Sontag1

Back in time

Alan Sonntag’s father participated in the Battle of Saipan. His wife Peggy’s father stormed Utah Beach (Normandy, France) on D-Day. The couple recently visited Saipan on a pilgrimage to have a virtual “Then & Now Father & Child Reunion” with Alan’s father. I had the honor and pleasure of making that wish come true.

Walt: Tell us who you are and what brings the two of you to Saipan?

Alan: My name is Alan Sonntag, currently residing outside of Austin, Texas. My wife, Peggy, and I—many years ago—decided that it was important for us to honor our fathers by visiting the sites where they were stationed during World War II. My dad spent time here on Saipan, and my wife’s dad landed on Utah Beach during D-Day. It’s just one of those important things we really wanted to do to honor our parents.

Walt: What have you done so far?

Alan: Well, we came to Saipan about three days ago. We’ve been on a tour with [you]—one day of Saipan, and pretty much another full day of Tinian—where we got to see many of the historic sites we’ve read about as youngsters and that we’ve heard about to some extent from our parents.

3a-IMG_20240312_212046.jpg
3b-IMG_20240312_134502.jpg

Walt: Your father took quite a few photos here on Saipan in 1944, and you brought those with you. What was your plan?

Alan: Yes, my dad had a number of World War II memorabilia and quite a few photos of him and his buddies and also of the surrounding area. I tried to pick out about 30 photos where landmarks could be identified and we were fortunate enough to find several spots where my dad took a picture or, quite frankly, exactly where he stood in a couple of cases. We’ve learned about other sites that were here 80 years ago but do not exist today. So the pictures were very useful. They helped us and helped me, quite honestly, remember my dad.

Walt: For me it was a lot of fun as well. People here are really interested to experience Saipan through the eyes of the veterans, visitors and former residents. So seeing photographs from 1944 and being able to compare them with what the island looks like now was really fascinating. So I thank you for that.

‘My one regret’

Alan: Well I’m glad you enjoyed it, too, and your help was valuable in determining where we should look to find those special spots, and I think we accomplished that in the two days we’ve been here. My dad has been gone about 21 years, and my one regret is that we weren’t able to do this with him 25 years or so ago. However, we were able to finally do it in the last week and for that we’re very thankful we had the opportunity.

Walt: Tell us a little bit about your dad.

Alan: His name is Herman Sonntag, and he was with the Army Air Force [The Air Force was part of the United States Army Signal Corps until 1947]. I’m quite certain he came to the island shortly after the island was captured by the Americans. He was an administrative person. I think he was a staff sergeant based on the pictures I’ve seen of him, and my guess is he was probably bivouacked down where the current airfield is, along with thousands of Marines, airmen and soldiers.

‘Following in his footsteps’

Walt: You also have your own military connection, correct?

Alan: Yes, I served in the Air Force from ’71 to ’75. I was an aerial reconnaissance weather observer. That’s been roughly 50 years ago, so the time went by very quickly.

Walt: Any special moments during this pilgrimage?

Alan: Probably the most special moment was to actually stand on the piece of real estate my dad stood on ’79 and a half years ago. In fact, the day he stood there was Nov. 14, 1944. He was 24 or so years old at the time, so a lot of time has gone by, but it was an honor and a privilege to stand on the same soil that he did.

2a-IMG_20240312_202334.jpg
2b-IMG_20240312_202334-cropped.jpg

Walt: Was there anything else that stood out about Saipan?

Alan: We learned a lot about both Saipan and Tinian about the role our military played back in 1944 and ’45.

It’s a very sobering place to visit whether you’re American or Japanese. I would place it in the same category as a Pearl Harbor or Gettysburg—for those familiar with the Civil War back in the [United] States. There are a number of places in our country I think are very, very special, very important to visit and to think about the things that took place there—in some cases a couple hundred years ago and others 80 years ago.

Walt: Well, I’m glad that you were able to visit and create a special experience with your dad. The people of Saipan welcome you and I’ll be sharing your dad’s photos that you’ve shared graciously with us.

9-IMG_20240312_161806.jpg
10-IMG_20240313_151343.jpg
8-IMG_20240312_204259.jpg
7-IMG_20240312_212402.jpg
6-IMG_20240312_211615.jpg
5b-IMG_20240312_164611.jpg
5a-IMG_20240312_211500.jpg
4b-IMG_20240312_163249.jpg
4a-IMG_20240312_210944.jpg

Walt F.J. Goodridge, originally from the island of Jamaica, is a local author who hosts the Discoversaipan Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@discoversaipan