My recent adventures have been about a vacation that my family and I took to the island of Guam immediately after I had relinquished my position as the Commander of the 305th Supply and Services Company. My family and I decided to spend some time cooling our jets while catching up on some much needed rest and relaxation. Of course, you may already know that. You may even know how we traveled to Guam using the low-budget method of transportation known as Space-A (space available) transportation. Naturally, it had its own little quirks that we had to deal with such as not being able to catch a direct flight to Guam. Then, there was the minor little issue with the cargo plane seats on the flight from hell. Or how about our temperamental car rental that seemed to decide when and where it needed to take a break. Or about the wild pigs and the coconut crabs, and our fruit picking exercises. Most recently, I talked about a couple of our tourist trips around the island. The temperamental rental car that I managed to procure for the duration of our vacation just had to let us know who in the hell was in charge of the trip. And of course, the temperamental car was naturally in charge of the entire trip. As a result, I was naturally worried as I planned our current trip. However, on our most recent outing to Tarzan Falls, that temperamental car behaved itself. But that day, We were headed just a few kilometers south of Anderson Air Force Base to a place I had heard about where we could hike down to see some Japanese World War II large coastal defense cannons (guns). These coastal defense cannons were fourteen-centimeter (5.5-inch) guns that were intended to target the entrance to Apra Harbor and Asan Beach. The Japanese intended to fire the guns at approaching US landing craft and ships. The guns had a range of about 17,000 meters (10.6 miles), so the Japanese mounted them on high ground and targeted the entrance to the harbor. So, I questioned the name given to the tourist attraction, “Piti Guns.” However, it appears that is the name given to the guns. Why? Was it because the Japanese pitied the poor fools that got caught in the crosshairs of those guns? Was it because the poor unsuspecting American sailors and Marines didn’t have a clue that those guns were there and they were like sitting ducks floating into a duck shoot? I would say that it was like they were floating into a turkey shoot, but I don’t think that turkeys float. I have never personally seen a turkey swim, although I have seen them strut around. But I digress. As it was, the Piti Guns were never fired. Perhaps the Japanese really did take pity upon their American adversaries? Could that have really been the case? Could those ruthless bastards who were known for their vicious tactics and relentless resistance, really show compassion? Could it be that the Japanese were really getting soft as the war stretched on and on? Perhaps. But I seriously doubt it. History suggests otherwise. History suggests that the Americans arrived at Guam a little sooner than the Japanese were expecting. Added to that, the Japanese suddenly found the war not going so well for them. Things looked great when they bombed the shit out of Pearl Harbor. But fast-forward to 1944 and everything seemed to be turning against them. The Japanese found that they needed to shore up their defenses on Guam rather than setting up the Piti Guns. As a result, the guns were never fired. Perhaps they didn’t think that the Americans would take pity on them either. After hiking down the hill to check out the Piti Guns, and while we were hiking back up the hill, there was an added bonus to our little hike. A side trail led us to a Mahogany Forest. Mahogany trees are not native to Guam. So, how in the hell did they get there? Did the Japanese plant them while they occupied the island? Perhaps they had grand ideas about building mahogany furniture after they had won the war. Of course, that theory assumes that they were the culprits that actually planted the mahogany trees and that they were going to actually win the war. As to point number one, I am not really sure that they were guilty of planting the mahogany trees. As to point number two, well, we all know what happened at the end of the war. Anyway, I had never seen a real live mahogany Forest, much less a mahogany tree before. So, our adventure was well worth the time we invested that day. Once again, we had even managed to tempt fate and escape because our temperamental car behaved like a saint (though the gallon of water I put in the radiator may have helped). Our trip to see the Piti Guns and the Mahogany Forest took a little over half a day, and we experienced no exercises in futility.
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