Have you been to Guam?

[brigham33]

It looks like almost everybody on this forum has been there for a short time or a long time.

I lived there from 1958 - 1960 as an AF dependent, great place to grow up, lots of adventures. I went to Tumon Jr/Sr HS in its first year.

Went back in 1968 and spent 18 months working in the 4133 Bomb Wg Provisional (Arc Light). Lived in Dededo and Marbo.

Last visit was 1982 or so, flew a C141 in on my first "west trip" from McGuire. Spent just 2:15 refueling and then headed off to Hawaii.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Went to Oki after Guam but that is another story.....

Did Okie in the 60's landed with the advanced party to set up
the post and Armory c/o Head quarters company, before the
big boat with the main body arrived.

A Typhoon had hit the Island and caused a lot of damage.
Fishing boats tossed up on to main street, cars blown into the back yards,
straw sticking into telephone poles, downed power and phone lines......
not a pretty sight.

We even went through a Typhoon while there. First time I ever
saw gravel go through wooded louvers on a cement two story living quarters.
Just glad we had our metal lockers up against the louvers for a safety measure.

Lots of hard work but there was also bowling, snorkeling and
cold beer and burgers at the "Gedunk".
I sort of miss the afternoon rain bust that soaked you clear through...........
and 30 minutes later you were "dry" again.

High points were seeing U2's taking off from the run ways and
putting a black two man, Japanese submarine into the Officers swimming pool and a Bob Hope show.

 

[Lt JL]

s part of a NDMS DMAT, I was there sfter a typhoon Pong son Wa. We set up at Agat, right where the Marines came ashore when they took back the island. There was a Japanese Pillbox just outside the Mayor's office, with Japanese letters finger-painted into the concrete.

 

[foxy320]

My dad was stationed on Saipan during the war (WW2). For his & moms 50th anniversary got them a trip back with a stopover in Guam. They got a guided tour of the island by a local Charmaurow(not spelled right) who know the history of Guam & had relatives there during the war. He and mom had a great time there & talked about it many times.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Wait-there was an EM club on Guam!!!? Oh well, probably just as well. Stopped there going both ways, but my best memory of the place was a guy in our platoon at Ft. Gordon who was a native of Guam. He was very well liked, and when we all got our orders for 'Nam-they had him going home to Guam, then flying back to the states, so he could get on a plane and fly back the same way-to 'Nam-typical Army. We went to the head shed and said, in essence, "come on Sarge???" Well, they fixed it so he could just get on the plane in Guam. Good Dude-hope he made it.

 

[tndrfttom]

6518John-

I guess my dad isn't the only one that had his picture taken with a water buffalo on Guam. He was at "North Field" in '48-'49 with the 514th Recon Squadron VLR (Weather) and my mom came over and worked as a civilian secretary at the base. The base housing looked pretty sparse then. Finding transportation was a problem until my dad latched on to a Jeep; Later a shipload of Chevrolets was delivered which let you get around and explore the island better. My mom said they were warned about going out in the hills that there were still Japanese stragglers out there.

 

[richardw]

3 Times

Never over 6 hrs

Never out of the terminal

Semper Fi, me too, but only twice. It really looked beautiful out the terminal window. Oddly enough I am looking for a place to move to. I'll have to check out Guam.

 

[the ringo kid]

A friend of mine lived there for around 2 and 1/2 years because his dad was stationed there while an NCO in the Navy. The friend hated the place--not sure why?? I guess as a kid-had nothing to do??? All he ever really told meabout the placeis he said that Japanese tanks and other stuff were still in the jungle rotting.

 

[cblcar]

I briefly lived there in 1961. My widowed mother got a job teaching there with the promise of a around the world trip after teaching awhile. My mother, sister, myself and our Basset hound moved from Northern Idaho.
When there we lived in a Quanset hut in the teachers village. My kid friends and I had the exciting hobby of finding duds in the boonies and taking them apart, pouring out the old powder and displaying them in our rooms. I was 11 years old at the time. One day while I was at the dentist my friend was taking apart a bazooka rocket when it exploded blowing his head off. After his death the island had a big drive to clean up all the duds that people still had laying around. Huge amounts of unexploded ordnance was turned in. I still have newspaper clippings and a Do Not Touch poster from this sad episode. My mom met my stepfather who was a CPO in the Navy, they married and he got orders to come back stateside to San Francisco. I have lots of memories of Guam , sorry for the long reply.

 

[Dave_n]

Went through it a lot of times when I worked for NCI. My dive team was headquartered in Truk and then Palau for 22 years, so I HAD to visit them as part of the contract every year or so. Strangely, my trips coincided with snow on the East Coast. Dave _n

 

[Lt JL]

The Indonesian Brown Tree Snake, which is not indigenous to Guam, has eaten almost all of the formerly wonderful bird life on Guam. Customs in Hawaii is insane about this critter getting there by hopping a ride from Guam.
When I was there after a Typhoon, all of the classic Chamorro residences were intact. The Wisconsin farmhouse architecture built by retired American military all went bye-bye.

 

[Targets Guy]

The Indonesian Brown Tree Snake, which is not indigenous to Guam, has eaten almost all of the formerly wonderful bird life on Guam. Customs in Hawaii is insane about this critter getting there by hopping a ride from Guam.
When I was there after a Typhoon, all of the classic Chamorro residences were intact. The Wisconsin farmhouse architecture built by retired American military all went bye-bye.

They also used to take out our power with frustrating regularity.

 

[WardenRoss]

My Dad was there in '44 along with a group of his buddies. He indicated they ran into some thugs and had to run them off.

Same thing happened to him in the Philippines and Okinawa.

 

[kalei]

1952-1954, graduated High school there, met the girl I married when we moved back state side, me to USAF and future wife to college.
We both loved our time on Guam!