Guam: A Biogeographic and Maritime Cultural Landscape Exploration of a WWII Amphibious Battlefield

This Amtrac amphibious tractor is submerged beneath about 50 feet of water within the Agat Unit of War in the Pacific National Historical Park and is one of few currently known underwater relics from the battle. NPS Photo

From January 27-February 25, 2023, a team of National Park Service (NPS) researchers supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration will begin their search for underwater shipwrecks, aircraft, amphibious vehicles, artillery and other artifacts related to the 1944 invasion of Guam during World War II (WWII). This expedition is the first of two that will help us learn about one of the most significant battles of the WWII Pacific theater and how it may have shaped the island’s natural environment today.

During WWII, Guam was a strategic military location for both the United States and Japan. In July 1944, U.S. troops successfully invaded the Japanese-held island. “There has never been a complete underwater inventory of what battle-related items may still exist,” said NPS archeologist Anne Wright one of the principal investigators on the project. “Evidence suggests there are significant cultural resources, almost 80 years after the battle, still on the bottom of the ocean.”

The artifacts, also known as cultural resources, lie on the seafloor near the landing beaches of Asan and Agat which are now part of War in the Pacific National Historical Park.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park was established to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of those participating in the campaigns of the Pacific Theater of World War II and to conserve and interpret outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects of the island of Guam. NPS Photo

Monique LaFrance Bartley, a marine ecologist in the NPS and Wright’s co-investigator, said the team will be in Guam in late January. “We are really excited to have the opportunity to conduct mapping surveys within the park. This is a unique opportunity to study cultural and natural resources together. This approach provides a more holistic understanding of the events of WWII from both historical and ecosystem perspectives.”

The project team will conduct underwater remote sensing and diver-based photogrammetry surveys to map the seafloor and portions of the barrier reef near the landing beaches. The survey data will be used to identify the location of battle-related cultural resources and visualize the seafloor environment. Technicians will also conduct elevation surveys of the beaches to investigate how war-related impacts to the reef may be affecting coastal vulnerability to storms and sea-level rise.

In the summer, with the winter expedition data and questions in hand, the researchers and divers will return to Guam. They will carry out a detailed exploration using divers and a remotely operated underwater (ROV) vehicle.

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Follow along!

The expedition, Guam: A Biogeographic and Maritime Cultural Landscape Exploration of a WWII Amphibious Battlefield is underwritten by NOAA Ocean Exploration.

Follow along with the expedition on the NOAA Ocean Exploration website starting on January 23, 2023.

Part of a series of articles titled
Using Science to Preserve the Past.

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The Importance of Paleontology Collections

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