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67-588: The geography of Apra Harbor has been extensively modified from its pre-historical state by humans. The entrance to the harbor is flanked by Point Udall , formerly Orote Point, to the south and Spanish Rocks at the tip of the Glass Breakwater. The Glass Breakwater, built on top of Calalan Bank and the fringing Luminao Reef, connects to Cabras Island , the location of the Port of Guam , which handles more than 90% of civilian cargo imported to Guam. Inland areas in

134-421: A Japanese military garrison. Sumay was leveled during the U.S. liberation of the island in 1944. The U.S. military prohibited the residents from returning, relocating them to the hills of nearby Sånta Rita-Sumai . In 1948, the U.S. military exercised eminent domain and took all private and commercial property at Sumay. Its former location is now on Naval Base Guam . An old cave complex at Sumay indicates that

201-693: A Point Udall." When Mo Udall died in 1998, President Bill Clinton issued a statement saying in part "It is fitting that the easternmost point of the United States, in the Virgin Islands, and the westernmost point, in Guam, are both named 'Udall Point.' The Sun will never set on the legacy of Mo Udall." This was also noted in the Congressional Record by Rep. George Miller of California. Sumay, Guam Sumay , also Sumai ,

268-662: A channel near Sumay, was blown ashore and a yard patrol boat sunk. Among the Hepburn Board Report improvements that was funded was the construction of a breakwater upon Luminao Reef, which began in August 1941. Limestone blocks quarried at Cabras Island were skidded along the reef to an improvised derrick . By the time of the Japanese invasion, one mile of breakwater, 36 feet wide five-feet above sea level had been constructed. A 1946 Navy report notes, "practically all

335-487: A coral reef off Gab Gab on the Orote Peninsula. The Marianas Yacht Club, located on the south shore of Drydock Island on Sasa Bay, provides mooring buoys for transPacific cruising yachts In addition to shore berths, a total of 21 mooring buoys are located in the harbor. However, none is suitable for large vessel mooring during a typhoon , requiring craft to put out to sea for safety in extreme weather. One buoy

402-723: A long way into the Island, at the End of which is a large Village with a Church, &c. This Bay has two forts, one on an Island in the middle of the Harbour of Six guns and it commands the Enterance of the Inner harbour; the other Fort of four guns is on the high hill on the Starboard side of the bay agoing up it. Apra Harbor was thus used more frequently in the nineteenth century. Piti became

469-559: A marine preserve in order to protect declining fish populations. In 2006 the U.S. Japan "Roadmap for Realignment Implementation Agreement" agreed that over 8,600 U.S. Marines currently based in Okinawa , Japan would relocate to the U.S. territory of Guam and the Marianas Islands . This reorientation could be one of the largest peacetime military relocations in U.S. history. The details of the military move are evolving, and much

536-670: A massive buildup of U.S. Navy facilities. The Report recommended fortifying Guam as an air and submarine base, with many improvements to Apra Harbor, but the Navy balked at the estimated cost, eventually designated $ 5 million for Apra Harbor improvements. A strong typhoon struck Guam on November 3, 1940, causing widespread damage. In Apra Harbor, the storm damaged the Navy Yard at Piti and the Marine barracks and Pan American Airways facilities at Sumay. The U.S. Navy's YM-13, which had been dredging

603-473: A ranch named Apla at the current location of the Navy Exchange and Commissary. Many families became separated during the confusion. Several days after the surrender of American forces on December 10, 1941, the Japanese forces evicted the residents of Sumay in order to turn it into a garrison, and residents were forbidden to return without permission. Five girls from Sumay were raped during eviction. During

670-624: A reconfiguring of port operations. Marinas are located in the area known as Inner Cabras in Piti between Cabras and Drydock Island, just south of the Guam Power Authority plants. Aquaworld Marina and Harbor of Refuge are owned and operated by the Port, with slips leased to tenants. The area, collectively known as Cabras Marina, berths personal small watercraft, diving boats, tourist sightseeing boats, and an Atlantis Submarine , which visits

737-561: A small navy yard at Piti. Apra Harbor was used as a coaling station , refueling ships transiting across the Pacific. The new American Naval government also began to develop the harbor, though launch boats were still required to navigate the coral reefs to land at Piti and Sumay. In 1903, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid submarine communications cable for telegraph through a station at Sumay, linking

