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63-573: USS Lamar (APA-47) was a Bayfield -class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service in 1948 and was scrapped in 1971. Lamar ( AP-92 ) was reclassified APA-47 on 1 February 1943; laid down 31 March 1943 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Mississippi , under a Maritime Commission contract; launched 28 August 1943; sponsored by Mrs. James Oliver Eastland, wife of Senator Eastland of Mississippi ; acquired by

126-606: A U.S. territory following its exit from the TTPI pursuant to Security Council Resolution 683 . Although now both under U.S. control, the Northern Mariana Islands are separate from Guam . Efforts at reunification have failed in part due to residual post-war tensions resulting from the very different histories of Guam (occupied by Japan for only 31 months, in wartime) and the Northern Mariana Islands (more peacefully occupied by Japan, for about 30 years). Tourism in

189-451: A considerable civilization. On the island of Tinian are some remains attributed to them, consisting of two rows of massive square stone columns , about 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) broad and 14 feet (4.3 m) high, with heavy, round capitals called latte stones . According to early Spanish accounts cinerary urns were found embedded in the capitals. When Spanish settlement started on 14 June 1668, they were subordinate to

252-744: A few of the islands. The island chain saw significant fighting during World War II. Guam , a possession of the United States since 1898, was captured by Japan in an attack from the Northern Mariana Islands that began on the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 8, 1941, the same time as the Pearl Harbor attack across the International Date Line). In 1944, the United States captured

315-523: A number of smaller integral landing craft (such as LCVPs and LCMs ) with which amphibious assaults could be conducted. The first attack transports began to enter service in 1942 and were built ad hoc from a host of different types. The first class to be built in substantial numbers was the Bayfield class, which began to enter service in 1943. The early vessels were converted from existing cargo or transport ships, later ones built as attack transports from

378-521: A round-trip range of American B-29 bombers . In response, Japanese forces attacked the bases on Saipan and Tinian from November 1944 to February 1945. At the same time and afterwards, the United States Army Air Forces based on these islands conducted an intense strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese cities of military and industrial importance, including Tokyo , Nagoya , Osaka , Kobe , and others. Both US bombers

441-448: A skiff which was fastened to the poop of the captain's ship. At which he, being very angry, went ashore with forty armed men. And burning some forty or fifty houses with several boats and killing seven men of the said island, they recovered their skiff. Pigafetta also described the boats the inhabitants used, including the sail shaped like a "lateen sail" (actually the crab claw sail ), hence the name Islas de las Velas Latinas (Islands of

504-411: A southern group of five coralline limestone islands (Rota, Guam, Aguijan , Tinian and Saipan ), all inhabited except Aguijan. In the northern volcanic group a maximum elevation of about 2,700 feet (820 m) is reached; there are craters showing signs of activity, and earthquakes are not uncommon. Coral reefs fringe the coasts of the southern isles, which are of slight elevation. The lowest point on

567-461: A stopover for Spanish galleons en route from Acapulco , Mexico to Manila , Philippines in a convoy known as the Galeon de Manila . Following the 1872 Cavite mutiny , several Filipinos were exiled to Guam, including the father of Pedro Paterno , Maximo Paterno, Dr. Antonio M. Regidor y Jurado and Jose Maria Basa. The islands were a popular port of call for British and American whaling ships in

630-605: A tradition of raised buildings with capstones. The word haligi ("pillar") is also used in various languages throughout the Philippines; while the Chamorro word guma ("house") closely resembles the Sumba word uma . The first Europeans to see the island group were a Spanish expedition, who on March 6, 1521, observed a string of islands and sailed between two of them during a Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation under

693-539: Is similar in character to that of the Carolines and certain species are indigenous to both island groups. The climate though damp is healthy, while the heat, being tempered by the trade winds , is milder than that of the Philippines; the variations of temperature are not great. The islands are part of a geologic structure known as the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc system and range in age from 5 million years old in

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756-409: Is unique in the pre-contact Pacific Islands . The reasons for these changes is still unclear, but it is believed that it may have resulted from a third wave of migrants from Island Southeast Asia . Comparisons with other architectural traditions makes it likely that this third migration wave were again from the Philippines, or from eastern Indonesia (either Sulawesi or Sumba ), all of which have

819-583: The Enola Gay and the Bockscar (which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , respectively) flew their missions from Tinian's North Field . According to Werner Gruhl: "Mariana Island historians estimate that 10 percent of Guam's approximately 20,000 population were killed by violence, most by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy ." The direct result of World War II on

