It's unnecessary to mention the obvious: nobody is doing this for fun, spending money to spend money. It's necessary to get to work, and rebuild alliances and networks.
NZer here - this is great stuff! Really good to see the old airbase being rehabbed and brought back to life again! All of the old island bases like this, scattered across the Pacific, are priceless assets that should be rehabbed and used.
I actually stood in the exact runway the Enola Gay took off from on that historic day. I live in Saipan and can tell you that the transition that is underway on Tinian is really amazing. I can just imagine how they built those runways back in the day. Now, it’s going to be home for another important role. Hopefully it will never be needed as it was back in that time.
The US is finally examining it's holdings in the Pacific and how they can be leveraged for defense in that theater. Maybe their head is finally a little bit out of the sand?
It gets my goat to hear/ see people denigrate Peleliu as being useless, a wasted effort, etc. They say it had no value, ignoring that the war in the Pacific was an air war. If it had no value, why did the Japanese build an airstrip on it and fight like hell to keep it? How many of these General Hindsights have told the Japanese that their soldiers lives were wasted?
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re Great questions... The Japanese had come to the realization that they couldn't "win" the war with the Americans, but they could set up circumstances for a negotiated peace which would allow their government to remain intact and which would allow them to repair and rearm in the coming post-war years. The strategy, beginning at Peleliu and running through the upcoming battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, was to sacrifice the entire garrison on those islands in order to inflict catastrophic casualties on the American forces. The point, of course, was to create a killing machine that would turn American public opinion against the war, primarily to make the invasion of the Japanese mainland politically impossible. Japan was using their new strategy to secure a settlement that would avoid the American demand for total and absolute surrender. The United States was still going to invade the mainland, and it was prepared to suffer enormous casualties. Many people don't realize that every Purple Heart awarded in every war since the end of WWII -- Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and everything in between - - was taken from the stock produced prior to the invasion of Japan. The atomic bombs indeed saved millions of lives, American and Japanese.
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re A lot of Japanese south pacific bases were simply isolated and bypassed, rather than having a big, bloody conflict for each. A lot of people argued that Peleliu was another base that could have been isolated and bypassed. By that point in the war Japan was pretty low on both airplanes to stock bases with, and transport to get the planes to the bases. The arguments that it could have been bypassed were going on at a high decision level from well before the actual invasion, it wasn't all just armchair generals after the war (though there were a heck of a lot of those). I'm not going to say they were right, nor that they were wrong. I suspect that we just don't know enough, today, about conditions back then that we can be anything except armchair generals. But there were a lot of loud voices back then, including quite a few of the surviving marines that took the island, that thought it could have been bypassed. Were they right? We'll never know. But it is worth considering their viewpoint.
My dad a WWII Seabee (92 NCB), helped build the atomic-bomb pits on Tinian. I didn't learn this until I was in my 50s. I'm sure he would be smiling to hear the runways he helped build were coming back to life.
My father also was a Seabed stationed in Tinian. He said all personnel possible were evacuated from the island when the Bombs arrived. Yes, it is good to see the base receiving attention and restoration
Sounds like your dad has passed, but yeah, you know he must have been incredibly proud of the work he did and the outcome because of it. Kudos to your pop.
One of those Sea Bees in WWII was my friend BQ Bratton. I met BQ when he was 89 years old and still working operating heavy equipment. He was 18 during the recovery of Guam, watched his friends die by snipers. Never forget these men or what they were fighting for. Freedom isn’t free. Thank You BQ for everything. ❤️ Thank You for your friendship.
The Navy really did the battalions right. Filled them with older men who already had construction experience. They could be quickly shipped to the Pacific. It's hard to imagine how much longer the Pacific war would have taken without them.
Are you sure you don't mean Quinn Braxton Sea Bee's 1943???? The Quinn Braxton I am talking about was an enlisted contractor 30 Years of age from Florida. We meaning Americans were building bases prior to the happenings at Pearl Harbor. part of the reasons Japan did attack us they were feeling threatened in their own Islands by our Micro bases springing up
My Chemistry/Physics teacher was stationed on Tinian and watched the Enola Gay loaded. The word on the base was that when she flew the war would end. He was an American of the Souix tribe, Mr. Iron hawk!
My uncle, T.F. Mc Mahon, was berthed next to the Indianapolis after delivering the bombs. He had been on 3 Destroyers, 1 sunk, 1 damaged both by u boats. The 3rd landed him in the Pacific Theater from Tinian ending in Tokyo Bay.He was lucky on the sinking, they were on Convoy duty.
Sortof. Like, highest quality paving necessary considering the weight of the aircraft of the time. Highest quality buildings considering the standards for personnel comfort of the time. The allied Seabees of WWII were the best of the best, but technology moves on.
When you consider how long some of those buildings have withstood not only the corrosive sea air, but the storms too, it's amazing. They'll refurb what they can and tear down and rebuild what they can't feasibly reuse. I imagine nothing will go to waste right down to recrushing the old concrete to provide gravel and filler for new concrete slabs.
I am a former US Marine Grunt. In 1982 I went their with Combat Engineers to collapse some old Japanese bunkers. A group of us wandered around and found the "pits" but it was just pools of nasty water and truth be told we were not sure what the hell we were even looking at. Except for us younger folks, no one seemed to care about the place. I am over joyed that it is considered important historical structures. So much history. So many men were there. It is very emotional for me to see this. Thank you all for doing this !!!!!!!!! China or no China, the history remains ............. 🙂
I was there in '84. The airfields were overgrown. I knew we were on the old B29 runways. Nobody else knew or cared. We walked all around the place. We saw some old buildings, the bomb pits and and few other related items...not much to really look at. I think we we there for almost 3 weeks. No training conducted at the time. 0369 USMC ret
As an aircraft maintenance officer I went on numerous TDYs to Andersen AFB in the late ‘80s. C130 crews flew out of Andersen AFB to Tinian and back every day. I always wanted to take a hop with them but never got round to it. Been lamenting it ever since😢
My dad, an aircraft repair/rebuild logistics officer, worked on moving the XX Bomb Group (later 20th Air Force) from India to Tinian. The last aircraft to leave Kharagpur was scheduled to go to Clark Field in the Philippines and then on to Tinian. As they cleared airspace that was within striking range of Japanese fighters, they were redirected to Okinawa. That C-54 landed on Yontan airfield (captured from the Japanese on the day before) of the second day after the invasion of Japan. My father was on that aircraft. His new job -- work to complete Yontan into a useable airfield for B-29s and continue the building of a Japanese airfield that was part-completed 3 miles away at Kadena. (Kadena was on terrain with room to expand, Yontan was constrained by geography and could not be enlarged much.) After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, the aircraft "Bock's Car" was so low on fuel that they had to set an emergency landing at Yontan. My father was in charge of organizing the refueling of that aircraft, replacement of at least one exhaust stack that had been overheated by too lean a mixture, and other small repairs -- this was done under strict MP supervision, he didn't know what was happening until decades later, only that a B-29 had landed and was parked at the new remote parking area -- the one with the rectangular holes in the paved surface. So, my father was part of the 20th Air Force but he never served on Tinian. (In July, he was transferred to the 8th Air Force as it was being transferred from the UK/Europe to take part in the campaign to invade Japan.)
I got to go to Tinian in 1991. I worked AGE at Yokota. We had a TDY to Guam to support a war game between the Seabees. My job was to hang back at Guam and support the C130's flying troops to Tinian. The C130's were doing ERO, but just in case a plane had to shut down and if the APU would not work we sent a Dash Sixty to Tinian. The crew chief's could not get the Dash Sixty to start at Tinian and they wanted to make sure it did. Troubleshooting over the radio was not effective so they flew me out to Tinian for a very memorable flight. As soon as I stepped off the plane and saw the Dash Sixty, I realized they had not opened up the exhaust door that has a micro switch that must be triggered for the unit to start. Oops, my bad. I got a fun flight in the C130 for it. Fun Flight: The weather was perfect South Seas blue skies and blue water. On the way we flew over Rota. Rota looked like a quaint 1800's colony with a ship wreck on one end. Landing at Tinian was interesting on a shortened barely cleared runway. On the return the air pilot decided fly back low level just for kicks and giggles. As we were approaching the runway at Anderson, the pilot approached just below the cliff level dropped the flaps, popped us up and buzzed the tower and flight line. It was then that I realized I was with the aircrew I that liked to think they were Top Gun Maverick.