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804-479: A station at Sumay , linking the United States to Asia, and each to Guam, for the first time. On April 7, 1917, Marines from Sumay fired warning shots at a launch from SMS Cormoran , a German merchant raider that had been held in Apra Harbor for two years. Upon being informed that a state of war existed and that Cormoran would be confiscated, her crew scuttled her, resulting in seven deaths. This incident

871-403: A width of 32 feet (9.8 m). The northern arm of Apra Harbor, from the main island through Cabras to the tip of the breakwater at Spanish Rocks measured 17,000 feet (5,200 m). Construction of Inner Apra Harbor required 7,500,000 cubic feet (210,000 m) of dredging and 26,000 feet (7,900 m) of quay wall. A small boat pool and a submarine base with a finger pier was established in

938-497: A yacht club was founded and began using the harbor for recreational small boating. During the 1960s and 1970s, the port's strategic importance was highlighted by its utility during the Vietnam War . On August 12, 1974, the tug towing RMS Caribia , a decommissioned passenger ship, to Taiwan sailed into the tropical storm that later became Typhoon Mary and attempted to reach safety at Apra Harbor. In danger of being pulled onto

1005-676: Is Submarine Squadron 15 , which is supported by ship tender USS  Frank Cable . Coast Guard Station Apra Harbor is also located on Naval Base Guam property and has an area of responsibility including the Mariana Islands , Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia ; it has three Sentinel-class cutters : Frederick Hatch , Myrtle Hazard , and Oliver Henry ; and the Seagoing Buoy Tender USCGC Sequoia . Kilo Wharf, located on

1072-575: Is a recreational and ecological protected area with regulated fishing. Measuring 3.118 square kilometres (770 acres), it is one of five Marine Preserves created by the Government of Guam in 1997. The Preserve contains a mangrove swamp , is a foraging area for Hawksbill sea turtle and is habitat for several oyster and clam species. It also includes four or five patch reefs in its deeper waters. Operations in Outer Apra Harbor are under

1139-532: Is also a census-designated place (CDP) in Guam that comprises Naval Base Guam and housing extending into the hills of Santa Rita village. In 2010, the population of the Apra Harbor CDP was 2,471. Apra comes from the Chamorro word "apapa", meaning "low." Apapa is the original name of Cabras Island. The harbor offered rich fishing grounds and was home to many Chamorro villages. During Spanish rule,

1206-784: Is formed by Polaris Point, a geographically separate part of Naval Base Guam that is the homeport of Submarine Squadron 15 . Polaris Point and the Orote Peninsula form the entrance to Inner Apra Harbor, a military restricted area. The Orote Peninsula holds the main part of Naval Base Guam and is approximately four miles to its tip at Point Udall. There are two named large coral formations roughly west of Sasa Bay in Outer Apra Harbor: Western Shoals and Jade Shoals. Ten rivers flow into Apra Harbor: Atantano River , Sasa River , Aguada River , Big Guatali River , Aplacho River , Maggo River , Guatali River , Laghas River , Tenjo River and Paulana River . "Apra Harbor"

1273-647: Is on hold due to budget sequestration. The U.S. Navy has suggested the need for expansion of Apra Harbor, which is the largest deep water port in the Western Pacific and the busiest in Micronesia to allow the basing of additional ships in Guam as part of the Navy's shift to the Pacific. Apra Harbor currently has many users, the two major ones being Naval Base Guam and the Port of Guam . Since 2009, facilities on Naval Base Guam are supported by Joint Region Marianas . The largest tenant unit at Naval Base Guam

1340-744: Is reported to have anchored at Apra Harbor in 1685 to trade provisions with Chamorros. In the early 18th century, Spain's Council of the Indies grew increasingly concerned about competing navies threatening the Manila galleon trade and Spain's possessions in the Pacific. This was aggravated by an attack in 1721 by the English privateer John Clipperton upon a supply ship from Cavite anchored at Merizo . In 1734, Governor Francisco de Cárdenas Pacheco opened up new anchorages in Apra Harbor, and built three cannon batteries or forts to protect them. Fort San Luis

1407-486: Is reserved for a Military Sealift Command strategic sealift ship . Harbor beaches on Naval property include Gab Gab Beach and San Luis Beach on the Orote Peninsula, and Fantasy Island on Polaris Point. Beaches on Cabras include Family Beach and Outhouse Beach. Port Authority Beach is located on the north shore of Drydock Island. Apra Harbor hosts a robust coral reef community and many shipwrecks. There are many named scuba diving sites either within or immediately outside

