub-Committee, under the American Memorial Park Visitor Center Exhibit Design Committee, undertook the task of researching, compiling and verifying names to be included on the Memorial. A comprehensive list of names was achieved after extensive review of existing lists compiled by the Department of War Claims, the CNMI Office of the Washington Representative, the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, various federal agencies, and the CNMI Historic Preservation Office.

The resulting list was published for comment via local and regional newspapers, the Internet, and direct mail to Chamorro and Carolinian families living in the U.S. mainland. Upon the request and written testimony of the oldest surviving next-of-kin of the deceased, additions, spelling corrections, and omissions were incorporated into the final listing, which was certified by the CNMI government in March 2004.

“With the surrender of Japan in August 1945, the tides of war receded. The Chamorro and Carolinian survivors were granted their freedom and began working with Americans to rebuild their homeland,” said American Memorial Park Ranger Chuck Sayon. “The dedication of the Marianas Memorial allows us to remember our family members who were not able to share with us the re-flowering of the islands, which has grown from the ashes of war into the islands we live on today.”

The names of recorded death casualties are engraved on 10 granite panels at the Memorial. When the American Memorial Park Visitors Center and its World War II exhibit are completed in February 2005, the new Memorial and the existing Court of Honor for U.S. service members will be directly visible from the Reflection of Loss exhibit hall.