To be a young Air Force Engineer out there in the middle of the Pacific restoring Tinian sounds like a rugged assignment but at the same time a real adventure to tell your grandkids about.
I'm the grandson of a US Army Combat Engineer who spent time on Tinian and very likely helped construct this airbase. Cpl. Harry Prettyman, 34th Combat Engineer Battalion, US Army. The Seabees get a lot of recognition (well deserved) but Army engineers also did a lot of the work. At one point my grandfather worked under the command of Lt. Robert Ryan, a very well known Navy Seabee who had also served as an Army combat engineer prior to the war.
All geopolitical considerations aside, I'm fascinated by the challenge of gathering all the materials necessary to build a functioning airfield, literally, in the middle of a vast ocean. That's got to be a cool story.
The airfield probably could not be built today because of environmental considerations. A lot of coral was crushed and used for paving on some of the Pacific Islands. The US would not crush coral now.
This is a very crucial strategic asset for our operations. We need to develop land for future air operations in the SCS. My grandfather was deployed here in the B-29.
I knew someone who piloted B-29s out of Tinian. I asked him if he knew about the atomic bombers. He say "yes," that when the planes landed they were immediately surrounded by troops with Thompson machine guns. He knew something special was happening.
Similar to my experience in the 1970s . The ship I was on could carry nuclear warheads for Talos missiles. When we loaded missiles at Seal Beach CA most missiles would come several on a flatbed truck. Then there would be one missile on a truck with Marines surrounding it.
I'm an Airforce Brat and grew up on Strategic Air Command bases. Back in the early 1970's, there were always B52's on the flightline with nukes onboard. They were easy to spot because of they were guarded by troops with M16s. The other B52's weren't guarded at all.
@@brittmrmanly4982 My father hated SAC and LeMay. The only way out was to take a bus to Ashville, NC from Hunter to re-enlist there. After re-enlistment, he was mostly on ADC bases in the states until we came back from Germany the second time. He retired from Lackland, and then started kicking himself for retiring.
My Uncle was. propeller specialist on B-29's with the 40th Bomb Group, and he moved with his unit from India to Tinian in early 45 sometime. He wasn't a part of the Col. Tibbits unit, but his group was bombing daily over Japan. He wasn't flying, but it took a lot of people on the ground to keep those planes in the air.
Yes. Finally. After decades of playing kissy-kissy with worthless "treaties", America may have actually come awake to it's long standing vulnerabilities. "When we build, they build. When we stop building, they Keep building". Cold War Saying/Reality. I was 27th CES at Cannon AFB when we had F111s & Vietnam.
I'm in the UK and about 7 years ago I went to visit a friend in the Philippines, while there I booked flights to visit a contact in Saipan, he arranged tripe to Tinian and Rota, so I was able to walk on the runways and see the bomb pits. Very interesting trip to a historical Island far from home.
It seems that the Indonesian army was also asked to visit Tinian Island to check out the restoration of Tinian Air Force Base. This base held the Atomic Bomb that was destined for Japan, making a huge impact in WWII. Indonesia was one of the countries that benefited from Japan's surrender. Turns out Tinian Air Base played a role in Indonesian independence too.
@@OsaPratama The Japanese occupation was initially greeted with great enthusiasm by Indonesians who came to meet the Japanese army waving Japanese flags and shouting support such as "Japan is our older brother" and "banzai Dai Nippon". As the Japanese advanced, Indonesians in virtually every part of the archipelago killed groups of Europeans (particularly the Dutch) and informed the Japanese about the whereabouts of larger groups. The naive Indonesians picked the wrong side as the Japanese treated them as slaves. Enjoy reading that history lol
My Dad was one of the Marines who fought for Tinian & Saipan; as well as other islands in the Pacific. He had nightmares until the day he died. He would be incredibly proud that the islands that were taken at such high human price are being used in a currently strategic manner.
My great uncle Eugene Wolbert was a Marine killed in action taking the island of Tinian. This makes me so happy that there is new interest in restoring and reusing the airfields on Tinian. I've been to the USAF museum in Dayton Ohio twice now and put my hand on B29 Bockscar knowing that my great uncle gave his life so that airplane could complete it's mission and bring an end to WW2.
My grandfather was part of the tean that cleared and built Tinian. The wire you see poking ou of the asphalt is a type of chainlonk fencing. When ground is soft for landing on sand or dirt, my grandfather told us that they would run this type of fencing and planes could land. See the coral embedded in the asphalt? They used it as rock for the tarmac. He was in the Army Air Corps, not SeeBees. He said they were so short-handed, they maintained the aircraft (all kinds) and cleared jungle brush to build airstrips. This is about the only thing he told us about the war because he was traumatized by his service in the Pacific. When my daughter graduated from the USAFA, he slowly opened up about some combat aspects of the war. It was gruesome. Kamakazi pilots hitting the ship you are on, picking up the pieces of Marines on Okinawa, rescuing American & British POW's, even catching Japanese soilders as they raided the mess hall trash when they were left behind to defend the island to the end.
"This is every Dirt Boy's dream." You can say that again. I'm not a Dirt Boy... but working on a project like this would be EXTREMELY satisfying to me. I LOVE history (and heavy equipment)... and knowing that all the work is going to go to restoring this field... is AMAZING. Good luck to all involved.
Man, I'd do anything to visit that place. The Enola Gay lives a few minutes from me at the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum - strange to think that the same exact plane once sat over top of that exact bomb pit the day of the single mist historic moment in military history. I've always wondered why these airfields were mostly abandoned beyond some wildlife offices and funding... the same strategic advantages they offered in WWII still apply today, albeit for a different adversary.
I'm glad to see the work they've done on Tinian now. I was stationed in Guam (c.1983-84; c.1987-90; c.1994-96); I visited Tinian in 1996; then, as yet, nothing had been done; even the pits; it was a mess.
Yes, it's very evocative, isn't it (?) Hearing personal stories about other times and places -- especially if they are isolated or forgotten times and places -- can elicit altered states of awareness . . .
The island was a training area for us on deployment in 1988. I was with Charlie-1/1 on a C-130 from Okinawa conducting airstrip seizure while the rest of 1/1 land from the water. Good times.
I would love to go back to Tinian. I haven't been there since 1992 when I was stationed on Guam. Now, as a retired Seabee, hire some of us old dirt pushers to get it done. I'll island hop like the old guys back in the day.
My dad was one of the SeaBees who built these runways. He said that they dynamited the coral reefs, scooped up the debris, rolled it out onto the runways and then watered them with seawater, keeping the coral alive for a while so it sort of "knitted" itself back together, making for a more solid runway. He once traveled with a group from his unit back to Tinian to place a memorial plaque there. He said the runways were still in great shape.
Back in the 1970s I lived and worked on Saipan. San Jose, Tinian was famous for its annual fiesta. There was a group of us who would go every year, paying deck passage on one of the tuna boats. We would take our bicycles and camp out. We would often ride down to the old airfield and other parts of the island. The bomb pits were a regular stop and they were not protected in any fashion then. Somewhere around here is a photo of me standing in one. In 1980, I went to Japan with a couple friends and one of the places we visited was Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was a bit eerie to stand at the starting and ending points of one of the pivotal moments in world history.
I've never been to Tinian and those similar South Seas bases, but I did get deployed to Anderson while it was in caretaker status. They literally opened up the base for our operations. Most of us stayed in buildings that had not been used since Korea or Vietnam. The caretaker crew fired up old boilers to get hot water for us and a makeshift chowhall was opened to feed a couple hundred people. I've since been there to witness it having been brought into fully operational status. A lot of work has been done to modernize and reconstitute. I'm retired now but only wish I could have the opportunity to deploy to or even visit some of the bases like Tinian and its sister bases. Makes me wonder if they're going to regen Wake Island? When you go to these places, you can just feel the history in your bones and breathe it in the air. You feel the ghosts of the past. God Bless all those men working hard to bring back these bases.