882-617: The Bismarck Archipelago , New Guinea , and eastern Indonesia . The Lapita culture itself (the ancestral branch of the Polynesian migrations) is younger than the first settlement of the Marianas (the earliest Lapita artifacts are dated to around 1350 to 1300 BCE), indicating that they originated from separate migration voyages. Nevertheless, DNA analyses also show close genetic relationships between ancient settlers of

945-615: The Caroline Islands at around the first millennium CE. This brought new pottery styles, languages, genes, and the hybrid Polynesian breadfruit . The period 900 to 1700 CE of the Marianas, immediately before and during the Spanish colonization, is known as the Latte period . It is characterized by rapid cultural change, most notably by the massive megalithic latte stones (also spelled latde or latti ). These were composed of

1008-770: The Chamorro language is most closely related to the Philippine subfamily of the Austronesian languages , instead of the Oceanic subfamily of the languages found in the rest of Remote Oceania. Mitochondrial DNA and whole genome sequencing of the Chamorro people strongly support an ancestry from the Philippines. Genetic analysis of pre- Latte period skeletons in Guam also show that they do not have Australo-Melanesian ("Papuan") ancestry, which rules out origins from

1071-545: The German-Spanish Treaty of February 12, 1899 to sell the Northern Marianas and its other remaining islands to Germany for 837,500 German gold marks (about US$ 4,100,000 at the time ). The Northern Marianas and other island groups were incorporated by Germany as a small part of the larger German Protectorate of New Guinea . The total population in the Northern Marianas portion of these islands

1134-509: The Lateen Sails ), the name used as Magellan claimed them for the Spanish crown. San Lazarus archipelago, Jardines ('gardens') and Prazeres are among the names applied to them by later navigators. In 1667, Spain formally claimed them, established a regular colony there and in 1668 gave the islands the official title of Las Marianas , in honor of Spanish Queen Mariana of Austria , widow of King Philip IV of Spain and Queen Regent of

1197-523: The Northern Marianas is split mainly between Filipino , Japanese, American, Korean , Taiwanese and Chinese tourists. There are several large tour operators in Saipan that cater to Asian tourists coming into the island. By far, the majority of tourism in the Northern Marianas is in Guam. Several flights a day land in Guam, mostly in the early hours between 1:00 AM and 3:30 AM. With the close of

1260-559: The Northern Marianas since this time. Following the Philippine–American War , Apolinario Mabini and other Filipino leaders were exiled to Guam in 1901. Weakened from its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Spain could no longer effectively control and protect the nearly 6,000 islands it retained throughout Micronesia , including the Northern Marianas, Carolines and Pelew Islands . Therefore, Spain entered into

1323-601: The Spanish Empire ruling during the minority of her son King Charles II . They then had a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants. With the arrival of passengers and settlers aboard the Manila Galleons from the Americas, new diseases were introduced in the islands, which caused many deaths in the native Chamorro population. The native population, who referred to themselves as Taotao Tano (people of

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1386-511: The U.S. 7th Fleet . From 14 to 20 October she sailed in convoy to Leyte Gulf for the long-awaited reconquest of the Philippines. While debarking assault troops and unloading cargo at Dulag under cover of smoke, she fought off enemy air attacks, and on the 21st splashed a Japanese bomber. That day Lamar sailed for Hollandia , New Guinea ; arrived Hollandia 26 October; embarked troops at Biak and Mios Woendi ; and returned to Leyte Gulf 18 November with reinforcements and cargo. She departed

1449-560: The U.S. West Coast 5 June, visited San Diego, and Seattle, Washington , and arrived Pearl Harbor 26 June to deploy troops to the Marianas . Departing in convoy 1 July, she steamed via Eniwetok to Guam , where she debarked 1,445 troops 21 July. After returning to Pearl Harbor 10 August, Lamar held landing rehearsals off Maui Island to prepare for the invasion of the Philippines. As flagship for TransDiv 38, she steamed to Manus , Admiralties , 15 September to 3 October and joined

1512-422: The haligi pillars capped with another stone called tasa (which prevented rodents from climbing the posts). These served as supports for the rest of the structure which was made of wood. Remains of structures made with similar wooden posts have also been found. Human graves have also been found in front of latte structures, The Latte period was also characterized by the introduction of rice agriculture, which

1575-487: The 11th and departed for Leyte , where she arrived 14 January. She returned to the western coast of Luzon 29 January to debark American engineers and troops at San Narciso . From 1 February to 27 March Lamar operated out of Leyte Gulf in preparation for Operation Iceberg , the invasion of Okinawa . On 27 March she departed the Philippines with 1,366 assault troops embarked. Assigned to task group TG 55.1, she reached Okinawa 1 April and completed landing men and cargo