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1474-648: The American recapturing of Guam , U.S. forces declared the peninsula secured on July 29, 1944. An estimated 3,000 Japanese soldiers died defending the Orote Peninsula and the village of Sumay was essentially leveled. The U.S. military prohibited reentry to location of Sumay as Apra Harbor had become a key strategic location of the Pacific War , but residents eventually gathered at Apla, building makeshift homes as they awaited permission to return and rebuild. At one point, many were allowed back to gather small items in

1541-572: The Capture of Guam by the United States in 1898, the village was the site of Marine Barracks Guam . In the early 1900s, it was a link for two firsts connecting the United States and Asia: the first submarine communications cable for telegraph and the China Clipper , the first air service. After the Japanese invasion of Guam in 1941, the residents were evicted and the village turned into

1608-685: The Japanese occupation of Guam , some Sumay residents were conscripted into constructing Orote Field , and Santa Marian Guadalupe Church was turned into a auditorium for the Japanese military. In anticipation of an American attack, in July 1944 the Japanese military forced the residents of Sumay who had been living in Apla to march to the Manenggon Concentration Camp ; 34 residents of Sumay and Agat were herded into caves at Fena and massacred with grenades. After fierce fighting during

1675-471: The Superior Court of Guam , declaring a taking of Sumay, as well as parts of Piti and Agat , totaling 2,471 acres, with little or no compensation. The refugees from Sumay created the village of Santa Rita , the municipality in which the Orote Peninsula is now located. The population center of Piti was relocated away from its old shoreline along Apra Harbor. The territorial Naval Administration ran

1742-580: The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and a new mood of isolationism the U.S. decided to close the seaplane base at Sumay on February 23, 1931. The Maxwell School, named after Governor William John Maxwell , was constructed in the early 1930s. In 1935, Pan American Airways established rights to use the former Marine Aviation facility and made Sumay a base for its China Clipper . The first trans-Pacific air cargo service, flying from San Francisco to Manila , arrived at Sumay on November 27, 1935 and

1809-526: The territorial United States , located on the Orote Peninsula of Guam . It lies at the mouth of Apra Harbor , on the end of Orote Peninsula, opposite the Glass Breakwater of Cabras Island which forms the northern coast of the harbor. Many sources still call it Orote Point, such as the US Military's Orote Point Lanes bowling alley. The NRHP-listed Orote Historical Complex is located at

1876-484: The villages of Piti and Santa Rita form the eastern boundary of the harbor. There are two small artificial peninsulas jutting into the eastern end of the harbor. The northernmost is named Drydock Island , the tip of which is a military reservation with wharves for fueling ships. South of Drydock Island is Sasa Bay , one of five marine preserves created by the Government of Guam . The southern boundary of Sasa Bay

1943-597: The 1930s, the Empire of Japan traded with Guam specifically with the view to increasing its knowledge of the island. With tensions rising after the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria starting the Second Sino-Japanese War , Rear Admiral Arthur Japy Hepburn was appointed on June 7, 1938 to chair a board to provide recommendations on the American response. The resulting Hepburn Board Report recommended

2010-564: The Catholic mission, were transferred to Sumay. After the American Capture of Guam in 1898, Sumay continued its existence as an economically important village in a strategic location on the island. On August 7, 1899, a Naval Governorship was established The Marine Barracks Guam was formally established at Sumay in 1901. In 1903, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid submarine communications cable for telegraph through

2077-609: The Inner harbor. Small boat repair facilities at Piti were repaired and improved. Navy News noted that over 7,000 tons of explosives had been used in 1944 to clear ship passages in Guam. 50 pounds (23 kg) of these explosives is enough to destroy a volume of coral 100 by 3 feet (30.48 m × 0.91 m) deep. By July 1945, two months before the end of the Pacific War , there were 14 quay-wall berths, nine pontoon piers, two wooden fueling piers, ten Landing Ship, Tank (LST) berths, and one submarine pier. The residents of Sumay were not allowed to return and rebuild their homes, and

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2144-438: The Marine aviators set up a shoreside base for their amphibious aircraft, which at first comprised Fairey N.9s , Curtiss HS -2Ls, and Felixstowe F.5 Ls, and later Vought VE-7s and Loening OLs . The Marine Aviation unit also took detailed weather information that contributed to trans-Pacific aviation. Guam's first golf course, Sumay Golf Links, was established in the village in 1923. In response to budgetary pressures after