I drove down the north field runway in June 2024. I rented a Toyota truck. I did see some equipment there but the runways were untouched then. I just wanted to say I drove a vehicle down the same runway the Enola Gay did! I actually got up to 120 mph which was the limit of the truck but it felt great! I’m glad I did it. I was the only one on the runway and the only one at the bomb loading sites. There are two there. Little boy was loaded in on site and fat man in another. They are like 50 yards apart but in the same area of the runway. All the buildings/bunkers they show here. I went in. So much history. I’m so glad I took a small 4 seater plane from Saipan to tinian to see this place. As a Georgia boy I’m proud that Paul Tibbets was another GA boy that flew the Enola Gay. :)
RED HORSE and Seabees can do and they will be successful. I always wondered about that island since I learned about it from the movie "Jaws." Quint was a sailor on the USS Indianapolis and was one of the survivors that delivered "the bomb."
lewistasso, I can categorically ( and unsarcastically ) say you probably know more than the average college kid ( faint praise at best, i Know ), most of whom if asked to find New Mexico would look on a map of Mexico... ☆
Dad worked om the bomb. Mom worked on the planes. It's a family affair! We need this, big time! I hope they have an evacuation plan though. This will become a prime target just like Guam.
Landed there in 1964. Took Bicycles from NAS Agana to an orphanage on Tinian. Knocked the leaves off of trees alongside the runway. Good experience. The kids took turns riding those bikes. No fussing no complaints. Nice place, nice people.
Saw something on the WSJ page and it got my attention. I'm a former Fire Dawg with the 8th CES and pay a lot of attention to what's going on in PACAF. This was an amazing job y'all. You should be very proud of the work done. I truly hope we don't need to use these airfields but am glad the Pink Pony is working hard to make them viable once again.
As a U.S. Army veteran, I want to correct the record. Tinian was never a U.S. Air Force Base. It was the U.S. Army Air Corps that operated Tinian. Having said that, great video, we're proud of you great men and women!
You noticed that? Air Force tends to forget they were a part of the Army till 1948. The facility at Tinian was built by SeaBees, Navy and Marines. What they are doing now is likely a test to see if the Air Force is capable of taking on projects of this scale in remote locations just in case.... Navy joke, what is the first thing the Air Force plans when they start a new base? The golf course! (Told to me by a retired naval aviator)
And I will correct your record. It was an Army Air "Force" base. The Air "Corp" effectively dissolved in June 1941, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. All WWII aerial forces were AAF after that.
As a Brit, born ten years after the atomic bombs were dropped in Feb 1945, I grew up with the Second World War in a good two thirds of all the childhood books, TV and comics, etc. that were everywhere at the time. (The rest were about cowboys and Indians.) It wasn't until well into adulthood that I became aware, through the internet, that the war actually continued in the Pacific, after the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe. I'm an aviation retentive and it was through reading about the American fears of a Japanese invasion on the US West coast that I discovered the hellish conflict in the Aleutian Islands, that started me on a hobby of Google Maps research into former 2nd WW airfields throughout the Pacific. My fascination, I slowly realised, was only fed by the total silence of my parents' and grandparents' generations, who only wanted to forget the horror and look forward. It's the 11th of November as I write and I give thanks for the life of peace that the Allies gave us. My 98 year old D day veteren father out law died a year ago and he said that he was worried because the world was becoming the same as it was in the 1930s, with the rise of the Far Right. Thanks for a very interesting video.
My father was part of this WW2 activity as being stationed on Guam to support the group that created all the mapping for bombing and land invasions in the Pacific theater thru the Army cartographic intelligence group or known as Corp of Engineers Military Intelligence Division of the Army Map Service. Coincidentally I was also stationed on Guam during the Vietnam Conflict that was supporting the bombing out of Anderson Airforce base. This area is considered the air staging base for reach to Asia.
Don't forget Army Combat Engineers. My grandfather was with the 34th Combat Engineer Battalion and was on Tinian with a bulldozer. I have photographic evidence.
@goodday126 hey, the Japs are our friends and they are anything but woke. Japan took it on the chin with those two nukes, and the result sure beats having them under the thumb or Soviet control.
Seabee's are the most badass construction workers in the world. Had the pleasure of working with some decades ago and will never forget how versatile and talented they are. Cool that Tinian is finally getting restored, was sad to see such a historically significant place get all but forgotten, even though the reasons for its restoration aren't ones any of us wish to experience.
I was on Tinian with a small contingent of Marines in 1976. The island was still hot with unexploded ordinance. Only a quarter of the island was cleared at that time. Shipwrecks, rusted tank hulks and pillboxes with bones still visible inside were everywhere. The lush greenery on the way up toward the caves in the cliffs was deceptive. What looked like a carpet of thick, ground-hugging vegetation was actually a cover for long-dead coral husks so sharp they left gouges in our boots. Standing on the north point looking over the channel to Saipan was a beautiful contrast to the surreal reality of the dark realization that we were standing in front of that pillbox that was sealed as a grave for its unfortunate occupants.
Nice, an historic airfield being put back to use. It has a significant past history. However, the present reason for rehabilitation isn't its history, it is towards the future and the current threats in that area and the impact a forward base has, basically the same reasons it was built in the first place in 1944/5 to project power forwards, but the potential enemy has changed, but that area of ocean is exactly the same as 80 years ago.
As my first pilot job I used to fly a Cherokee Six between Titian and Saipan. I flew my RC planes off of this field as well. These runways were in bad shape on the surface but really just needed some work on the top. Structurally looked sound to me. There is a very long runway for the new airport what was originally the Japanese field but got extended when I was there so the Chinese tour planes could land. Since there were no instrument approaches into that runway they always landed on Saipan. China Southern weren’t allowed to do visual or ADF approaches with their 757s. I flew the crew and the high rollers in and out of Tinian where the hotel was. The Chinese tourism minister came one day to approve the location for Chinese tourists, I flew him too. So as Gen Tibbets the tail gunner and the navigator of Enola Gay when they came to visit the field. The bomb pits were covered with dirt up to that point and 2 palm trees were planted there. Now they have pictures and a cover on top. Apparently when they dug it up there were tons of relics what the soldiers throw in when the war was over. Supposedly there was a film in there what showed the test bomb explode but they couldn’t play it since it was a different film then what they had a player for. Wonder what happened to that rail now. Whatever the Japanese built, those buildings are still standing…. Only the roads and runways remained from the US times…
If you want to see another of the bomb pits used to load the B-29's without traveling to Tinian ... there's one at Wendover Utah. Oh .. by the way there is also a launch rail on the south side of the field that was used to test fire captured German V1 Buzzbombs.
The ‘Pink Ponies’ are helping U S Navy SEABEES to restore/renovate North Field. On of the Pink Pony leader said they help build the field during WWII but North Field was closed before the USAF was even established. 100,000 SEABEES built North Field during the war.
Spent a week in Saipan consulting with College there. Its a 5 minute hop on a plane from Saipan to Tinian. Our pilot was wearing shorts, flip flops and a Hawaiian shirt. He took time to fly the shoreline and let us see a lot of the island by plane. The whole area is such an interesting place. We especially liked tank beach, the suicide cliffs and some of the other beaches where at low tide you can swim to the Sherman Tanks that had floundered just off shore in the deep water. Folks were feeding cows on the runways when we visited. Saipan has become a tourist destination for the Chinese. Gambling and many come to have their children who become dual citizens once they are born on the island. Saipan was a big garment manufacturing industrial area. Many of the "locals" were once part of that industry but became "permanently stranded" when the industry collapsed, and management folks fled the island with their passports/documents. Lots of abandoned mills and buildings still remain. Lee Marvin was shot thru and thru both butt cheeks while fighting with the 4th Marine Division to clear the island. He had a couple of moments visiting with Dick Cavett about his service there (vids can be found here on TH-cam).
Cool. Was there in early 80's for about a month with BLT 3/2. We came in by LST (the Tomlinson I think). All the old Japanese barracks were still intact.
