May we learn from history?
By Nancy Bo Flood
The many critical battles fought in the Pacific Arena are not as well known as those fought in Europe. But these battles in the Pacific were critical to ending the war, at a high cost of lives, military and civilian. The battles on Saipan and Tinian were essential to the eventual use of the atomic bomb. Many Americans are not aware that Saipan and Tinian are now a political part of the United States, similar to Guam’s status. Today the U.S. military continues to be a strong presence in the Pacific. “In the end, all we are and all that we have, are stories.”
Bill and I were teaching as part of the faculty for an educational colloquium, “Saipan and World War II: Land & Sea, Living Stories of the Past, Present & Future,” a program sponsored by the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH).
Sixty teachers from state-side and the Pacific Rim were our students. Teaching happened in many ways and often in the sites where it took place. We stood in front of the pit that held the atomic bomb; we crawled into the caves where Indigenous families hid, trying to survive. We walked the secret tunnels created by the Japanese military that were “underground highways” for Japanese troops and war supplies. And we stood on the cliffs where many were forced to leap to their deaths. War. We smelled it in the caves, swam into the rusty tanks, felt the silenced cries and read the words carved on many monuments asking for peace.
I came to realize in a deeper way that Saipan is not just about WWII and WWII is not only about planes, ships and bombs. War is about people.
We asked teachers to write about our experience on Saipan.
Here is a line from a “list poem” written by one of the teachers.
History will remember the war;
families will remember the losses.
Jonas
and
War begets war, begets war, begets war.
Carolyn Bloomberg-O’Brien
May we learn from history?
If funding is approved, this symposium will
be offered again, summer 2027. Educators
and librarians are encouraged to apply.
More information is available at facebook.com/
SaipanNEHprogram2026