Students, your questions are answered in the comments section and indeed every person had a valid comment or question. I am quite proud of all of you.
After the long trip back, Gabe and I are now home. In reflection, the experience on Guam was enlightening. Indeed, World War II history comes from a very different perspective on Guam than here in the states. The entire history of WWII has a more recent feel. The events seem closer to today than what you see in the United States. Here, the events of WWII are practically forgotten. The veterans are aging and dying by the thousands each week. Many of our high school history classes breeze by WWII with a greater emphasis on the cultural aspects of WWII.
In Guam and in the Pacific, it is real and it is currently relevant. The Chamorro remember the concentration camps and the suffering. Other islanders still remember. When we were on Guam, a recreational baseball field was just dedicated that day to a fallen WWII soldier. (That wouldn't happen today in Texas.) WWII sacrifices are still celebrated in the Pacific. No less proof is that on Guam, the largest celebration isn't the 4th of July or even Christmas - it is Liberation Day - the day the Japanese surrendered and the island was liberated.
Patriotism on Guam is at a level we cannot experience here in the states. In the airport are HUGE larger than life headshots of all the Micronesians who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan....and the wall is covered with them. Micronesia and Guam have the highest per capita death rate in our current conflict against terror.
As far as Iwo Jima. I met some incredible people on the trip. Each person had their own vision quest. Some, like the Anderson brothers, had an inspirational story that even Hollywood couldn't duplicate. All had this story or motivation that to me hearing was nearly as important as me as my being on Iwo.
The airport tower on Iwo no longer reads Iwo Jima. It reads Iwo To. No doubt that in the future, Americans may eventually lose the right to visit the island. The rumors are that day is coming very soon. As some of you know, our tour lost a full charter that couldn't visit the island. I was blessed to be allowed on the only American charter to Iwo in 2008. At the rate of only 168 or so Americans a year to Iwo, I will be probably one of the last 500 Americans to visit Iwo Jima...
Fund for Teachers gave me the opportunity and gave all of you students an opportunity to enliven your imagination and minds with your creative questions. For my students, your cooperation in this assignment made the event even more meaningful for me. I know we both learned a great deal thanks to the Fund for Teachers and Military Historical Tours.
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2 comments:
Question: Why won't americans be allowed to go to the island anymore??
-Charles Grealy
3rd Period
Again sorry for being so late and hope I can get some credit
Grealey, Iwo Jima was returned to the Japanese in 1968. There are some theories out there but essentially we have two different cultures experiencing two different outcomes and seeing it through very different cultural binoculars. Right now, the Japanese governent grants permission to Military Historical Tours to bring veterans and a group to the island. There is speculation that as the veterans continue to live out their life spans, that permissive attitude may dissipate. We dont' know, but you know how rumors are. It is only a rumor but it has been said that sometime near 2010 may be the last chance for American civilians to visit the island. (We have a naval attachment stationed there and our Marines do visit time to time.)
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