A Seabee’s Story: Tinian and Okinawa, B-29s and the Air War Against Japan

By George A. Larson

Merriam Press World War 2 Biography/History. This is more than the story of the invasion of Tinian and Okinawa, the Seabees who built the bases there, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the air war against Japan, culminating in the production of the atomic bombs and their use against Japan. It is also the story of the author's father, George W. Larson, who served in the 135th United States Naval Construction Battalion on Tinian and Okinawa during World War II, and a witness to many of these events. 320 photos, drawings, maps, documents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9780359289585

Book preview

A Seabee’s Story: Tinian and Okinawa, B-29s and the Air War Against Japan

A Seabee’s Story: Tinian and Okinawa, B-29s and the Air War Against Japan

by George A. Larson

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Hoosick Falls, New York

2018

First eBook Edition

Copyright © 2012 by George A. Larson

First print edition published in 2012 by the Merriam Press

Additional material copyright of named contributors.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

The views expressed are solely those of the author.

ISBN 978-0-359-28958-5

This work was designed, produced, and published in the United States of America by the Merriam Press, 489 South Street, Hoosick Falls NY 12090.

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Dedication

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South Dakota World War II Memorial at Pierre, South Dakota. The memorial honors and pays tribute to all the past and present South Dakotans who contributed to the winning of World War II. From left to right: US Marine, woman volunteer, sailor, air pilot, US Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, and a US Army GI with rifle held by a sling. [Lieutenant Colonel George A. Larson, USAF (Ret.)]

When one starts to tell a story, especially a history of World War II, a personal involvement deepens the presentation. In 1986, I attended a reunion of the 135th United States Naval Construction Battalion at Mobile, Alabama with my father George W. Larson and his wife. I was still on active duty in the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, assigned to Detachment 255, Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps, as Commandant of Cadets. In 1981, my father and mother came to Guam while stationed with the Strategic Air Command on Andersen Air Force base. We had the opportunity to return to his World War II assignment on Tinian Island, located a short distance up the Marianas Islands from Guam. I included this visit as an introduction for this book. I graduated from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa with a Bachelor of Science in History in May 1969. I followed this up with a Master of Arts Degrees from the University of Stanislaus in 178 in History. While touring Tinian with my father I decided to write a book about his exploits during World War II. This was my first book but it left much to be told about the ending of the war in the Pacific, which my father played an important role. He finally opened up and I had a great amount of material for a book. After retiring from my civilian job in 2009, I decided to write an update to my first book, expanding its scope and material included.

My first book was dedicated to my father and now I want to include all those who were involved in the Marianas Islands and Okinawa to the end of the war in the Pacific. Without the assistance of veterans, their families and interested World War II historians the material presented in this book would not have been available. I have written many personal histories for veterans and surviving family as a member of the Black Hills Veterans Writing Group in Rapid City, South Dakota, and wanted to tell the story of the ending of the war in the Pacific before this history slips away. I use my father as an example. For the last few years of his life he slid deeper into the effects of Alzheimer’s and lost the ability to recount his war exploits. On May 1, 2009, he died at the age of 94, one of the Greatest Generation, whose sacrifices gave us the freedoms we enjoy today. It is for my father and others of the Greatest Generation that I dedicate this book with the hope its stories keep memories alive, passed to grandchildren and great grandchildren. As a retired Air Force officer, I had dedication and service to my country instilled by a great man. For this, I am eternally grateful. The South Dakota memorial depicts those World War II military personnel who fought for our freedom and this book is in their honor.

Introduction

On the island of Guam, located at the southern end of the Marianas Islands in the western Pacific, during the height of the Cold War against the Soviet Union as well as The People’s Republic of China, Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) was the primary Strategic Air Command’s (SAC) forward operating base. SAC is no longer an active command, replaced by United States Strategic Command for the control of nuclear weapons and Air Combat Command (ACC) for the control of the United States long-range strategic bombers: Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, Northrop B-2 Stealth and Boeing B-1B Lancer. Andersen’s two parallel concrete runways was significantly upgraded to take the operational weight of modern bombers, tankers and transports, from the World War II (World War II) construction after the island was taken back from the Japanese.

