Guam Day 125 - Japanese Peace Memorial










6/27/2022 - Quite the juxtaposition, the Japanese South Pacific peace memorial relative to the Chaqui'an Massacre Site. Joan and I have discussed this quite a bit, its quite something on this island that there is a memorial to the Japanese soldiers, who were seen as the evil enemy in WWII. In two or three generations the people of Guam have come so far in their recognition of the war time events on both sides of the fence. 

The memorial is location just outside of Yigo, pronounced Gee-Go, not too far from where I volunteer at the animal shelter. What struck me as I entered this space was just how tranquil and peaceful it is. There were birds that could be heard, and a light rain was just beginning to fall. There are two main portions of the memorial, the first is this white tower as you see in image 1, a tribute to all the japanese soldiers lost during the war, it is also a holder of unidentified remains from the battle on Guam. The second area is a Buddhist temple that doubles as a museum of local WWII artifacts. Sadly, this part of the memorial was not yet open as there are still some things that have not fully returned since the covid pandemic. 

I have not done enough research into how this peace memorial came about. The light reading has said that in 1965 there was a push to have a place to capture the unidentified dead in the area, as well as intensified work to reestablish friendship between the two countries. The tower portion of the memorial is where the last stand occurred and where the japanese forces gave up control of Guam. The structure is also meant to resemble praying hands, a neat tribute to those lost. 

There is just so much history here, with the memorials and museums you can just about live a 1000 years of time in just a few days. 

Additional link on the Peace Memorial:

http://gccacademy.weebly.com/south-pacific-peace-memorial.html

Comments

  1. Dave S.July 11, 2022 at 3:00 PM

    Wow. Very interesting and insightful observations. The past seems so much more tangible. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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