DRIVING on the rough path along the lush
golf courses of Coral Ocean Point one day last week, I had no idea that
one of the island’s historical treasures lies along the coastal area
beyond the thick shrubbery that made the road almost impossible to see.
Riding
in two golf cars, I and two officemates parked along the side of the
path and followed a trail some meters down to the beach and I saw one of
those Japanese pillboxes almost obscured by the tall weeds.
The structure, which turned out to be one
of the three Japanese blockhouses constructed on island, stood as
strong and proud as ever like it was constructed just recently. The
blockhouse was perched in a location that provided a commanding view of
the beach.
It usually takes a lot to convince me to
go inside any of these old structures like bunkers but unexpectedly, an
inner battle was taking place as I fought my fear of enclosed spaces and
tried to curb my curiosity as I made the few steps down to the door of
the structure.
Finally, my curiosity won and for the
first time, I stepped inside a Japanese bunker. Ducking to avoid the
spider’s web along the way, I took tentative steps inside. Contrary to
what I thought, it was well lighted inside, with the rays of the
afternoon sun streaming through the small rectangular windows on each of
the internal partitions.
Although the walls of the blockhouse were
over one yard thick and the ceiling was low, I forgot my being
claustrophobic for a moment as I stood still and surveyed my
surroundings for a few minutes, trying to imagine that almost 70 years
ago this place housed canons and the walls were the only mute witnesses
to the bullets ricocheting from the enemy’s firing line.
The sting of mosquitoes on my arms and
face brought me back to the present and I hurried out from the confines
of the thick walls and into the fresh and salty air outside.
According to the interpretive sign posted
by the CNMI Historic Preservation Office and the U.S. National Park
Service, the 20mm blockhouse, which is also referred to as the German
blockhouse, was of Japanese design and construction. The other two are
at Obyan Beach and Laolao Beach. The site was placed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1995.