By the end of Linebacker II, the December 1972, strategic bombing of previous denied targets in North Vietnam (which ended the Vietnam War), the 150 B-52s and supporting tankers operating from Andersen AFB, the number of operational military aircraft, declined. After the signing of the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam in 1973, only fourteen B-52Ds were retained on Andersen AFB, with four standing nuclear alert 24-hours a day, seven days a week until October 1988, when the bombers transitioned from delivering nuclear to conventional munitions. The B-52Ds assigned to the 43rd Strategic Wing (SW) deployed back to the United States with their mission complete and too expensive to maintain in the active duty inventory. The only remaining Stratofortress variant on active operational status and combat ready in the United States Air Force (USAF) inventory is the B-52H with the 2nd Bomb Wing (BW) at Barksdale AFB, LA, and 5th BW at Minot AFB, ND, assigned to Air Combat Command (ACC). America’s advanced bomber force also consists of the North American (Boeing) B-1B Lancer, with 7th BW at Dyess AFB, TX and the 28th BW at Ellsworth AFB, SD and the Northrop B-2 Stealth bomber at Whiteman AFB, MO. These three bombers comprise the backbone of America’s long-range delivery of Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs) against targets anywhere in the world. They can be converted back to a nuclear attack mission role if a nuclear threat arises from an enemy. Today, Andersen AFB serves as a forward logistic and operating base for these three bombers, a role similar to the World War II functions of airfields built on Guam, Tinian and Saipan for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomb wings attacking the Japanese home islands.

Turbojet passenger aircraft make it easy to travel over the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to the Marianas Islands. During World War II the fight across the Pacific to the Marianas Islands was costly and a monumental logistics effort. B-29s flying off runways built on Guam, Tinian and Saipan conducted an intense strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese home islands, bringing the war to the Japanese in preparation for the planned amphibious operations to end the war in the Pacific, forcing acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and unconditional surrender. Two specially modified B-29s assigned to the 509th Composite Group (CG), based on North Field, Tinian each dropped one atomic bomb. On 6 August 1945, a B-29 named Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb (a uranium gun-type weapon) ever used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later a second 509th CG B-29 dropped an atomic bomb (a plutonium implosion weapon) on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. These two atomic bombs convinced the Imperial Japanese Government to accept the Allied terms for unconditional surrender. The island of Tinian is located 3½ miles south of Saipan, across the Saipan Channel.

The flight from Guam to Tinian is full of history, which passes below the aircraft as the air route crosses the small island of Rota. It was by-passed during World War II with the Japanese garrison cut off from supplies and constantly attacked. Rota was used by B-29 aircrews for live bombing training prior to combat missions against the Japanese home islands. If possible, B-29s, which had to abort after take-off, jettisoned their bombs on Rota rather than releasing them into the ocean before landing. Sometimes the B-29s immediately dumped their bombs to lighten the bomber in order to attempt an emergency landing back at point of launch. The US Navy (USN) also used Rota for ship gunnery practice as warships passed through the Mariana Islands on their way to combat zones closer to Japan. Once over Rota, a rectangular pit is visible. It is a coral pit, dug into the side of a hill during World War II by Japanese construction workers to collect fill and topping material for a fighter runway. This construction effort was small scale when compared to efforts by Seabees and US Army Aviation Engineers to build airfields, headquarters, naval bases and supply depots on Guam, Tinian and Saipan. These were huge construction projects undertaken to begin the final strategic bombing against the Japanese home islands.

Flight time from Rota to Tinian is not only short but also a stark difference between World War II to the present. The first glimpse to Tinian from the air shows an artificial breakwater and harbor built during World War II by the Seabees. During World War II, this harbor was one of the most active in the western Pacific with a high volume of tonnage to support B-29 operations. Seabees built a U-shaped pier complex by driving steel planks into the harbor’s bedrock, filling the space between the planks with crushed coral dug from coral supply pits on the island and covered with asphalt to create a sealed and smooth surface to support round-the-clock unloading of USN transports. The pier complex is protected by an artificial breakwater, which permitted unloading operations during periods of high tides and bad weather. These steel planks have survived for decades and remain an engineering legacy for the Seabees who built it. During the last phase of combat operations in the western Pacific, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis delivered parts for the uranium gun-type atomic bomb to be used by the 509th CG. Airlines do not land on North Field but on the improved facilities of West Tinian Airport. A modern passenger and cargo terminal serves Tinian. The World War II road network remains basically intact with sections upgraded to support new hotel and casino operations on the island. The volume of traffic is considerably less than the 24-hour and seven-day a week operations against Japan.

