Have you been to Guam?

[sigp220.45]

Our little island territory is definitely in the news these days. Please don't get political, but just say what your memories are of the place where America's day begins.

I have strong ties to Guam. I was freezing to death in Minot ND at a Strategic Air Command base in 1986, and in the Air Force in those days if you were "SACumcised" you weren't leaving the loving arms of SAC. I put in for a PCS transfer to Andersen AFB and before long found myself looking at B-52s in the warm tropical sun.

It was a great place to be. Sun, sand, beaches, and fruit bats. Here I am with my Model 15 and its non-approved target grips.

Somehow I got this island girl to notice and then marry me. We celebrate our 30th anniversary this December.

The news lately has pointed out there are 6,000 US troops stationed on Guam. There are also 160,000 very patriotic US citizens living there, including my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

I'd love to hear from other members who have been to Guam, and have memories (good or bad) of the island.

Please, no politics.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Of course I've been to Guam!
I have only posted about 15 times how I bought my Model 19 at the Anderson BX.

 

[Rustyt1953]

It appears we both married way above our pay grade.

Nicely done.

PS: No, I have never been to Guam and apparently neither has Hank Johnson.

 

[DWalt]

Once. To Andersen AFB. But very briefly, just an inspection trip. I didn't do any sightseeing.

 

[UncleEd]

One of my brothers, a Marine MP in the 1940s, was stationed first on Saipan and then Guam.

I remember him saying, and I think it was Guam, he got used
to swimming among the sand sharks.

He also said getting officers families to cover during typhoons
was a chore.

After three years on tropical Guam he returned to Chicago
in the winter.

 

[TXSWFAN]

Lived on Anderson when I was a boy in '68. Remember swimming at Taraque Beach and having to always wear tennis shoes because of the Stone fish. Watching the Guamanians dehusk a coconut in five seconds with an inverted horseshoe pole. Walking in the boonies and seeing Komodo dragons the size of alligators. Shrews and foot long chameleons all over the place. And hundreds of snails climbing up the side of the house every morning.

Had a blast there as a kid. I still think about it all the time.

 

[tlawler]

We stopped there on the way back from a Wespac in '83. There was a tropical depression in the area at the time, but like at most of our stops I was hell bent on getting a couple of dives in. My dive buddy and I got beat to heck trying to get out past the breakers, but had a pretty decent dive despite the reduced visibility from the storm action. Then we got beat up again on the way back in.

 

[SailDesign]

Twice, and only as a stepping stone to and from Saipan about 8 years ago. Fabulous part of the world. I wouldn't mind retiring there, although recent events may change my mind on that.

 

[kwselke]

In the fall of 1983 I had long layovers at the Guam airport, to and from Truk on a scuba diving trip. During one of the layovers my group hired three taxis to give us a sight sight seeing tour. It struck me as a beautiful island dominated by a US military town economy.

 

[PeteKin]

3 Times

Never over 6 hrs

Never out of the terminal

 

[REM 3200]

On the way back from the Philippines in September 1947, the troop ship stopped at Guam to pick up
troops going back to the US for discharge.
We where there only long enough to load aprox. 3000 returning GI's.

That was my only visit to what looked like great place to live that was recovering from WW2.

 

[VaTom]

My uncle Fred GM2c was a member of UDT #4 and received a Bronze Star for actions removing beach obstacles under mortar, machine gun and rifle fire prior to the invasion in July 1944. He passed in 1971 before I had a chance to talk with him about it.

 

[CQB27]

I piloted and landed a U.S. Army RC-12H there in 1992. At the time the only AF planes I saw on the the airfield were F-16s. Man that was a long and and wide runway. I believe I could have put that C-12 down using only the width! Spent a few nights, staying at the Pacific Island Club. Man that was a nice few days in the life of a young Army Aviator! I loved Guam then, and I still love her today. God bless Guam, and God bless the rest of the U.S.A.!

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Departed Kunsan Air Base, Korea, on December 12, 1978, on a KC-135. There was 19" of snow on the ground.

