World War II Remains

An Imperial Japanese Type 10 120 mm AA gun at Adelup Point.

NPS Photo

During the last three months of the Imperial Japanese occupation of Guam, Japanese defenders heavily fortified the island in preparation for the coming battle.

The Japanese built three main types of fortifications: reinforced concrete bunkers, man-made or modified caves, and earthworks such as foxholes. All of these structures were built quickly and by conscripted CHamoru laborers. Imperial Japanese troops took advantage of the rocky coastline and vegetation to camouflage the position of these fortifications. While the heavy combat obliterated many of the defense structures, several still remain and can be seen by visitors.

Machine guns, artillery and mortar emplacements, and coastal defense guns were installed on the high ground near the coast. After the war, most were either repurposed or melted down for scrap metal, but a handful survived and today can be seen near where they stood in 1944.

 

For Your Safety!

Do not climb on, enter, or walk under any of historical structures. The historical remains are more than eighty years old and are no longer structurally sound. Doing so is both dangerous for visitors and can cause further damage and deterioration to the historical remains.

 

 

World War II Remains at the T. Stell Newman Visitor Center

Type-C Japanese Midget Submarine
A torpedo-shaped Type-C Japanese midget submarine stands in front of the visitor center. It was captured by the U.S. when it ran aground on Togcha Beach, near Ipan Talafofo, in August 1944, more than a week after the Battle of Guam ended. After the war, the submarine was displayed at Camp Dealy and Naval Base Guam before being moved to the T. Stell Newman Visitor Center. It is believed to be the only Type-C midget submarine still in existence.

 

The Apaca Point Japanese Bunker is a reinforced concrete pillbox built into a rock crevice on Apaca Point at the water's edge.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park

World War II Remains at Agat Unit

Apaca Point

Japanese Bunker with Tunnel
A reinforced concrete pillbox built into the rock outcropping on the southeast side of Apaca Point near water level. The concrete is one to eight inches thick and meets the limestone cave walls. The exterior is concrete poured with rubble rock facing for camouflage. The bunker most likely held a 400mm gun with the field of fire over the inner reef flats and a rifle range over the beach. The main embrasure is 10 inches by 18 inches and the side embrasure measures 4 inches by 17 inches. The pillbox has an ingenious grenade-proof air vent that would reroute any grenade dropped into it to the ground outside. Imperial Japanese defenders accessed the bunker via 2.5-foot-wide entrance leading to a tunnel on the landward side of the limestone outcrop.

Apaca Point Japanese Bunker
A reinforced concrete pillbox built into a rock crevice of Apaca Point at the water's edge. The Japanese took advantage of natural crevices in the limestone and closed them up with a concrete wall. The bunker is accessible via another crevice at the rear. It has two firing ports facing the beach and most likely held a 40 to 75mm gun. The bunker is inaccessible at high tide.

Japanese Cave
Either a man-made cave or a natural cave that was enlarged to accommodate two to three men. It is 8 feet deep and 6 feet wide, with an approximately 4-foot-wide opening. It may have been used as a gun emplacement due to its strategic position along the beach.

Rizal Point Japanese Bunker
Before the battle, the Japanese build a reinforced-concrete bunker on a rock outcropping in between Rizal Beach and Apaca Point, but it was almost completely destroyed during the bombardment leading up to the invasion. The concrete sections lie in numerous pieces on the beach and against the cliff side. The roof, which is leaning against the rock cliff, is the only part still intact. The underside of the roof shows the imprint of palm logs used when the concrete was poured.

 

A view of the Hågat landing beach from the Ga'an Point Pillbox.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park

Ga'an Point

200mm Short-barrel Costal Defense Gun
The coastal defense gun was used to fire on troop ships and landing crafts.

25mm Anti-aircraft Gun
The dual-purpose anti-aircraft gun used high explosive, armor-piercing ammunition to shoot down American planes. It could fire 200 rounds per minute.

Japanese Strongpoint
A large reinforced concrete pillbox built into the limestone escarpment of Ga'an Point. It housed a 75mm 94 type gun and a 37mm gun and had a field of fire over Hågat Beach that wreaked havoc on U.S. Marines and landing craft on W-Day until it was captured. The structure is trapezoidal and measures 5 feet wide on the north side and 13 feet wide on the south. It's 12 feet 9 inches long and 7 feet high. The walls are 6 inches thick, and the roof slab is 19 inches thick. A steel reinforcement structure has been added to the inside to help support the roof. The opening on the south wall measures 5 feet 4 inches by 7 feet. There is a small communications shaft nearby. Note the Japanese inscription by the engineering company that oversaw the completion of the structure on the west door jamb.

Ga'an Point Japanese Pillbox
A large L-shaped reinforced concrete pillbox just to the north of the Japanese Strongpoint. It has an internal metal frame, foundation posts, and ceiling. The exterior of the pillbox is concrete, and it is built between two rock escarpments on Ga'an Point. The south side has a large entrance, while the north side faces the ocean and contains a small opening for firing guns. It held a 75mm coastal defense gun and had an observation post built above it.

Japanese Pillbox
An irregular L-shaped pillbox 1000 feet southwest of Ga'an Point. It housed a 75mm gun and had two embrasures, one facing Bangi Point to the south and one facing Ga'an Point to the north. This gave it a field of fire across most of Hågat Beach. The walls are made of reinforced concrete and are twenty inches thick. It is likely the only remaining Japanese fortification between Ga'an Point and Bangi Point.