Atta boy guys to see and hear this piece of history being revitalized wow !! I was once in a cival engineering squadron Prime Beef unit based out of McChord AFB. To see many different cammand units working together is a great thing!! Thanks guys.
This is VERY cool to see. I have a long description of my brief time there in 1988 while on a WestPac with HML(A)-169 (a component of HMM-164(C)). To keep it "simple," we flew up from Guam in a CH-53E aling with 2 AH-1W Cobras (their 1st WestPac) so we could run a remote mission for practice (refueling, loading, arming, firing, safing, then flying back). While wrapping the mission, the '53 went down in the chocks when a bearing seal broke, and we had to stay in place overnight. So, my crew chief friend and I investigated the beach, after bushwacking through the dense brush. An axle and a couple other truck/vehicle parts could be seen in the water - couldn't get to them. Then we "toured" the two story command building, the bomb bunkers, and the atomic bomb loading areas. Overall, a fantastic place to be "stuck" enabling us to take in the history of the north Tinian airfields. Great memories for this old Marine. I'd love to visit, again!
There's a huge emphasis that this is a "restoration" not a "build up". Everything put in this video is so carefully phrased... and yet, it's obvious what's going on.
North Field is part of my life, although I have never been there. Dad was a photo technician with the 509th. He was there to watch the Enola Gay and Bockscar take off. Dad didn't leave the island until 1946. They were kept there in case the peace process broke down and would be needed to drop the 3rd bomb. We grew up with a huge photo album of Wendover and Tinian. Dad and mom were able to return to Tinian. The pilot circled the island because he wanted dad to see it from the air.
Its amazing that the people in your own country are starving and without food or water in Appalachian mountains for over month from flooding. Now gov. just puts its on volunteers to do all the heavy lifting while dropping Somali refuges in Clayton GA.
It's not only interesting to see WWII history uncovered; it's a good idea to disperse assets to avoid being totally defenseless if Andersen is shut down by an attack.
I was stationed on Anderson AFB and spend several months TDY to Sipan and Tinian. I saw the runways and buildings along with night fights I saw the glow where bombs layed. Between Guam, Sipan and Tinian, I was able to get a true feeling as to how both the Japanese soldiers and Americans soldiers fought during battles during WWII.
On a slightly different note regarding WW2 airfields. 30 years back I had a job flying air ambulance operations out of New Zealand. One mission was to collect a sick passenger off a cruise ship in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu and fly the patient back to New Zealand for urgent medical treatment. On landing at the airfield on the island I had a strong sense of deja vu. Some months later I finally figured out why. I had an uncle who died serving in the Pacific for the RNZAF and my father had a photo of him and his fellow servicemen posing in front of their bomber on this airfield. This photo was in an album my father kept and I had viewed it multiple times as a child.
Visited Tinian Island quite a few years ago, saw the pits as they used to be (uncovered) and actually drove down the strip where Ebola Gay took off. We were staying on Saipan
I was USN in '73 had a "good will" visit on Tinian, did some minor improvements for the locals. Walked the runway the Enola Gay used. At that time the jungle was pretty much taking it over. The WWII generation is called the"Greatest Generation' for a reason! There'll never be another like it! God Bless Them!!!!!
My father was a First Sargeant/drill instructor on Tinian. He never talked much about what he did over there, other than going up in the B-29s and B-17s, and the pilots letting him fly the aircraft sometimes. My mother told me that it really bothered him to watch his friends die from overloaded bombers not being able to take flight and crashing at the end of the runway. I used to have a couple of his jackets. I still have his wool First Sargeant jacket, but I don't know if I still have the blue satin jackets with the white trim that said 101 Techincal School Sqadron on the back.
My grandpas was there and was responsible for the maintenance of that composite wing group. He had spent the previous year or so upgrading the engines to be fuel injection to improve their range specifically for that mission.
One word was never mentioned here.... the real reason this is getting done. CHINA.
Ikr. They wont be doing this for fun
It's unnecessary to mention the obvious: nobody is doing this for fun, spending money to spend money. It's necessary to get to work, and rebuild alliances and networks.
Stop with your hate already We dont need any cold war boomer nonsense
@@MikeNoybdang bro, you can from left field lol😂
You're right. We foolishly thought the Cold War was over until Putin came on the scene in Russia.
NZer here - this is great stuff! Really good to see the old airbase being rehabbed and brought back to life again!
All of the old island bases like this, scattered across the Pacific, are priceless assets that should be rehabbed and used.
They probably will be. A good chunk (or all!) in three years, and possibly more in five to ten years.
I couldn’t agree more right now.
...before the Chinese get them!
Agreed. And I've voted for Trump for the 3rd time.
@@zoso73 Trump loves Xi. "He's a STRONG man".
I actually stood in the exact runway the Enola Gay took off from on that historic day. I live in Saipan and can tell you that the transition that is underway on Tinian is really amazing. I can just imagine how they built those runways back in the day. Now, it’s going to be home for another important role. Hopefully it will never be needed as it was back in that time.
they need to get Subic Bay in the Philippines back up and running.
This is not about history. It is about getting ready for WWIII.
Better to be prepared, than fat,dumb and naive
One word... China.
It's both.
@@PeterMuskrat6968 It's both, yes. I wouldn't count a future conflict with China as a world war, if it occurs. It would be a *major* war, though!
The US is finally examining it's holdings in the Pacific and how they can be leveraged for defense in that theater. Maybe their head is finally a little bit out of the sand?
Tinian is not the only one being refurbished either . Some people in the military are still awake and planning ahead. Peleliu as well.
It gets my goat to hear/ see people denigrate Peleliu as being useless, a wasted effort, etc. They say it had no value, ignoring that the war in the Pacific was an air war. If it had no value, why did the Japanese build an airstrip on it and fight like hell to keep it? How many of these General Hindsights have told the Japanese that their soldiers lives were wasted?
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re Great questions... The Japanese had come to the realization that they couldn't "win" the war with the Americans, but they could set up circumstances for a negotiated peace which would allow their government to remain intact and which would allow them to repair and rearm in the coming post-war years. The strategy, beginning at Peleliu and running through the upcoming battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, was to sacrifice the entire garrison on those islands in order to inflict catastrophic casualties on the American forces. The point, of course, was to create a killing machine that would turn American public opinion against the war, primarily to make the invasion of the Japanese mainland politically impossible. Japan was using their new strategy to secure a settlement that would avoid the American demand for total and absolute surrender. The United States was still going to invade the mainland, and it was prepared to suffer enormous casualties. Many people don't realize that every Purple Heart awarded in every war since the end of WWII -- Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and everything in between - - was taken from the stock produced prior to the invasion of Japan. The atomic bombs indeed saved millions of lives, American and Japanese.
Trump's tariffs will not stop PRC expansionism.
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re A lot of Japanese south pacific bases were simply isolated and bypassed, rather than having a big, bloody conflict for each. A lot of people argued that Peleliu was another base that could have been isolated and bypassed. By that point in the war Japan was pretty low on both airplanes to stock bases with, and transport to get the planes to the bases. The arguments that it could have been bypassed were going on at a high decision level from well before the actual invasion, it wasn't all just armchair generals after the war (though there were a heck of a lot of those).
I'm not going to say they were right, nor that they were wrong. I suspect that we just don't know enough, today, about conditions back then that we can be anything except armchair generals. But there were a lot of loud voices back then, including quite a few of the surviving marines that took the island, that thought it could have been bypassed. Were they right? We'll never know. But it is worth considering their viewpoint.
@@lwilton over a thousand lives lost for reference th-cam.com/video/6-XJlJCdsms/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XhdiRRX4Y6LEmvMj
My dad a WWII Seabee (92 NCB), helped build the atomic-bomb pits on Tinian. I didn't learn this until I was in my 50s. I'm sure he would be smiling to hear the runways he helped build were coming back to life.
My father also was a Seabed stationed in Tinian. He said all personnel possible were evacuated from the island when the Bombs arrived. Yes, it is good to see the base receiving attention and restoration
You think your father would feel great about this waste of time and money?
@@dcpack👈🐀
@@dcpack I hope that you're right, and we will all laugh about it in 2034 as a boondoggle. I _truly_ do.
