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American Memorial Park annex on Tinian pushed
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Posted on Jul 03 2011
Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan has introduced legislation directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to build and maintain an American Memorial Park annex on Tinian to preserve World War II artifacts on the island where they were found.
The facility would be an extension of the American Memorial Park on Saipan.
Sablan, in his remarks during the unveiling of a monument at the Tinian North Field for the 2nd Marine Division on Friday, said the annex will provide a place for visitors to learn about the role of Tinian during World War II.
“This legislation faces a battle of its own in these times of austerity. But we must try. And certainly the people of Tinian and Tinian’s elected leaders have been very supportive, for which I am grateful,” he said.
Sablan’s HR 1103 has been referred to the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz said the proposed annex will give Tinian visitors “a better image and understanding of the jobs that the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions did during World War II.
Dela Cruz called for support for Sablan’s HR 1103.
In 2001, the U.S. National Park Service conducted a suitability and feasibility study of Tinian’s North Field, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district.
The area, which is leased by the U.S. Department of Defense for 50 years, has also been designated as a national historic landmark.
North Field was the launching pad for the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening the end of the war.
But the National Park Service determined that it was not feasible to include North Field on Tinian as a unit of the NPS system because of the military’s future long-term needs.
Sablan said a Tinian annex to the American Memorial Park on Saipan “could provide the opportunity for on and off site interpretation of North Field without conflicting with military needs.”