1638-646: The 14th via the North Pacific. On 14 January 1946 Lamar departed Puget Sound for the U.S. Gulf Coast , arriving New Orleans, Louisiana , 3 February. She proceeded to Beaumont, Texas , 23 to 24 February, decommissioned 7 March, and was turned over to the Maritime Commission 3 July 1946. Lamar was purchased by the Luckenbach Steamship Corporation at Baltimore, Maryland on 19 January 1949, for $ 55,713.00, and

1701-716: The 19th century. The first such visit on record was that of the Resource to Guam in October 1799. The last known visit was made by the American whaler Charles W. Morgan in February 1904. The Marianas remained a Spanish colony under the general government of the Philippines until 1898, when, as a result of its loss in the Spanish–American War , Spain ceded Guam to the United States. Guam has been separate from

1764-580: The Earth's crust, the Mariana Trench , is near the islands and is named after them. The majority of islands in the Marianas still retain their indigenous names ending in the letters -an; for example, Guahan (the indigenous name of Guam), Agrigan , Agrihan , Aguihan /Aguigan, Pagan , Sarigan, Saipan , and Tinian . The islands are part of a geologic structure known as the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc system, and range in age from 5 million years old in

1827-700: The Mariana Islands chain from Japan : the Northern Mariana Islands were desired by the U.S. as bombing bases to reach the Japanese mainland , with the invasion of Saipan being launched for that reason in June before the U.S. even moved to recapture Guam; a month later the U.S. recaptured Guam and captured Tinian . Once captured, Saipan and Tinian 's islands were used extensively by the United States military as they finally put mainland Japan within

1890-499: The Mariana Islands was that, after the war, the Northern Mariana Islands came under the control of the United States in the same way they had earlier come under the control of Japan after World War I. However, this time they became part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21 . The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands later became

1953-509: The Marianas and early Lapita settlers in the Bismarck Archipelago . This may indicate that both the Lapita culture and the Marianas were settled from direct migrations from the Philippines, or that early settlers from the Marianas voyaged further southwards into the Bismarcks and reconnected with the Lapita people. The Marianas also later established contact with and received migrations from

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2016-415: The Marianas are part of a larger region called Micronesia , situated between 13° and 21°N latitude and 144° and 146°E longitude. The Mariana Islands have a total land area of 1,008 km (389 sq mi). They are composed of two administrative units: The island chain geographically consists of two subgroups, a northern group of ten volcanic main islands, all are currently uninhabited; and

2079-655: The Mexican colony (soon viceroyalty) of New Spain , until 1817, when they became subordinated to the Philippines , as part of the Spanish East Indies . Research in the archipelago was carried out by Commodore Anson , who in August 1742 landed upon the island of Tinian. The Ladrones were visited by Byron in 1765, Wallis in 1767 and Crozet in 1772. The Marianas and specifically the island of Guam were

2142-540: The Navy 9 November 1943; placed in ferry commission 10 November for transfer to Brooklyn , New York, decommissioned 22 November 1943 for conversion by Todd-Erie Basin, Brooklyn; and commissioned 6 April 1944. After steaming to Norfolk, Virginia , 16 to 17 April for shakedown , Lamar embarked 1,621 U.S. Marines , and departed 13 May for the Pacific Ocean. The attack transport reached Pearl Harbor 1 June, sailed for

2205-475: The attack transport specification. In order to accommodate the troops, two cargo holds amidships had to be converted into accommodation facilities. This was achieved by dividing each hold into three decks, and then building a number of passageways along each deck. Along both walls of each passageway, bunk-beds tiered five high were installed, and each bunk was only thirty inches wide. The troops were provided with their own galley and mess hall separate from that of

2268-536: The command of Ferdinand Magellan . Historically, the southern village of Umatac, Guam has been credited as the site of the Spanish landing. As confirmation, a scholarly study of the navigator's diary, now kept in preservation in the Philippines , revealed a drawing of the islands with a tiny island to the south of a much larger island above it. The described placement of the islands confirms that Magellan had actually sailed between Guam and Cocos Island , and not Guam and Rota , as some originally thought, especially since

2331-436: The entry of the United States into the war, it was quickly realized that amphibious combat operations on hostile shores would be required, and that specialized ships would be needed for the purpose. The so-called "attack transport" ship type ( hull classification symbol APA ) was developed to meet this need. Attack transports were converted from standard transport vessels by being upgraded with extra firepower, and outfitted with

2394-477: The first islands settled by humans in Remote Oceania . Incidentally it is also the first and the longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of the Austronesian peoples into Remote Oceania, and is separate from the later Polynesian settlement of the rest of Remote Oceania. They were first settled around 1500 to 1400 BCE by migrants departing from the Philippines . Archeological studies of human activity on