2211-542: The Orote Peninsula near the mouth of the harbor, is the only U.S. deep water ammunition port in the Western Pacific and also allows emergency berthing by visiting aircraft carriers , such as during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS  Theodore Roosevelt . The Port of Guam handles over ninety percent of total imports to Guam. In FY2008, more than 2 million cargo revenue tons in 99,908 containers were handled, including for transshipment to nearby Western Pacific islands. Five cruise ships visit Guam annually, requiring

2278-459: The U.S. Congress passed Public Law 594, The Guam Acquisition of Lands Act , allowing the U.S. Navy to acquire any and all lands it deemed necessary on the island. In 1948, the military filed Civil Case No. 5-49 in the Superior Court of Guam , declaring a taking of all of Sumay, totaling 245 private and commercial plots, for little or no compensation. In 1952, the village of Santa Rita completed its church, dedicating it to Our Lady of Guadalupe ,

2345-466: The U.S. in WWI In 1922, dredged materials from the harbor were used to fill the coastline at Sumay and a seawall was constructed, among the first large scale man-made changes to the shoreline. On March 17, 1921, U.S. suspicions of Japanese intentions for its South Seas Mandate led it to create a U.S. Marine Squadron floatplane base at Sumay. Guam's first golf course, Sumay Golf Links, was established in

2412-438: The U.S. military relocated them to a refugee camp in the nearby inland hills in 1946. Unbeknownst to them, Admiral Chester Nimitz had requested 55% of Guam be set aside for military use, including all of Sumay. In 1946, the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 594, The Guam Acquisition of Lands Act , allowing the U.S. Navy to acquire any and all lands it deemed necessary on the island. In 1948, the military filed Civil Case No. 5-49 in

2479-599: The United States to Asia, and each to Guam, for the first time. On April 7, 1917, the scuttling by her crew of SMS Cormoran , a German merchant raider that had been held in Apra Harbor for two years, was the first violent action of the United States in World War I , first shots fired by the U.S. against Germany in WWI, the first German prisoners of war captured by the U.S., and the first Germans killed in action by

2546-613: The West and N.W. sides by a Reef and a small Island and perfectly saft Anchorage. It consists of three places, Viz, a large outer Harbour where 300 Ships may Ride in Safety, an inner harbour that will hold many sail if required moor'd head and stern, and a large Lagoon to the Eastward which nothing but Boats can enter as the water is so Shallow on the Bar, but over it is a very deep water and it goes

2613-508: The [Hepburn] board's recommendations, except those relating to Guam, were carried out and contributed materially to our position when war actually developed." During the 1941 Japanese invasion , Guam was practically defenseless. During the Japanese occupation of Guam , the residents of Sumay were evicted and the town converted into a Japanese garrison. The harbor itself was extensively used by Japanese vessels, including for repair and refueling of their submarines and warships. Orote Peninsula

2680-568: The commercial port until 1951, when the 24 acres of commercial port in Piti was transferred to the United States Department of Commerce . In 1962, the Interior Department transferred the commercial port to the Government of Guam . Over 1,000 acres was eventually transferred from the federal government to the Government of Guam for port use. The port built the ability to handle containerized cargo in 1969. In 1969,

2747-403: The economic decline of the port, and lack of maintenance to the harbor defenses. Even in 1817, Otto von Kotzebue reported that Fort San Luis was no longer in use. The three cannon at Fort Santiago were reported unusable in 1853 and, in 1884, Governor Francisco Olive y Garcia declared that Fort Santiago was useful only as an observation post. By the time of the 1898 Spanish–American War none of

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2814-516: The first days of August. Full scale development began with arrival of the NCB 301 headquarters and barracks ship City of Dalhart on 11 August 1944. Constructing harbor facilities was the highest priority and the Seabees began installing pontoon piers . Construction at the first pier, at an old Navy fueling site on Cabras Island, required blasting to get to a 35 feet (11 m) depth. This first pier

2881-644: The first passenger service flight on October 21, 1936. Pan American also built Guam's first hotel in the village for its wealthy Clipper passengers in March 1936 with supplies brought by the SS ; North Haven . The 20-room Skyways Inn became a popular gathering place for island political and business leaders to mingle with guests. At least 2,000 people lived in Sumay before the Japanese invasion on December 8, 1941. Due to its strategic importance and Marine barracks,

2948-539: The harbor entrance could be used. The Army Corps of Engineers conducted its largest ever ship salvage, which was complicated by the discovery of a Korean War -era LCU wreck next to Caribia with 50 tons of unexploded ordnance, prompting the biggest project ever conducted by the Explosive Ordnance Division on Guam. In 1997, Guam designated Sasa Bay , which is located in the east of the Harbor as

