U.S. veterans honor their compatriots

Dozens of U.S. veterans visiting Saipan aboard a luxury liner stopped by yesterday at the American Memorial Park to pay homage and remember their compatriots who died here during World War II.

CNMI officials and some veterans residing on the island led the welcoming ceremony held at the Court of Honor and Flag circle, giving these visitors not only recognition but also a taste of the islands’ hospitality.

In his speech, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio acknowledged this is the first time since June 1944 that so many U.S. veterans have visited Saipan.

About 200 of them, including 11 who participated in the Marianas Campaign during the war, were on a brief stopover for a few hours of sightseeing before their cruise ship, “Sky Princess, ” heads to Guam to continue the tour.

The ship has 1,200 passengers, including the veterans, according to local officials. It had sailed from Marshalls before coming here.

“We islanders know how special you veterans are. You are men who have been willing to sacrifice everything in battle to make people free,” the governor said.

“These grateful islands will never forget what you have done. The Battle of Saipan marked not only the turning point in the Battle of the Pacific, but also a real change in the fortune of our islands,” added Mr. Tenorio.

He also spoke of the CNMI’s history, such as when U.S. marines, soldiers and sailors seized control of the islands in 1944 from the Japanese and the eventual political integration as a commonwealth under the American flag.

Since 1976, he told the veterans the Commonwealth has experienced “amazing” economic growth and development, hosting as much as 700,000 visitors in a year.

“It is hard to believe that when some of you last saw Saipan so many years ago, the island was a charred, treeless dot in the ocean,” said Mr. Tenorio.

“Sometimes I drive down Beach Road and wonder at how much has happened since I was a 10-year old boy waving at the Marines. The piece of shrapnel that found its home in my leg 56 years ago is a permanent reminder of the price that so many American soldiers paid for our freedom,” he said.

Mr. Tenorio then led the veterans in saying prayers and laying the wreath to honor those who died here more than a half-century ago.

After the brief ceremony, the veterans and their wives took pictures around the park and read names of war heroes that are inscribed in marble stones within the flag circle.