Sounds like your dad has passed, but yeah, you know he must have been incredibly proud of the work he did and the outcome because of it. Kudos to your pop.
One of those Sea Bees in WWII was my friend BQ Bratton. I met BQ when he was 89 years old and still working operating heavy equipment. He was 18 during the recovery of Guam, watched his friends die by snipers. Never forget these men or what they were fighting for.
Freedom isn’t free.
Thank You BQ for everything. ❤️ Thank You for your friendship.
The Marianas have always been a key to controlling the Central Pacific.
My uncle was in the Sea Bees. He was there when they loaded the nuke in the Enola Gay . He lived to be 101.
The Navy really did the battalions right. Filled them with older men who already had construction experience. They could be quickly shipped to the Pacific. It's hard to imagine how much longer the Pacific war would have taken without them.
Are you sure you don't mean Quinn Braxton Sea Bee's 1943???? The Quinn Braxton I am talking about was an enlisted contractor 30 Years of age from Florida. We meaning Americans were building bases prior to the happenings at Pearl Harbor. part of the reasons Japan did attack us they were feeling threatened in their own Islands by our Micro bases springing up
My Chemistry/Physics teacher was stationed on Tinian and watched the Enola Gay loaded. The word on the base was that when she flew the war would end. He was an American of the Souix tribe, Mr. Iron hawk!
What years was he your teacher?
My uncle, T.F. Mc Mahon, was berthed next to the Indianapolis after delivering the bombs. He had been on 3 Destroyers, 1 sunk, 1 damaged both by u boats. The 3rd landed him in the Pacific Theater from Tinian ending in Tokyo Bay.He was lucky on the sinking, they were on Convoy duty.
Listen to the song Able Baker Charlie And Dog by Joe Crookston. His grandpa was a See Bee there. The song is from the point of view of his grandpa.
That old construction is probably highest quality
Sortof. Like, highest quality paving necessary considering the weight of the aircraft of the time. Highest quality buildings considering the standards for personnel comfort of the time. The allied Seabees of WWII were the best of the best, but technology moves on.
They used what they had at hand. The asphalt binder was shipped in from the States.
Right, before any government regulation on the amount of lime you can use, etc lol.
@@MrTmax74 Hi Ivan.
When you consider how long some of those buildings have withstood not only the corrosive sea air, but the storms too, it's amazing. They'll refurb what they can and tear down and rebuild what they can't feasibly reuse. I imagine nothing will go to waste right down to recrushing the old concrete to provide gravel and filler for new concrete slabs.
I am a former US Marine Grunt. In 1982 I went their with Combat Engineers to collapse some old Japanese bunkers. A group of us wandered around and found the "pits" but it was just pools of nasty water and truth be told we were not sure what the hell we were even looking at. Except for us younger folks, no one seemed to care about the place. I am over joyed that it is considered important historical structures. So much history. So many men were there. It is very emotional for me to see this. Thank you all for doing this !!!!!!!!! China or no China, the history remains ............. 🙂
"Former" Marine ... ?!?! 🤔 Now on the 1 MC, Chesty Puller would like to have a word with you ... 🤣 ^v^
@@taproom113 Yes ...,. "former" ....... never "ex" ...... Once, always ....... 0311
I was there in '84. The airfields were overgrown. I knew we were on the old B29 runways. Nobody else knew or cared. We walked all around the place. We saw some old buildings, the bomb pits and and few other related items...not much to really look at. I think we we there for almost 3 weeks. No training conducted at the time. 0369 USMC ret
Is Red Horse doing it.
As an aircraft maintenance officer I went on numerous TDYs to Andersen AFB in the late ‘80s. C130 crews flew out of Andersen AFB to Tinian and back every day. I always wanted to take a hop with them but never got round to it. Been lamenting it ever since😢
My dad, an aircraft repair/rebuild logistics officer, worked on moving the XX Bomb Group (later 20th Air Force) from India to Tinian. The last aircraft to leave Kharagpur was scheduled to go to Clark Field in the Philippines and then on to Tinian. As they cleared airspace that was within striking range of Japanese fighters, they were redirected to Okinawa. That C-54 landed on Yontan airfield (captured from the Japanese on the day before) of the second day after the invasion of Japan. My father was on that aircraft.
His new job -- work to complete Yontan into a useable airfield for B-29s and continue the building of a Japanese airfield that was part-completed 3 miles away at Kadena. (Kadena was on terrain with room to expand, Yontan was constrained by geography and could not be enlarged much.)
After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, the aircraft "Bock's Car" was so low on fuel that they had to set an emergency landing at Yontan. My father was in charge of organizing the refueling of that aircraft, replacement of at least one exhaust stack that had been overheated by too lean a mixture, and other small repairs -- this was done under strict MP supervision, he didn't know what was happening until decades later, only that a B-29 had landed and was parked at the new remote parking area -- the one with the rectangular holes in the paved surface.
So, my father was part of the 20th Air Force but he never served on Tinian. (In July, he was transferred to the 8th Air Force as it was being transferred from the UK/Europe to take part in the campaign to invade Japan.)
my late uncle Ricardo was stationed on The USS Indianapolis during that time. he survived the sinking and lived to be in his 70's
BIG SALUTE. RIP to Captain Charles Butler McVay, III. His name and record now rightfully cleared.
@@NVRAMboi the ship's captain was much loved by the guys in the crew.
that had to be one of the most frightening experiences in history with all the sharks feeding. but yeah, that ship delivered the Bombs. for Enola Gay.
When I hear the word "Tinian," my mind goes straight to that scene in the first Jaws movie.
@@allthingsharbor when my uncle would start to tell the story of The Indianapolis, he would start off by asking, "have you ever seen the movie Jaws" ?
I only wish my dad who was stationed at Tinian could have seen this.
My Dad as well, he was 2nd MarDiv and was part of the operation to take it.
He would probably be sad seeing that 80 years on humanity is still struggling with its own behaviour.
I wish my dad could see this.....I have the book he wrote about it....
I agree on all points. My Dad flew with the Navy off the Island in WWII.
Flew cover when Iwo was invaded.
God bless them all!
I agree on all points. My Dad flew with the Navy off the Island in WWII.
Flew cover when Iwo was invaded.
God bless them all!
I got to go to Tinian in 1991. I worked AGE at Yokota. We had a TDY to Guam to support a war game between the Seabees. My job was to hang back at Guam and support the C130's flying troops to Tinian. The C130's were doing ERO, but just in case a plane had to shut down and if the APU would not work we sent a Dash Sixty to Tinian. The crew chief's could not get the Dash Sixty to start at Tinian and they wanted to make sure it did. Troubleshooting over the radio was not effective so they flew me out to Tinian for a very memorable flight. As soon as I stepped off the plane and saw the Dash Sixty, I realized they had not opened up the exhaust door that has a micro switch that must be triggered for the unit to start. Oops, my bad. I got a fun flight in the C130 for it.
Fun Flight: The weather was perfect South Seas blue skies and blue water. On the way we flew over Rota. Rota looked like a quaint 1800's colony with a ship wreck on one end. Landing at Tinian was interesting on a shortened barely cleared runway. On the return the air pilot decided fly back low level just for kicks and giggles. As we were approaching the runway at Anderson, the pilot approached just below the cliff level dropped the flaps, popped us up and buzzed the tower and flight line. It was then that I realized I was with the aircrew I that liked to think they were Top Gun Maverick.
To be a young Air Force Engineer out there in the middle of the Pacific restoring Tinian sounds like a rugged assignment but at the same time a real adventure to tell your grandkids about.
I'm the grandson of a US Army Combat Engineer who spent time on Tinian and very likely helped construct this airbase. Cpl. Harry Prettyman, 34th Combat Engineer Battalion, US Army. The Seabees get a lot of recognition (well deserved) but Army engineers also did a lot of the work. At one point my grandfather worked under the command of Lt. Robert Ryan, a very well known Navy Seabee who had also served as an Army combat engineer prior to the war.
All geopolitical considerations aside, I'm fascinated by the challenge of gathering all the materials necessary to build a functioning airfield, literally, in the middle of a vast ocean. That's got to be a cool story.
We have a "How-To" manual for it.