3015-563: The harbor, including: Harley Reef; SMS  Cormoran and Tokai Maru , allowing divers to touch wrecks from the two World Wars at the same time; Jade Shoals; Big Blue Reef; Middle Shoals; Western Shoals; Gab Gab; Finger Reef; American Tanker; Blue and White; Luminau; Blue Hole ; Kizugawa Maru ; and many others. The outer shore of the Glass Breakwater is one of the most popular surfing spots on Guam, along with Talofofo Bay and Inarajan Bay . The Sasa Bay Marine Preserve, comprising waters and lands between Drydock Island and Polaris Point,

3082-615: The jurisdiction of The Port Authority of Guam and the United States Coast Guard . Vessels entering, leaving, or shifting berth in Apra Harbor are required to give 24 hours notice to the Port Authority of Guam Port Control Harbor Master and the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port. Inner Apra Harbor is a restricted area that is marked by two uncharted buoys. Operations in Inner Apra Harbor are under

3149-438: The jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy Port Control Harbormaster. 13°27′12″N 144°39′12.56″E  /  13.45333°N 144.6534889°E  / 13.45333; 144.6534889 Point Udall (Guam) 13°26′51.2″N 144°37′5.5″E  /  13.447556°N 144.618194°E  / 13.447556; 144.618194 Point Udall , also called Orote Point , is the westernmost point (by travel , not longitude ) in

3216-542: The location was inhabited prior to contact with Europeans, but is not well documented. In June 1678, amid the Spanish-Chamorro Wars where Spain attempted to solidify control of the island, Governor Juan Antonio de Salas led a military column to Sumay and the nearby village of Orote, which were both considered hotbeds of anti-Spanish resistance, setting fire to homes. While the Spanish relocated much of

3283-540: The name of Saint Louis IX was added and the harbor was referred to as the port of San Luis de Apra . However, it was not a favored anchorage during the Spanish–Chamorro Wars of the late seventeenth century and resulting the early Spanish period, mainly because of the many reefs and coral heads. The Spanish preferred ports were Umatac and Hagåtña , resulting in Apra Harbor being used by foreigners seeking to avoid Spanish authority. The English pirate John Eaton

3350-524: The name was officially designated as Point Udall by Governor of Guam Joseph Franklin Ada later that month. In 1968, the easternmost point in the United States, Point Udall , Virgin Islands , had been named for Udall's brother, Stewart . In a 1987 statement in regards to H.R. 2434, Congressman Smith and Guam's nonvoting congressional delegate Ben Blaz explained that "America's day would begin and end at

3417-535: The patron saint of Sumay. Sumay residents were allowed back to their old village for the first time in 1961 to tend the graves of their relatives on All Souls' Day , a traditional Chamorro practice. In 1968, Agat Park was renamed Agat-Sumay Memorial Park. In 1972, the Legislature of Guam passed a resolution recognizing the suffering of the people of Sumay and a housing division in Santa Rita called New Sumay

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3484-556: The point. The point is named for former Arizona congressman Morris "Mo" Udall . It was called Orote Point until it was renamed Point Udall in May 1987. Earlier that month, H.R. 2434, tabled by U.S. Congressman Denny Smith of Oregon , proposed renaming the point "to honor the service and accomplishments of Morris Udall." While the proposed resolution was referred to the House Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs,

3551-471: The population into centralized villages during their rule, Sumay was allowed to continue. In 1734, Governor Francisco de Cárdenas Pacheco opened up new anchorages in Apra Harbor to better protect ships from attack. Sumay eventually became a thriving port town, in particular during the height of Pacific whaling in the 1800s. Following the 1856 smallpox epidemic , the survivors from Pago , as well as

3618-460: The primary port, used to connect to the capital in Hagåtña. Meanwhile, Sumay became a popular port of whalers , in particular during the height of Pacific whaling in the early 1800s. In the 1840s, up to 60 whaling ships stopped in Apra Harbor every year, turning Sumay into the commercial and financial center of the island. The decline of whaling by the end of the nineteenth century also resulted in

3685-435: The reef, the tug captain cut the tow line just 800 yards (730 m) from Spanish Rocks. Adrift, Caribia crashed against the tip of Glass Breakwater with her stern blocking a third of the harbor entrance. She broke into three pieces and rough weather prevented the Navy and Coast Guard from determining if her stern section piece still blocked the entrance, closing the port. Side-scan sonar was eventually used to determine that