Tinian is a living history book. Near the island’s main population center, Tinian Town of World War II (today called San Jose), located at the southern end of the island and across from the Taga House monument is visible to the visitor. The bunker’s weapons openings face southward toward the harbor and gently sloping beach with no openings to the landside of the bunker. Japanese commanders expected American forces, probably Marines, to land over the southern beaches. One of the stories of Operation Forager was how the Japanese was tricked into believing the Americans were landing as anticipated but actually landing at the northwest corner of the island. At this location were two small beaches protected by six-foot high, coral formation sea cliffs, lightly defended by the Japanese. Even though the Japanese commanders on Tinian expected a massed American amphibious landing on the southern beaches, they tried to cover other possible amphibious landing areas but did not have the forces available as those stationed on Saipan to the north. The beaches at the northwest corner of the island were close enough to Saipan to allow US Army artillery units to fire across the Saipan Channel against Japanese troop concentrations or defensive positions. Tinian was scheduled to be invaded after Saipan, but circumstances changed the planned invasion timetable with Guam next.

The ancient Taga House stones on Tinian miraculously survived the American intense air and naval bombardment. These carved stones are from an unidentified prehistoric civilization on the island similar to the Lattie Stones found on Guam. These stones are excellent examples of past Micronesian culture. Near the Taga House stones a post-World War II memorial set up to honor Japanese and American troops to honor those who died either defending or capturing the island. Many Japanese travel to Tinian to honor relatives who died on or near the island. A stone plaque in Japanese and English states the reason for this war memorial: To perpetually console the souls of the Americans and Japanese who died. With tourist and casino operations in San Jose, visitors to the Taga House stones and World War II memorial has increased as one of the Pacific war locations readily accessible, including North Field from where B-29s conducted the conventional and atomic bombing of the Japanese home islands. The artificial harbor and waters around Tinian are ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving.

Tinian is an island that calls to be explored and enjoyed. The southern end of the island rises to a significant elevation and provides a spectacular view of the beaches and town below, including the artificial harbor. This area also earned the nickname as Suicide Cliff where many Japanese jumped to their death on jagged coral outcroppings below as what happened on Saipan. Japanese civilians were constantly told that American troops would rape, torture and kill them, if they surrendered, or were captured. It was better to fight to the death or commit suicide to maintain their family honor and sacrifice for their Emperor. The two coastal guns were used during the fight for the island to lob shells at USN warships, assault ships/landing craft during the diversion landing at the southern end of the island.

The drive north from the main town comes upon a large two-story concrete structure used by the Japanese as a command, control and communications building. It received intensive bombardment but the walls remained intact. In October, after the 135th USNCB landed on the island they set up their first camp in a sugar cane field near the concrete bunker. The 135th’s first chow or mess facility was set up in open area within sight of the bunker. After the war, the bunker was rehabilitated and used by a local dairy operation to milk cows. Interestingly, when I was stationed on Guam from 1974 to 1976, we bought reprocessed milk shipped to the island. On my second tour on the island from 1978 to 1981, fresh milk was available from the diary operation on Tinian. It was more expensive but the taste was much better. The milk was flown in on a USAF C-54 transport that flew from Guam to Tinian to Saipan and back to Andersen. Military families could sign up for the flight and it was a way to take a vacation off Guam on Saipan, when at that time, the resort hotels were inexpensive. Today, these hotels have gone through extensive upgrades and are world-class resorts, primarily catering to Japanese tourists and booked charter flights that fly in from Hawaii for gambling and scuba diving trips.

Further up the coral road from the Japanese concrete bunker is the huge four-runway complex of North Field, which during World War II was base for hundreds of B-29s, their aircrews and support personnel. The coral runways are intact, asphalt topped with only minor surface cracks, a testimony to the skill of Seabees like my father. During World War II as Seabees built these runways because of the intense glare from the sun, most wore sunglasses. These were hard to obtain so most were fabricated by battalion members and sold throughout the island to those who needed them. The runways, taxiways, parking aprons, maintenance areas and specialized munitions loading areas were built from coral blasted loose from coral pits, shoveled into dump trucks, hauled to a rock crusher for pulverization, loaded into dump trucks again, and hauled to wherever it was needed on the island. Once dumped, the crushed coral was leveled by a bulldozer, graded, crushed more finely by heavy spiked rollers and compactors, graded, spiked roller again, sprayed with salt water to increase the cementation process of the coral to create a unified surface. This process was repeated as many times as necessary until the desired hard surface and correct grade was reached to support B-29 operations. Each runway was 300 feet wide and 8,500 feet long.