Ga'an Point Latrine Foundation
Approximately 18,000 CHamoru were displaced during the last weeks of the Imperial Japanese occupation and the Battle of Guam. Even before the island was officially secure, the military Civil Affairs team established a refugee camp at Ga'an Point to house residents who had lived in the villages of Sumai, Apra and Hågat. Small, wooden A-frame houses were built in rows along the beach, as well as a school, church, dispensary, government offices, and three laundries. For sanitation, the Seabees built a line of latrines with concrete foundations and frame superstructures in water, connected to the camp by a walkway. In September 1946, the camp was destroyed by a typhoon. Today, all that remains of the Ga'an Point refugee camp is the 6 foot by 12.5 foot concrete foundation of one of those latrines fifteen feet offshore.

 

World War II Remains at Asan Beach

Japanese Tunnel
A 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall tunnel built into the limestone cliff on the east side of Asan Ridge. It extends back 62 feet and has a level floor. It is the only feature in War in the Pacific National Historical Park that was definitively built by forced CHamoru labor.

Offshore Japanese Pillbox
A partially submerged reinforced concrete pillbox approximately 40 feet offshore at Assan Beach. It was constructed as part of the Japanese coastal defenses on Guam between March and July 1944. It is not clear if the structure was initially located offshore and overturned during the battle, or if it was originally located on the beach and discarded offshore when the area was cleared during the creation of Camp Asan. The trapezoidal firing point is still visible.

 

Today, many of the gun emplacements along the Asan Ridge Trail are supported by steel beams.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park

Along the Asan Ridge Trail

Asan Point Japanese Gun Emplacement
A gun emplacement built into the western rock cliff of Asan Point. This pillbox has concrete walls around the front opening. Behind the front wall is a steel gun base mount set into the concrete floor, which was possibly used for a 20 cm coastal gun. A contemporary steel support system with steel mesh has been constructed on the interior to help support the roof structure. The rear portion of the emplacement extends into two caves, one of which extends up to the top of Asan Point. It is the first gun emplacement at the bottom of the stairs leading from the ridgeline.

Asan Japanese Emplacement (northernmost)
A pillbox with a reinforced-concrete roof and a concrete wall faced with rock to enclose a natural crevice in the rock escarpment. A rock and concrete wall has been constructed to help protect the crevice area leading to the pillbox from the rear. A contemporary steel support system with steel mesh has been constructed on the interior to help support the roof structure. The crevice extends into the cliff from the back of the enclosure. There is a 5' diameter steel gun base behind the front concrete wall.

Asan Point Stone and Concrete Wall
At the base of the west side of Asan Point, two natural crevices, side by side, lead into the limestone cliff. In front of these, the Japanese erected a coral rock and concrete wall for the protection of the crevices which they used for storage or shelter.

Asan Japanese Emplacement (southernmost)
A reinforced concrete structure on the west base of Asan Point. It is located on the beach side of the ridgeline towards Marine Drive. The pillbox has one front wall embrasure and two side firing ports. The concrete extends back seven feet into the west side of Asan Point, taking advantage of a natural crevice between free standing boulders and the cliff wall to hide the entry. The field of fire was towards Cabras Island. It was extensively damaged by a direct hit above the embrasure and by a satchel charge on its roof during the Battle of Guam.

Double Gun Emplacements on Asan Ridge
Two concrete structures set into the hill with only two-three feet wide openings above ground. These structures served as either fire control stations or rifle/gun emplacements, one overlooking Piti, the other Asan Beach.

 

Left image
The northernmost Japanese gun emplacement on Asan Ridge in 1944. It held a 200mm coastal defense gun.
Credit: National Archive 80-G-247594

Right image
The northernmost Japanese gun emplacement on Asan Ridge in 2012.
Credit: War in the Pacific National Historical Park

 

World War II Remains at Fonte Plateau

Communications Center
A U-shaped concrete bunker with two concrete arched entrances is located at the back of the plateau. It is sometimes referred to as a command post, but it actually served as the Imperial Japanese Army's communications center for the island before being overrun on July 28, 1944. While heavy American bombardment before and during the battle damaged many of the Japanese fortifications, their communications equipment suffered almost no damage because it was located in caves and bunkers. This allowed Lieutenant General Takeshi Takashina, commander of the Japanese forces on Guam, to stay in communication with his troops even as they lost ground. The communication center is only open to the public on special occasions. Check with the Visitor Center to see if a tour is scheduled.

 

Gun #1 sits in an earthen revetment.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park

World War II Remains at Piti Guns

Vickers-type Model 3 140mm Coastal Defense Guns
Also known as 14cm/50 3rd Year Type guns, these guns were meant to drive back American ships and landing craft attempting to land in Apra Harbor. They were the most common coastal defense weapons used in the Pacific Islands. Each gun weighed more than 12,000 pounds, had a range of ten miles, and could fire six to ten round per minute. Two of the guns sit in earthen revetments, while the third gun is protected by a low walled concrete emplacement.

Imperial Japanese troops forced CHamoru men over the age of twelve to join labor crews working on building fortifications. These guns were likely dragged into place by one of those labor gangs. Despite the forced labor, the hasty efforts to fortify the island were never fully completed. When the Americans arrived, the guns at Piti were not yet operational. There is no evidence they were ever fired. The 9th U.S. Marines, who captured the area on July 22, 1944, do not mention taking a battery of guns in their reports.

A mile-long trail leads hikers through a mahogany forest to the guns. They are the only guns in War in the Pacific National Historical Park that remain in their original emplacements.

Map of World War II Remains at War in the Pacific National Historical Park

 

This map shows the World War II remains at War in the Pacific National Historical Park that visitors are able to see. Make sure to zoom in to see all the historical remains at each park unit. Do not climb on, enter, or walk under any of historical structures. The historical remains are more than eighty years old and are no longer structurally sound. Doing so is both dangerous for visitors and can cause further damage and deterioration to the historical remains.