The airfield probably could not be built today because of environmental considerations. A lot of coral was crushed and used for paving on some of the Pacific Islands. The US would not crush coral now.
This is a very crucial strategic asset for our operations. We need to develop land for future air operations in the SCS. My grandfather was deployed here in the B-29.
To bully the whole region. The people are sick and tired of your military 🎉
A strategically vital location way back then and now.
I knew someone who piloted B-29s out of Tinian. I asked him if he knew about the atomic bombers. He say "yes," that when the planes landed they were immediately surrounded by troops with Thompson machine guns. He knew something special was happening.
Similar to my experience in the 1970s . The ship I was on could carry nuclear warheads for Talos missiles. When we loaded missiles at Seal Beach CA most missiles would come several on a flatbed truck. Then there would be one missile on a truck with Marines surrounding it.
I'm an Airforce Brat and grew up on Strategic Air Command bases. Back in the early 1970's, there were always B52's on the flightline with nukes onboard. They were easy to spot because of they were guarded by troops with M16s. The other B52's weren't guarded at all.
@@brittmrmanly4982 My father hated SAC and LeMay. The only way out was to take a bus to Ashville, NC from Hunter to re-enlist there. After re-enlistment, he was mostly on ADC bases in the states until we came back from Germany the second time. He retired from Lackland, and then started kicking himself for retiring.
My Uncle was. propeller specialist on B-29's with the 40th Bomb Group, and he moved with his unit from India to Tinian in early 45 sometime. He wasn't a part of the Col. Tibbits unit, but his group was bombing daily over Japan. He wasn't flying, but it took a lot of people on the ground to keep those planes in the air.
Well it was about damn time! This has been talked about in many circles for ages and it's nice to see that it is finally getting done!
Yes. Finally. After decades of playing kissy-kissy with worthless "treaties", America may have actually come awake to it's long standing vulnerabilities. "When we build, they build. When we stop building, they Keep building". Cold War Saying/Reality. I was 27th CES at Cannon AFB when we had F111s & Vietnam.
Thank the Biden administration for that.
I hope you will keep us updated on the progress of North Field.
I was a Civil Engineer over 30 years ago in the USAF. What a pleasure to restore this historic site! My hats off to you brother's! 😉👍
My dad was one of the engineers that developed the lift to raise the bombs from the pit, into the aircraft.
M1 bomb lift
I'm in the UK and about 7 years ago I went to visit a friend in the Philippines, while there I booked flights to visit a contact in Saipan, he arranged tripe to Tinian and Rota, so I was able to walk on the runways and see the bomb pits. Very interesting trip to a historical Island far from home.
This joke union is FINISHED 👎🏻🇬🇧
🏴🇪🇺
It seems that the Indonesian army was also asked to visit Tinian Island to check out the restoration of Tinian Air Force Base. This base held the Atomic Bomb that was destined for Japan, making a huge impact in WWII. Indonesia was one of the countries that benefited from Japan's surrender. Turns out Tinian Air Base played a role in Indonesian independence too.
Indonesia was a Japanese ally in WW2, read some history.
"the Atomic Bomb that was destined for Japan, making a huge impact"
Was that a clever line or an intentional pun?
@@harryricochet8134 please tell me how Indonesia was a Japanese Ally in WW2... I really want to hear it from you..
@@aloisius4188 that was unintentional 😄
@@OsaPratama The Japanese occupation was initially greeted with great enthusiasm by Indonesians who came to meet the Japanese army waving Japanese flags and shouting support such as "Japan is our older brother" and "banzai Dai Nippon". As the Japanese advanced, Indonesians in virtually every part of the archipelago killed groups of Europeans (particularly the Dutch) and informed the Japanese about the whereabouts of larger groups. The naive Indonesians picked the wrong side as the Japanese treated them as slaves. Enjoy reading that history lol
This build up on these islands is both fascinating and terrifying.
I flew over this island in the 1970's and you could barely make out the runways. It's interesting to see this.
I've seen those air fields back in the mid 70's. Even overgrown, the history rises from the ground.
My Dad was one of the Marines who fought for Tinian & Saipan; as well as other islands in the Pacific. He had nightmares until the day he died. He would be incredibly proud that the islands that were taken at such high human price are being used in a currently strategic manner.
My great uncle Eugene Wolbert was a Marine killed in action taking the island of Tinian. This makes me so happy that there is new interest in restoring and reusing the airfields on Tinian. I've been to the USAF museum in Dayton Ohio twice now and put my hand on B29 Bockscar knowing that my great uncle gave his life so that airplane could complete it's mission and bring an end to WW2.
Well done guys, you are doing a great job.
Awesome! As a former Dirt Boy combat engineer I say Huuah! Our Ww2 vets fought and died to liberate those islands so heck yeah re-use em!
worth more than money bought with blood never give them up
My grandfather was part of the tean that cleared and built Tinian. The wire you see poking ou of the asphalt is a type of chainlonk fencing. When ground is soft for landing on sand or dirt, my grandfather told us that they would run this type of fencing and planes could land. See the coral embedded in the asphalt? They used it as rock for the tarmac. He was in the Army Air Corps, not SeeBees. He said they were so short-handed, they maintained the aircraft (all kinds) and cleared jungle brush to build airstrips. This is about the only thing he told us about the war because he was traumatized by his service in the Pacific. When my daughter graduated from the USAFA, he slowly opened up about some combat aspects of the war. It was gruesome. Kamakazi pilots hitting the ship you are on, picking up the pieces of Marines on Okinawa, rescuing American & British POW's, even catching Japanese soilders as they raided the mess hall trash when they were left behind to defend the island to the end.
"This is every Dirt Boy's dream."
You can say that again.
I'm not a Dirt Boy... but working on a project like this would be EXTREMELY satisfying to me.
I LOVE history (and heavy equipment)... and knowing that all the work is going to go to restoring this field... is AMAZING.
Good luck to all involved.
NICIT PRIRODU TO VAM IDE AKO AJ VSETKO COHO SA CHYTITE HAVED AMERICKA
Man, I'd do anything to visit that place. The Enola Gay lives a few minutes from me at the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum - strange to think that the same exact plane once sat over top of that exact bomb pit the day of the single mist historic moment in military history.
I've always wondered why these airfields were mostly abandoned beyond some wildlife offices and funding... the same strategic advantages they offered in WWII still apply today, albeit for a different adversary.
Aside from what a great idea this is. Congrats on a great film about it.
My dad was stationed on Tinion for a while. God bless our veterans !!
I'm glad to see the work they've done on Tinian now. I was stationed in Guam (c.1983-84; c.1987-90; c.1994-96); I visited Tinian in 1996; then, as yet, nothing had been done; even the pits; it was a mess.
The video didn't point out that Guam was a US Territory until the IJN attacked and invaded there among all of the other assaults.
The comments by people who had family stationed there are really interesting. Thank you for sharing their stories. ❤
Yes, it's very evocative, isn't it (?) Hearing personal stories about other times and places -- especially if they are isolated or forgotten times and places -- can elicit altered states of awareness . . .
They restored bases in the Philippine Islands as well. Tinian will be a massive base once it's done.
The island was a training area for us on deployment in 1988. I was with Charlie-1/1 on a C-130 from Okinawa conducting airstrip seizure while the rest of 1/1 land from the water. Good times.
I would love to go back to Tinian. I haven't been there since 1992 when I was stationed on Guam. Now, as a retired Seabee, hire some of us old dirt pushers to get it done. I'll island hop like the old guys back in the day.
Great work USAF/USN team! Thanks for your sacrifice and commitment. America appreciates YOU.
Fantastic video. Thanks for posting. The Seabees are smiling down on you. Hoo-rah. Cheers from Texas.
My dad was one of the SeaBees who built these runways. He said that they dynamited the coral reefs, scooped up the debris, rolled it out onto the runways and then watered them with seawater, keeping the coral alive for a while so it sort of "knitted" itself back together, making for a more solid runway. He once traveled with a group from his unit back to Tinian to place a memorial plaque there. He said the runways were still in great shape.
