WATER BOY FOR JAPANESE BUNKER

 

THE BOKKONGO' AT ASAN POINT

shortly after the American return in 1944

By 1943, the Japanese were quite sure that the Americans were on their way to Guam. The US wouldn't arrive tomorrow, but the American advance westward and up the Pacific was unmistakable. 

As one can see from this map, the Americans were already in Melanesia by late 1942/early 1943 and were in Micronesia (Tarawa, Kiribati) by November of 1943. The Japanese could see where the Americans were heading, and the Marianas was going to be a star prize in a string of American victories, bringing them closer to the Japanese mainland.

So, the Japanese began fortifying Guam and put many Chamorro men, even in their teens, to work. Women, also, were forced to work clearing land for airfields and digging defensive holes.

In Asan, the Japanese anticipated an ideal break in the reef where the Americans might land. People from Asan were forced to work building Japanese defenses in the Asan area.

Danny Santos, then a 9-year-old boy, remembers.

His grandfather and uncle were forced by the Japanese to join other Asan people in building a bokkongo', or cave, in the Akalaye Fanihi area next to Asan Point.

DANNY SANTOS WITH THE BOKKONGO' BEHIND HIM

in the distance

Young as he was, Danny also had a role in it. Twice a day, he and his older relatives had to bring drinking water to his grandfather, uncle and the other Asan men digging the bokkongo' or cave.

"We got the water from the bo'bo', or natural springs, in the Asan area. There are many bo'bo' in Asan.

We'd fill up the tanks then cover it with a mesh of coconut fiber and cloth to keep the water clean. My job was to make sure the water didn't spill. We took the water to the men on a karetan karabao (karabao cart).

When we got to the bokkongo', we were instructed by the Japanese not to look at the bokkongo' or the surrounding areas too much. And there definitely was to be no conversation between us and the men working on the bokkongo'. It took a while, maybe half an hour, for all the men working on the job to get their share of the water to drink. Then we left."

KARETAN KARABAO