2457-501: The following day for San Francisco where she arrived the 9th. After repairs at Seattle, Lamar sailed 8 September for the Marianas , reaching Guam 24 September. She discharged 1,517 military passengers, embarked 1,829 returning veterans, and steamed to San Diego, 28 September to 12 October. On the 28th she departed for Japan on " Operation Magic Carpet " duty. Arriving Yokosuka 28 November, she embarked 1,810 passengers before sailing 1 December for Seattle, Washington , where she arrived

2520-486: The islands have revealed pottery with red-slipped, circle-stamped and punctate-stamped designs found in the Mariana Islands dating from between 1500 and 1400 BC. These artifacts show similar aesthetics to pottery found in Northern and Central Philippines, particularly Nagsabaran ( Cagayan Valley ) pottery, which flourished during the period between 2000 and 1300 BC. Comparative and historical linguistics also indicate that

2583-405: The islands of Ladrones." Pigafetta writes, And the captain-general wished to approach the largest of these three islands to replenish his provisions. But it was not possible, for the people of those islands entered the ships and robbed us so that we could not protect ourselves from them. And when we wished to strike and take in the sails so as to land, they stole very quickly the small boat called

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2646-543: The keel up. Bayfield -class vessels were based on the large Type C3 passenger and cargo ship standard set by the US Maritime Commission . Originating in 1938, the C3 standard was designed to produce modern, good quality cargo and passenger ships to replace the ageing US merchant fleet , and which could also be readily converted into naval auxiliary vessels in the event of war. After the war broke out however,

2709-537: The land) but were known to the early Spanish colonists as Chamurres or HachaMori , eventually died out as a distinct people, though their descendants intermarried. At the Spanish occupation in 1668 , the Chamorros were estimated at 50,000, but a century later only 1,800 natives remained, as the majority of the population was of mixed Spanish-Chamorro blood or mestizo . They were characteristic Micronesians , with

2772-470: The largest island, Guam. The Marianas were the first islands Magellan encountered after traversing the Pacific from the southern tip of South America. The fruits found there saved the survivors from scurvy , which had already killed dozens of crewmembers. The Mariana Islands are the southern part of a submerged mountain range that extends 1,565 miles (2,519 km) from Guam to near Japan. Geographically,

2835-467: The later Gilliam and Haskell classes dispensed with some of these mounts. The later classes also had only one 5-inch (127 mm) gun instead of two. A total of 34 Bayfield -class vessels were produced between 1942 and 1944 – 20 by Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi and the remaining 14 at the San Francisco shipyard of Western Pipe & Steel – making the Bayfield class

2898-492: The longest uninterrupted ocean voyage in human history. They further reported findings which suggested that Tinian is likely to have been the first island in Oceania to have been settled by humans. Spanish expeditions, beginning with one by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the early 16th century, were the first Europeans to arrive; eventually, Spain annexed and colonized the archipelago, establishing their capital on

2961-653: The need for shipping became so great that the US was forced to come up with designs that could be more quickly manufactured. Thus the C3-based Bayfield class and its predecessors were eventually outnumbered by the Haskell class which was based on the simpler Victory ship design. Bayfield -class vessels were based upon the C3-S-A2 design standard. The basic design had to undergo a number of changes in order to meet

3024-471: The next day. She embarked battle wounded; transported them to Guam 4 to 9 April; then sailed the 10th for San Francisco, arriving 29 April. Departing San Francisco 22 May, Lamar deployed passengers and cargo to Pearl Harbor and Ulithi before reaching Guiuan , Samar , 23 June. From 27 June to 14 July she served as receiving ship for ServRon 10. After loading cargo at Guiuan, she steamed to Pearl Harbor 19 July to 1 August; discharged cargo; and departed

3087-545: The north to 30 million years old in the south (Guam). The island chain arose as a result of the western edge of the Pacific Plate moving westward and plunging downward below the Mariana plate , a region which is the most volcanically active convergent plate boundary on Earth. This subduction region, just east of the island chain, forms the noted Mariana Trench , the deepest part of the Earth's oceans and lowest part of

3150-533: The north to 30 million years old in the south (Guam). The islands are formed as the highly dense and very old western edge of the Pacific Plate plunges downward to form the floor of the Mariana Trench and carries trapped water under the Mariana plate as it does so. This water is super-heated as the plate is carried farther downward and results in the volcanic activity which has formed the arc of Mariana Islands above this subduction region. The Mariana Islands were

