Prior to the signing, James Oelke, curator for Guam’s and Saipan’s parks presented the Curator’s Corner, a monthly program offered on Guam. Oelke was here for the book signing and gave a presentation on the Battle of Saipan.
Directly following the presentation, Oelke interviewed Marvin Avilla, a retired Marine who saw action in the Northern Marianas during the war.
Avilla discussed his experience with the military on Saipan, Guadalcanal and Okinawa.
After the presentations, the creative park staff presented Spooner with what looked exactly like one of his books, but was actually a cake.
Dr. Norma Ada, who attended the signing, said: “I enjoyed the talk. It is wonderful that the veterans still come back especially considering the circumstances; they are so far away but they love to come back.”
“It’s something that keeps the memories alive,” said Lucy Sablan.
“We were fortunate that he brought back the books for us. Also, for all I know, he may have been one of the Marines who partnered with local scouts during World War II and called up my family from the caves. He was instrumental in finding locals and telling them it was safe to come out. It reminds me of how fortunate we are to have survived.”
Spooner discussed with Variety how his books came to be.
He said he spent about two years writing each book.
“It was only part-time. I’m not an author,” he said. “I would write late at night after work.”
He said he worked 15 hours a day and would only write for a few moments each night.
When asked about the genre of the book, he said: “It’s fiction because I wrote it 60 years after the facts. The names of ships and captains are accurate. However, the dialogue is fiction as best as I could remember. Other than that, it’s non-fiction.”
He has signed over 5,000 copies of his first book.
Asked about being on Saipan for the first time since 1944, the 85-year-old former Marine said: It’s different. It’s a beautiful and great place. Not much looks the same. Of course the contour can’t change but before Saipan was not an attractive place. There was so much noise from the battle and dead bodies all over the beaches —It was horrible. It wasn’t this beautiful green island; so much of the vegetation had been blasted away. Now, it’s an island paradise.”
