Places In Guam: The Pacific War Museum

Basic Information

• What: Pacific War Museum
• Where: Guam, USA
• Cost: Donation
• More Information: TripAdvisor.com

Narrative

The National Park Service operates a really nice visitor center on Guam that can teach people everything they ever wanted to know about the World War II Battle of Guam.  However, the NPS does not have a museum that displays actual equipment from the battle for people to see.  The only place on Guam where visitors can see military equipment is at the Pacific War Museum located near the Governor’s Complex in Hagatna:

Admission to the museum is on a donation basis.  Once I got inside the museum I noticed a small box where donations are left.  After leaving my donations I proceeded to check out the equipment inside the museum which is housed in a small warehouse:

For being a small warehouse there was actually quite a bit to see.  Here is one of the old Marine Corps vehicles they had on display:

I could not help, but think how awesome that Marine Corps vehicle would be to take off roading.  Here is an old Marine Corps ambulance:

Here is yet another Marine Corps vehicle:

The vast majority of the equipment was dominated by the US Marine Corps, but not all of it.  Here is a World War II era Japanese motorcycle that was on display:

Right next to it was this beautiful Harley-Davidson painted in Marine Corps colors:

Besides vehicles the inside of the warehouse also had displays about some historical events that happened on Guam such as the movement to name Highway 1 on Guam as Marine Corps Drive.  A advocate pulled this sign around Guam on a trailer to promote the idea which was eventually approved:

After checking out the vehicles inside the warehouse I then went outside to see other displays such as these Japanese anti-aircraft guns:

There was also the remains of a Japanese dive bomber aircraft on display:

Here is a small Japanese artillery piece:

After I finished checking out the equipment outside I then went back inside the warehouse where attached corridors that were nicely air conditioned had additional displays.  The first corridor I visited had various displays in recognition of the US military forces that fought in the 1944 Battle of Guam:

The walls were filled with old photographs which I enjoyed viewing:

Here is an old photograph that shows George Tweed on the upper left who was the only American service member to successfully evade capture during the Japanese occupation of Guam:

The next display really brought home the human toll of the Battle of Guam where the names of the 1,548 Marines, 226 Army soldiers, and 110 Naval personnel killed in action were displayed:

The Battle of Guam in total had nearly 2,000 people killed in a month of fighting.  To put that in perspective just think that in 14 years of fighting in Afghanistan the US has just over 2,000 personnel killed in action.  Compared to modern day casualty figures the loss of lives during World War II is truly staggering.  Also inside the corridor were nice displays highlighting each of the US military units that participated in the Battle of Guam:

There was also some equipment and weapons on display as well:

After I finished viewing the US corridor I then walked over to the other corridor that housed the Japanese collection.  Like the other corridor there were plenty of historic photographs to see such as this one that shows Japanese soldiers being rounded up into a POW camp:

The Japanese during the war were well known for fighting to the death, but it appears during the Battle of Guam many of them decided surrendering was a better option.  Here is a display that depicts the key commanding Japanese officers from the battle:

Here is a picture of a Japanese flag that was found in a cave many years after the battle in 1972:

Here is a final photograph that I found of interest which was of artwork that Japanese prisoners made on bed sheets while they were incarcerated on Guam during the war:

Conclusion

For those visiting Guam to see World War II sites, the Pacific War Museum is a must see location.  There is no other location on Guam that provides access to the amount of old military equipment, artifacts, memorabilia and historical photos as this museum.  Additionally visiting the museum is cheap due to its donation only entrance fee.  I really enjoyed my visit to the museum and appreciate the passion the owners have for keeping the history from the Battle of Guam alive for others to see.