3752-517: The ruins of houses that had survived. Meanwhile, Admiral Chester Nimitz requested 55% of Guam be set aside for military use, including all of Sumay. In 1945, the U.S. military gave the Sumay residents in Apla two resettlement options: to Agat or to a "temporary" refugee camp in the nearby hills of what is now Sånta Rita-Sumai , originally called just Santa Rita. Sumay residents chose the second option, moving through 1945 and 1946 to an undeveloped area with no roads, running water, or electricity. In 1946,

3819-479: The surrounding thickets. The Pan Air Hotel kitchen received a direct hit, and several native employees were killed. [...] Bombing continued on Tuesday, [9] December. [...] Considerable additional material damage was done at the Marine Reservation, Pan Air Installation, Standard Oil tanks (which were set on fire by bombs on Monday, [8] December) The residents of Sumay had fled during the bombing, many to

3886-467: The three fortifications was in operation. American captain Henry Glass had received intelligence that Spanish men-of-war were anchored at Guam and that the harbor itself had formidable defenses. However, when Glass arrived in Apra Harbor on June 20, 1898 to claim the island on behalf of the United States, he encountered no resistance. A Marine Barracks Guam was established on Sumay in 1901, and

3953-436: The village in 1923. The U.S. eventually decided to close the seaplane base at Sumay on February 23, 1931. In 1935, Pan American Airways established rights to use the former Marine Aviation facility and made Sumay a base for its China Clipper . the first trans-Pacific air cargo service, flying from San Francisco to Manila , arrived at Sumay on November 27, 1935 and the first passenger service flight on October 21, 1936. In

4020-406: The village was the first target of Japanese bombing. Governor George McMillin wrote, Enemy planes appeared from the direction of Saipan shortly after eight o'clock, and the first bombs were dropped on the Marine Reservation and vicinity at 0827. The Marines were in the barracks, or on their normal duties throughout the post. Several were injured running across the golf course, for protection in

4087-488: Was a village on the United States territory of Guam . It was located on the north coast of the Orote Peninsula along Apra Harbor . It was inhabited by Chamorro people before contact with Europeans. Sumay became a prosperous port town serving whalers and other sailors in the 1800s and the second most populous settlement on Guam after Hagåtña , the capital of the Spanish Mariana Islands . Following

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4154-478: Was built in 1737 near Gab Gab and Fort Santiago was built at Orote Point to guard the entrance to the harbor. The third fort, Fort Santa Cruz , was built around 1800 atop a reef near the entrance to the harbor. William Haswell, an officer on the first documented American visit to Guam in January 1802, wrote a description of Apra Harbor: On the S.W. side of the Island is a very fine Bay and Harbour, defended on

4221-410: Was constructed between August 5 and 22, 1944. By October 1, six piers were operational and a seventh was being built, when a typhoon destroyed or severely damaged all the pontoon piers. At the same time as piers were being constructed, two other massive projects were occurring. The Glass Breakwater, named after the captain who captured Guam in 1898, was extended on Calalan Bank 3,260 feet (990 m) to

4288-474: Was constructed, meaning that the village no longer followed the shoreline. On March 17, 1921, as the U.S. grew suspicious of Japanese intentions for its South Seas Mandate , including the Northern Mariana Islands , Scouting Squadron 1 of the new United States Marine Corps Aviation , organized as Flight L out of Parris Island , arrived at Sumay. Comprising 10 pilots and 90 enlisted men,

4355-560: Was constructed; this subdivision is now referred to as Santa Rosa or Hyundai. The Sumay Memorial Park was dedicated in 1983 on the site of the old church. In 1988, the Santa Rita-Sumay Peace Memorial was erected at the former entrance to the refugee camp that residents moved to in 1945-1946. In 1999, Sumay Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places The cemetery, a cross from

4422-612: Was the center of Japanese resistance during the U.S. liberation of Guam in 1944 and the area around the harbor saw intense fighting. Both Piti and Sumay were leveled by the pre-invasion bombardment and very few harbor improvements survived. Clearance, salvage and harbor construction began before the island was fully secure by advance elements of the 301st Naval Construction Battalion ("Seabees") (NCB 301), tasked with salvage, clearing and developing ports even as fighting continued ashore, arriving in William Ward Burrows in

4489-465: Was the first violent action of the United States in World War I , first shots fired by the U.S. against Germany in WWI, the first German prisoners of war captured by the U.S., and the first Germans killed in action by the U.S. in WWI Sumay was Guam's second most populous village in the 1920 census . In 1922, dredged materials from the harbor were used to fill the coastline at Sumay and a seawall

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