Outstanding , Australia is with you all the way 👍👍
The Aussies and Kiwis held pivotal roles in the fight for freedom…and are maintaining that noble mission into the future. Greetings Mates…from Texas
@@davidjose9808 Outstanding mate 🍻🍻🍻🍻
never any doubt.......people like luke evans nsw shows your commitment and quality.....if we die we die together
@@davidjose9808 amen
@@jeffhood-s2q 👍👍🍻🍻
Back in the 1970s I lived and worked on Saipan. San Jose, Tinian was famous for its annual fiesta. There was a group of us who would go every year, paying deck passage on one of the tuna boats. We would take our bicycles and camp out. We would often ride down to the old airfield and other parts of the island. The bomb pits were a regular stop and they were not protected in any fashion then. Somewhere around here is a photo of me standing in one. In 1980, I went to Japan with a couple friends and one of the places we visited was Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was a bit eerie to stand at the starting and ending points of one of the pivotal moments in world history.
I've never been to Tinian and those similar South Seas bases, but I did get deployed to Anderson while it was in caretaker status. They literally opened up the base for our operations. Most of us stayed in buildings that had not been used since Korea or Vietnam. The caretaker crew fired up old boilers to get hot water for us and a makeshift chowhall was opened to feed a couple hundred people. I've since been there to witness it having been brought into fully operational status. A lot of work has been done to modernize and reconstitute. I'm retired now but only wish I could have the opportunity to deploy to or even visit some of the bases like Tinian and its sister bases. Makes me wonder if they're going to regen Wake Island? When you go to these places, you can just feel the history in your bones and breathe it in the air. You feel the ghosts of the past. God Bless all those men working hard to bring back these bases.
Good to see a few folks are actually paying attention and doing something about it. Well done!
Biden may stumble a lot but his administration is on the ball. Trump couldn't have cared less.
Finally I have always been apposed to the loss of our bases post-WWII
You can just see the War sabers rattling.War is coming in the Pacific.
Yep, the usual suspects. Those who call themselves G€₩$ but are not.
Yes thanks to China, China is the aggressor and the last time we tried appeasement it led to the the Second World War, this will not happen again
Rothschild family is always involved 😊@ChaplainBobWalkerBTh
@ChaplainBobWalkerBThrothschild family is always involved
@ChaplainBobWalkerBThrothschild family always involved
Thanks for all your hard work guys!
As an Air Force Veteran (1985-2005) I would love to walk on the same grounds as those Airmen before me!!
I drove down the north field runway in June 2024. I rented a Toyota truck. I did see some equipment there but the runways were untouched then. I just wanted to say I drove a vehicle down the same runway the Enola Gay did! I actually got up to 120 mph which was the limit of the truck but it felt great! I’m glad I did it. I was the only one on the runway and the only one at the bomb loading sites. There are two there. Little boy was loaded in on site and fat man in another. They are like 50 yards apart but in the same area of the runway. All the buildings/bunkers they show here. I went in. So much history. I’m so glad I took a small 4 seater plane from Saipan to tinian to see this place. As a Georgia boy I’m proud that Paul Tibbets was another GA boy that flew the Enola Gay. :)
Even Peleliu. They're not kidding.
RED HORSE and Seabees can do and they will be successful. I always wondered about that island since I learned about it from the movie "Jaws." Quint was a sailor on the USS Indianapolis and was one of the survivors that delivered "the bomb."
lewistasso,
I can categorically ( and unsarcastically ) say you probably know more than the average college kid ( faint praise at best, i Know ), most of whom if asked to find New Mexico would look on a map of Mexico... ☆
@@fjb4932 Yeah, but they can name all 267 'genders' and know all about wacism.
Now this, is epic.
Dad worked om the bomb. Mom worked on the planes. It's a family affair! We need this, big time! I hope they have an evacuation plan though. This will become a prime target just like Guam.
Landed there in 1964. Took Bicycles from NAS Agana to an orphanage on Tinian. Knocked the leaves off of trees alongside the runway. Good experience. The kids took turns riding those bikes. No fussing no complaints. Nice place, nice people.
Saw something on the WSJ page and it got my attention. I'm a former Fire Dawg with the 8th CES and pay a lot of attention to what's going on in PACAF.
This was an amazing job y'all. You should be very proud of the work done. I truly hope we don't need to use these airfields but am glad the Pink Pony is working hard to make them viable once again.
As a U.S. Army veteran, I want to correct the record. Tinian was never a U.S. Air Force Base. It was the U.S. Army Air Corps that operated Tinian. Having said that, great video, we're proud of you great men and women!
You noticed that? Air Force tends to forget they were a part of the Army till 1948. The facility at Tinian was built by SeaBees, Navy and Marines. What they are doing now is likely a test to see if the Air Force is capable of taking on projects of this scale in remote locations just in case....
Navy joke, what is the first thing the Air Force plans when they start a new base? The golf course! (Told to me by a retired naval aviator)
And I will correct your record. It was an Army Air "Force" base. The Air "Corp" effectively dissolved in June 1941, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. All WWII aerial forces were AAF after that.
@@barrygrant2907 Sounds good to me.
@@keithstudly6071 Trust me, USAF Civil Engineers have PLENTY of experience in this kind of work.
Came here after hearing about this project from Victor Davis Hanson.
Very glad to see this work being done.
As a Brit, born ten years after the atomic bombs were dropped in Feb 1945, I grew up with the Second World War in a good two thirds of all the childhood books, TV and comics, etc. that were everywhere at the time. (The rest were about cowboys and Indians.)
It wasn't until well into adulthood that I became aware, through the internet, that the war actually continued in the Pacific, after the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe. I'm an aviation retentive and it was through reading about the American fears of a Japanese invasion on the US West coast that I discovered the hellish conflict in the Aleutian Islands, that started me on a hobby of Google Maps research into former 2nd WW airfields throughout the Pacific.
My fascination, I slowly realised, was only fed by the total silence of my parents' and grandparents' generations, who only wanted to forget the horror and look forward.
It's the 11th of November as I write and I give thanks for the life of peace that the Allies gave us. My 98 year old D day veteren father out law died a year ago and he said that he was worried because the world was becoming the same as it was in the 1930s, with the rise of the Far Right.
Thanks for a very interesting video.
Thanks for sharing
Great to see Charging Charlie on a red cap again! Penny short alumni here.
As a former SEABEE, I'm thrilled to see a historic airfield being brought back to life & finding new purpose!!👍🇺🇸
My father was part of this WW2 activity as being stationed on Guam to support the group that created all the mapping for bombing and land invasions in the Pacific theater thru the Army cartographic intelligence group or known as Corp of Engineers Military Intelligence Division of the Army Map Service. Coincidentally I was also stationed on Guam during the Vietnam Conflict that was supporting the bombing out of Anderson Airforce base. This area is considered the air staging base for reach to Asia.
As an AF vet, this is a great vid! ❤ it.
Seabees built it, Seabees should be the main ones rebuilding it.
Says this ex-Seabee.
Having had experience with Red Horse, they'll get the job done.
The Mitsubishi is ironic. They hit all of the woke virtue signaling teamwork targets.
Don't forget Army Combat Engineers. My grandfather was with the 34th Combat Engineer Battalion and was on Tinian with a bulldozer. I have photographic evidence.
@goodday126 hey, the Japs are our friends and they are anything but woke. Japan took it on the chin with those two nukes, and the result sure beats having them under the thumb or Soviet control.
@@kpolenz9772 agreed by another SEABEE that did combat training on Tinian in 86!🍻✊🏼🤟🏼😇🫡🇺🇸
Seabee's are the most badass construction workers in the world. Had the pleasure of working with some decades ago and will never forget how versatile and talented they are.
Cool that Tinian is finally getting restored, was sad to see such a historically significant place get all but forgotten, even though the reasons for its restoration aren't ones any of us wish to experience.
My father was stationed on Tinian. He said that he arrived shortly after the first atomic bomb was dropped.
