HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — About a dozen residents got to head behind the military fences Friday morning for the inaugural historic tour of Naval Base Guam, part of which once was Sumai, the island’s most populous village before World War II.
Sites along the tour included the Sumai Cemetery, the remains of the Sumai Church, the site of the first Pan American Airlines clipper landing, the War Dog Memorial and an old set of steps built by prisoners of war.
Residents filled out a series of required waiver forms ahead of time and met up at the T. Stell Newman Visitor Center just outside the base. Following a brief informational video detailing the Battle of Guam and the events of World War II, they loaded into a van, cleared the gate and headed toward the first stop.
Guides from the War in the Pacific National Historic Park facilitated the tour, filing in visitors with information along the way.
The clipper landing was the first stop on the tour, with park guide Kina Lewis detailing the history of how Apra Harbor once served as the landing strip for seaplane arrivals on Guam, including the first arrival of a Pan American clipper in 1935, an incredible feat at the time.
The moment marked an advancement of Guam’s connection to the rest of the world, Lewis said.
“Imagine looking out into the water there and watching these seaplanes land,” she told members of the tour.
It also cut down the wait time for mail from months to weeks, Lewis said.
From there, visitors hit various other sites around the base before going back to the visitor center and wrapping up for the day. The morning tour was the first of two on Friday. More are being lined up for the month of September, according to base officials.
The tours are a partnership between Joint Region Marianas and the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, said Shayna Lopez, the public access plan coordinator for Naval Facilities Marianas.
“It’s an exciting event today,” she said. “And it also is just getting the word out there that the community has access to these sites that are important to us, culturally and historically. So we hope that more members of our community can learn about the (public access) program and utilize it.”
Lopez is hoping to raise awareness about the program and the public’s ability to visit landmarks within military installations beyond just the scheduled tours with park service.
“We’re going to be having many tours. Some tours will be pre-arranged and pre-scheduled. But one thing that we want the community and the public to know is that they can request private tours through the Public Access Program. And there are over 35 sites that they have access to,” Lopez said.
More tours will be announced in the future, but those who are interested can go online and find out more about what sites are available to visit, fill out the required form, and arrange the date for a tour with Lopez via email.
Park ranger Kina Lewis, right, provides information about the Pan American clipper landing site as part of a World War ll historical tour Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, at Naval Base Guam in Sånta Rita-Sumai.
