Yellow Beach 2 after 75 Years

After 75 years, this story presents archaeological evidence,archival records, and respected elders' accounts from WWII and the mostcatastrophic period in Pacific Basin history, and then into modern times onSaipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. On June 15, 1944,Afetna Point was called 'Yellow Beach 2' by the U.S. Marines and Army infantrybraving Japanese resistance to establish a beachhead before capturing As Litoairfield the following days. The beachhead then served as a resupply landingfor the next two weeks or more as U.S. forces slowly cleared the island ofenemy strongpoints, and removed wounded Americans and battle weary civilians tooff-shore medical treatment. At the end of the battle Chamorro, Carolinian,Okinawan, and Korean residents were relocated into stockades for theirseparation from Japanese soldiers until liberation on July 4, 1946. American militaryand eventual civilian administration of the San Antonio area transformed theagrarian landscape into a busy corridor of residential, industrial, and thentourist development. Once again in the 21st century, competition for regionaltourism and investment makes Saipan a nexus of geopolitical intrigue andeconomic speculation where the past is not forgotten.