I love the appreciation to history and restoring this beautiful runway on an island with 200 inhabitants, for purely historical purposes
I was on Tinian with a small contingent of Marines in 1976. The island was still hot with unexploded ordinance. Only a quarter of the island was cleared at that time. Shipwrecks, rusted tank hulks and pillboxes with bones still visible inside were everywhere. The lush greenery on the way up toward the caves in the cliffs was deceptive. What looked like a carpet of thick, ground-hugging vegetation was actually a cover for long-dead coral husks so sharp they left gouges in our boots. Standing on the north point looking over the channel to Saipan was a beautiful contrast to the surreal reality of the dark realization that we were standing in front of that pillbox that was sealed as a grave for its unfortunate occupants.
Nice, an historic airfield being put back to use. It has a significant past history. However, the present reason for rehabilitation isn't its history, it is towards the future and the current threats in that area and the impact a forward base has, basically the same reasons it was built in the first place in 1944/5 to project power forwards, but the potential enemy has changed, but that area of ocean is exactly the same as 80 years ago.
As my first pilot job I used to fly a Cherokee Six between Titian and Saipan. I flew my RC planes off of this field as well. These runways were in bad shape on the surface but really just needed some work on the top. Structurally looked sound to me. There is a very long runway for the new airport what was originally the Japanese field but got extended when I was there so the Chinese tour planes could land. Since there were no instrument approaches into that runway they always landed on Saipan. China Southern weren’t allowed to do visual or ADF approaches with their 757s. I flew the crew and the high rollers in and out of Tinian where the hotel was. The Chinese tourism minister came one day to approve the location for Chinese tourists, I flew him too. So as Gen Tibbets the tail gunner and the navigator of Enola Gay when they came to visit the field. The bomb pits were covered with dirt up to that point and 2 palm trees were planted there. Now they have pictures and a cover on top. Apparently when they dug it up there were tons of relics what the soldiers throw in when the war was over. Supposedly there was a film in there what showed the test bomb explode but they couldn’t play it since it was a different film then what they had a player for. Wonder what happened to that rail now.
Whatever the Japanese built, those buildings are still standing…. Only the roads and runways remained from the US times…
If you want to see another of the bomb pits used to load the B-29's without traveling to Tinian ... there's one at Wendover Utah. Oh .. by the way there is also a launch rail on the south side of the field that was used to test fire captured German V1 Buzzbombs.
The V-1 was copied and built in the US, called the Loon.
My uncle was Red Horse in Nam, hope you guys know the honor and lineage you are a part of! Good speed!
The ‘Pink Ponies’ are helping U S Navy SEABEES to restore/renovate North Field.
On of the Pink Pony leader said they help build the field during WWII but North Field was closed before the USAF was even established. 100,000 SEABEES built North Field during the war.
Yeah I heard that "100,000" number, don't think so! maybe 3-4 thousand!
Spent a week in Saipan consulting with College there. Its a 5 minute hop on a plane from Saipan to Tinian. Our pilot was wearing shorts, flip flops and a Hawaiian shirt. He took time to fly the shoreline and let us see a lot of the island by plane. The whole area is such an interesting place. We especially liked tank beach, the suicide cliffs and some of the other beaches where at low tide you can swim to the Sherman Tanks that had floundered just off shore in the deep water. Folks were feeding cows on the runways when we visited. Saipan has become a tourist destination for the Chinese. Gambling and many come to have their children who become dual citizens once they are born on the island. Saipan was a big garment manufacturing industrial area. Many of the "locals" were once part of that industry but became "permanently stranded" when the industry collapsed, and management folks fled the island with their passports/documents. Lots of abandoned mills and buildings still remain. Lee Marvin was shot thru and thru both butt cheeks while fighting with the 4th Marine Division to clear the island. He had a couple of moments visiting with Dick Cavett about his service there (vids can be found here on TH-cam).
My dad was a ground engineer for the B-29s on Tinian. I have the B-29 slide rule he used. He was assigned to the 444th bomb group.
Awesome, my great uncle was a B-29 navigator with the 73rd Bomb Wing on Saipan.
Cool. Was there in early 80's for about a month with BLT 3/2. We came in by LST (the Tomlinson I think).
All the old Japanese barracks were still intact.
Atta boy guys to see and hear this piece of history being revitalized wow !! I was once in a cival engineering squadron Prime Beef unit based out of McChord AFB. To see many different cammand units working together is a great thing!! Thanks guys.
Thank you for this information.
This is VERY cool to see. I have a long description of my brief time there in 1988 while on a WestPac with HML(A)-169 (a component of HMM-164(C)).
To keep it "simple," we flew up from Guam in a CH-53E aling with 2 AH-1W Cobras (their 1st WestPac) so we could run a remote mission for practice (refueling, loading, arming, firing, safing, then flying back).
While wrapping the mission, the '53 went down in the chocks when a bearing seal broke, and we had to stay in place overnight.
So, my crew chief friend and I investigated the beach, after bushwacking through the dense brush. An axle and a couple other truck/vehicle parts could be seen in the water - couldn't get to them.
Then we "toured" the two story command building, the bomb bunkers, and the atomic bomb loading areas.
Overall, a fantastic place to be "stuck" enabling us to take in the history of the north Tinian airfields.
Great memories for this old Marine.
I'd love to visit, again!
There's a huge emphasis that this is a "restoration" not a "build up". Everything put in this video is so carefully phrased... and yet, it's obvious what's going on.
North Field is part of my life, although I have never been there. Dad was a photo technician with the 509th. He was there to watch the Enola Gay and Bockscar take off. Dad didn't leave the island until 1946. They were kept there in case the peace process broke down and would be needed to drop the 3rd bomb. We grew up with a huge photo album of Wendover and Tinian. Dad and mom were able to return to Tinian. The pilot circled the island because he wanted dad to see it from the air.
Sobering to be back at Tinian. I hope it never has to serve as a fighting base, but if it does I am sure it will serve as well as it did in WW2.
Its amazing that the people in your own country are starving and without food or water in Appalachian mountains for over month from flooding. Now gov. just puts its on volunteers to do all the heavy lifting while dropping Somali refuges in Clayton GA.
It's not only interesting to see WWII history uncovered; it's a good idea to disperse assets to avoid being totally defenseless if Andersen is shut down by an attack.
I was stationed on Anderson AFB and spend several months TDY to Sipan and Tinian. I saw the runways and buildings along with night fights I saw the glow where bombs layed. Between Guam, Sipan and Tinian, I was able to get a true feeling as to how both the Japanese soldiers and Americans soldiers fought during battles during WWII.
I'm glad North Field is being rejuvenated even if the reason is a threatening one. Thank you for bringing it back.
On a slightly different note regarding WW2 airfields. 30 years back I had a job flying air ambulance operations out of New Zealand. One mission was to collect a sick passenger off a cruise ship in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu and fly the patient back to New Zealand for urgent medical treatment.
On landing at the airfield on the island I had a strong sense of deja vu. Some months later I finally figured out why. I had an uncle who died serving in the Pacific for the RNZAF and my father had a photo of him and his fellow servicemen posing in front of their bomber on this airfield. This photo was in an album my father kept and I had viewed it multiple times as a child.
Visited Tinian Island quite a few years ago, saw the pits as they used to be (uncovered) and actually drove down the strip where Ebola Gay took off. We were staying on Saipan
I was a Sea Bee heavy equipment operator in Viet Nam and would love to have been involved in the restoration you are doing!
I was USN in '73 had a "good will" visit on Tinian, did some minor improvements for the locals. Walked the runway the Enola Gay used. At that time the jungle was pretty much taking it over.
The WWII generation is called the"Greatest Generation' for a reason!
There'll never be another like it! God Bless Them!!!!!
No one can tell what will happen tomorrow,from the beginning there one things for sure history repeats itself 👍
My father was a First Sargeant/drill instructor on Tinian. He never talked much about what he did over there, other than going up in the B-29s and B-17s, and the pilots letting him fly the aircraft sometimes.
My mother told me that it really bothered him to watch his friends die from overloaded bombers not being able to take flight and crashing at the end of the runway.
I used to have a couple of his jackets. I still have his wool First Sargeant jacket, but I don't know if I still have the blue satin jackets with the white trim that said 101 Techincal School Sqadron on the back.
My grandpas was there and was responsible for the maintenance of that composite wing group. He had spent the previous year or so upgrading the engines to be fuel injection to improve their range specifically for that mission.