Seabee group member donates 63-year-old plaque

Marie Soledad Castro, a member of the Association of Construction Battalion, donated a 63-year-old plaque made out of 95 percent Japanese warplane and 5 percent American warplane to the American Memorial Park Museum.

The plaque was given to her by her friend, James Olsen, who was a member of the 101st Battalion World War II Seabee.

“When he gave it to me and told me all about it, including where it came from, I told him I appreciate it but the place that the plaque really belonged to is at the Memorial Park Museum,” Castro said.

There were a total of 384 members of the 101st Seabee Battallion who came to Saipan in 1944 right after the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

The 101st Seabee Battalion helped rebuild the island by constructing roads, boat docks, bridges and other infrastructure.

While on island nearing Christmas Day, the battalion held a Christmas Party for approximately 300 native children.

The late Harry Olsen, who was a member of the 101st Seabee, recalled the event vividly and jotted down the experience in a letter before he passed away, stating that it was “a very memorable experience I can never forget.”

In the statement shared by Castro, Olsen said that on Christmas Day in 1944 the 101 Seabee Battalion sent a convoy of trucks to the civilian villages and picked up 300 lively children ages 7 to 15 years old.

At the time, the children were living in confined areas of the island along with native adults until such time as the island was free of Japanese holdouts.

“All the children had just gone through a horrible time with all the bombing and most youngsters were left with a family,” Olsen stated.

The children were brought back to the Seabee camp and were assigned to a Seabee who acted as his or her escort to the Christmas party.

The children were fed ice cream and cake, and had a special visit from Santa Claus. In return the children sang native Christmas songs to the Seabees.

Castro was among the 300 native children. She said she was 11 years old at the time and that the experience is impossible for her to forget.

“That was the very first time I ate ice cream and it tasted so good,” Castro said.

She never lost touch with her Seabee friends and attends the yearly reunion where she was made an honorary member of the 101st Seabee Battalion.

“They’re all very kind veterans. And through the years, they all have treated me like a daughter,” Castro said.

Olsen presented Castro the plaque that he earned from his time served in World War II.

According to Castro, Olsen told her that he wanted her to have it because he was getting old and did not have any children.

“Many of them have already passed away, but they will never be forgotten. Without them, we would not be enjoying life on Saipan as we are doing now,” Castro said.

AMP superintendent Sarah Creachbaum accepted Castro’s donation and said the gift and the story should be shared with all those who visit the museum.

The plaque now hangs conspicuously on the wall in the lobby of the museum.