3213-402: The northern areas of Guam do not have safe coves or harbors to anchor. Moreover, the waters of Northern Guam are often rougher and the currents are even more treacherous in comparison to the safer coves and currents seen by the southwestern side of Guam. Regardless of where they landed, the Spanish ships arrived in Guam and were unable to get fresh food as the inhabitants, Chamorros , "entered

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3276-432: The northern group), are more or less densely forested , and the vegetation is dense, much resembling that of the Carolines and also of the Philippines, from where species of plants have been introduced. Owing to the moistness of the soil cryptogams are numerous, as are also most kinds of grasses. On most of the islands there is a plentiful supply of water. The fauna of the Marianas, though inferior in number and variety,

3339-452: The same day, touched Manus , and reached Bougainville , Solomons, 1 December. She took on board troops and cargo before returning to Manus 21 December to prepare for the Luzon invasion. Sailing 31 December with task group TG 79.1, she entered Lingayen Gulf 9 January 1945 and began debarking combat troops. Despite frequent alerts and intermittent air attacks, the transport completed unloading

3402-642: The second most numerous attack transport class behind the Haskell class. Bayfield -class vessels served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres of war. Some went on to see service in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Of the 388 attack transports (APA and AKA) of all types built, the last to see service with the US Navy was USS  Chilton , a Bayfield -class vessel built by Western Pipe & Steel which

3465-421: The ship's crew, but they had no dining hall and used their own mess gear to eat. A sick bay and dental clinic were also provided. The troop commander had his own private cabin and office, which was fitted with a loudspeaker system from which he could directly address the men under his command. In order to keep the soldiers entertained during their long, crowded voyages, music and other entertainment could be piped to

3528-493: The ships and stole whatever they could lay their hands on", including "the small boat that was fastened to the poop of the flagship", according to Spanish crewman Antonio Pigafetta. The Spanish crew, in retaliation, attacked the Chamorros and dubbed the islands Islas de los Ladrones (Islands of the Thieves). Wrote Pigafetta, "Those people are poor, but ingenious and very thievish, on account of which we called those three islands

3591-531: The surface of the Earth's crust. In this region, according to geologic theory, water trapped in the extensive faulting of the Pacific Plate as serpentinite , is heated by the higher temperatures of depth during its subduction, the pressure from the expanding steam results in the hydrothermal activity in the area and the volcanic activity which formed the Mariana Islands. All the islands, except Farallon de Medinilla and Uracas or Farallon de Pajaros (in

3654-573: The troop compartments. Because a troop transport carries less weight than a cargo ship, it was also found to be useful to use concrete as ballast in the bottom of the cargo holds in order to improve the comfort level for the ship's passengers, as well as increase safety and seagoing performance. Since attack transports would be conducting operations off hostile shores, they had a greater requirement for armament than ordinary transports, particularly in regards to antiaircraft defence. The Bayfield -class vessels were well outfitted in this regard. Each vessel

3717-408: Was fitted with a pair of 5"/38 caliber dual purpose guns, one fore and one aft. The ships were also fitted with between two and four twin 40 mm antiaircraft mounts (early examples came with two quad 1.1" gun mounts instead), plus two single 40 mm mounts and eighteen 20 mm mounts as standard. As the war progressed, the 20 mm cannon were found to be less effective than the 40 mm, and

3780-404: Was launched on 29 December 1942, first commissioned on 7 December 1943 and decommissioned in August 1970. She was finally struck from the Navy register on 1 July 1972. Marianas The indigenous inhabitants are the Chamorro people . Archaeologists in 2013 reported findings which indicated that the people who first settled the Marianas arrived there after making what may have been at the time

3843-590: Was only 2,646 inhabitants around this time, with the ten most northerly islands being actively volcanic and thus mostly uninhabited. Japan, allied with the Entente Powers during World War I , seized all of Germany's colonial possessions in East Asia and Micronesia, including the Northern Mariana Islands, and held them through the end of the war. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Germany

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3906-522: Was renamed SS J.L. Luckenbach . In July 1959, she was sold to Global Bulk Transportation Corporation and renamed SS Evergreen State . On 27 May 1971, she was sold for scrapping in Taiwan to Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corporation. Lamar received five battle stars for World War II service. Bayfield class attack transport The Bayfield -class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transports that were built during World War II. With

3969-509: Was stripped of all her colonies worldwide, including the Palau, Caroline, Northern Mariana and Marshall Islands. By international agreement, these were all placed into trusteeship under the management of League of Nations which assigned them to Japan as the Class C South Seas Mandate . During this time, Japan used some of the islands for sugarcane production, modestly increasing the population of

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