Landed at Anderson December 12, 1978. It was balmy and 85. Met some nice folks and ate some great food. Departed later that day on a C-141.

Landed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, later that day. Departed on another C-141.

Landed at McChord AFB, Calif, later that day. Longest December 12th of my life.

 

[mojave30cal]

I spent all of 1967 on Guam as a Radioman 3rd class tuning
40K watt transmitters at Barrigada, which was out in the
boonies. Even experienced a Typhoon there. There was a Navy
Warrant Officer who would conduct " Boonie Stomps" which
were hikes into the interior of the island. I went on one and
we came across lots of shot up Japanese tanks from WWII.
There was also lots of unexploded ordnance lying all over the
ground. Lots of Guamanian people would take these unexploded
ordnance home for their collections, and every now and then
some would explode.

There was also a 1st. class Petty Officer who collected sea shells.
I went with him several times to " secret" beaches to look for
Cowries and other sea shells. We usually went at night. I had a
small sea shell collection when I left. Had a great time, and the
locals were very friendly.

 

[Targets Guy]

Spent 15 months on the island. Loved it. We must have been there about the same time. I was there from early '86 to mid '87. Just as the 43 BMW gave up its nuclear mission and went fully conventional.

Great times.

My Guam bomb


and probably my favorite restaurant in the whole world.



beautiful sunsets



and beaches

 

[Bill_inBouse]

On my second trip to VietNam, in June of 1970 with a plane load of other guys the pilot came on the intercom and said Bien Hoa AFB was under attack and we were going to land on Guam, refuel and wait awhile, I was a young SP/5 then so when the Pilot said the Base commander invited the officers on board to the "O" Club, NCO's to the NCO club and the enlisted to the enlisted club, I thought OHHHHH Boy what a mistake that is going to be........Anyway, off we went, I had a couple drinks and stayed sober,
To make a long story short, we were on the ground for at least 8 hours as the Air Police tried rounding up 280 some odd drunk GIs, I remember them bringing guys out to the Seaboard World 707 and lining them up on the ramp like cord wood, The pilot of the Seaboard World flight refused to board the passed out GIs, and there were a LOT of them.
Nov of 1970 on my 20th birthday, after my 6month extension was over, we landed on Guam to refuel heading home to Travis AFB. WE unloaded, refueled and loaded right back up. No invite to the clubs LOL.
As a side note, we were suppose to land in Hawaii to refuel before heading to Travis AFB when the pilot came on the intercom and said we had some hellishly good tailwinds and could make Travis AFB with-out stopping in Hawaii but would leave it up to us.....after the roar of approval settled down he said OK on to Travis we go. That was the longest flight I've ever been on, Guam to Travis AFB non-stop in an old 707. After thinking about it, Seaboard Airlines flew DC-8's not 707s

 

[Targets Guy]

I piloted and landed a U.S. Army RC-12H there in 1992. At the time the only AF planes I saw on the the airfield were F-16s. Man that was a long and and wide runway. I believe I could have put that C-12 down using only the width! Spent a few nights, staying at the Pacific Island Club. Man that was a nice few days in the life of a young Army Aviator! I loved Guam then, and I still love her today. God bless Guam, and God bless the rest of the U.S.A.!

Did it look like this?

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

3 Times

Never over 6 hrs

Never out of the terminal

4 times for me. Stopped for fuel and food on the way to and on the way home from the Philippines and points West in a C-54 (DC-7) in '64 and '65. I remember the first time watching the plane descend lower and lower over the water with no land in sight, and then suddenly we are over the runway. Same on takeoff....got airborne and all land disappeared in less than a minute. Did the same fuel stop on Midway Island 4 times as well....loved watching the Gooney Birds trying to land on the beach.....

 

[Onomea]

Twice, on several-hour layovers from Tokyo to Palau, and back, where we vactioned for a week in 1988.

It is still a popular vacation destination for Japanese tourists.