Seabees from a detachment from Okinawa cleared vegetation form the edges on runways one and two on North Field. During this training exercise, US Marine Corps (USMC) Lockheed C-130 Hercules, four-engine turboprop transports practiced assault operations on these two runways. In 2009, the USMC is moving its western Pacific operations from Okinawa to Guam after the Japanese requested the cessation of operations from Okinawa to allow expansion of Japanese Self Defense Forces at that location. The Japanese government is paying for part of the new construction on Guam. Once the move is completed, Tinian’s North Field could again be the site of military aircraft for training.

Once the Enola Gay was loaded with the atomic bomb, it was slowly and carefully towed, to a separate and secure fueling area. It was then towed to the final servicing area prior to scheduled take-off for Japan. As a precaution, the atomic bomb was not armed until after take-off. USN Captain Deke Parson, weaponeer for the Manhattan Project, after hearing concerns from Colonel Paul Tibbetts, 509th commander, that the heavily loaded B-29 could possibly crash on take-off with disastrous results if a nuclear explosion occurred which could destroy the northern half of the island, decided to arm the weapon in flight when safely away from the island.

The two atomic bombing missions were the culmination of a huge effort, in the United States and on Tinian Island to be ready to bomb Japan before the scheduled invasion of the Japanese home islands. The Seabee work on Tinian Island earned the name as the miracle of construction. The Manhattan Project delivered two atomic bombs as scheduled and the 509th CG was equipped with specially modified B-29s and trained to deliver the atomic bombs.

I am going to use the 135th USNCB as the starting point for my story of this miracle of construction, although it is just one part of many puzzle pieces that had to fit perfectly together for the take-off of two B-29s carrying atomic bombs to be delivered against Japan. There are many individual stories within the big picture, which tells of the end of the war in the Pacific and set the United States on the road as a world superpower as well as a nuclear power. I entered the USAF because of the brief World War II military career of my father and this is my attempt to tell A Seabee’s Story.

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Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) looking at the concrete aircraft parking apron on the left. The two parallel runways are to the right, looking to the northwest. [Lieutenant Colonel George A. Larson, USAF (Ret)]

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Boeing B-52D Stratofortress on display at Andersen AFB. This is the Arc Light Memorial, honoring aircrews that died during the Vietnam War and those who fought in the 10,000-day war in Southeast Asia. The pylon on each wing allowed the B-52D, with what was referred to as the Big Belly modification, to carry (108) 750 pound bombs, delivering a devastating ground attack capability. [Larson]

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Map above shows the relative position of the Mariana Islands. [Larson]

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World War II Japanese coral pit on the island of Rota between Guam and Tinian for surfacing and fill material on a fighter runway that was never finished before the US invaded the Mariana Islands. It is still the source of coral fill for roads and construction on the island. [Larson]

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Southern end Tinian showing the concrete artificial harbor built by United States Naval Construction Battalion (USNCB) personnel, or Seabees during World War II. The main town on the island is visible to the right. The artificial harbor protects the concrete pier complex to allow unloading of US Navy transports providing construction materials and then supporting B-29 operations on the island. [Larson]

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Passenger and freight terminal on the former World War II site of West Field on Tinian Island. [Larson]

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World War II Japanese concrete bunker on the southern end of Tinian facing the beach area opposite the main population center, called Tinian Town during World War II. The two arrows indicate USN shell impact points, which did not penetrate into the bunker. [Larson]

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Taga House stones on Tinian Island. [Larson]

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During my visit to Tinian in January 1981, I was able to take my father George W. Larson (left), a Seabee with the 135th USNCB on the island, as well as my son (foreground), wife and mother. We were able to walk in the steps of my father on an island where he served during the war and told endless accounts of what happened. My father is looking at one of the Japanese coastal defense guns on the heights to the southeast of the harbor in a ditch along a coral road. It was badly rusted and typical of war artifacts scattered throughout the island. [Larson]

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George W. Larson walking on runway number one on North Field, which he helped, build, as a member of the 135th’s runway finishing crew during World War II. The crushed coral and asphalt covered runway surface is relatively intact during his January 1981 visit to the island. This walk on the runway suddenly brought out a volume or remembrances on what he did in 1944 on the island. The view is looking toward the west end of the 8,500 foot long runway, which was designed to allow heavily combat loaded B-29s to gain enough speed to take-off for the long flight to Japan. The east-to-west orientation also allowed returning B-29s to directly land without circling the island. [Larson]

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Members of the 135th USNCB on Tinian, near the World War II concrete Japanese command, control and communications bunker visible in the background. The bunker was heavily damaged by aerial bombardment and naval shelling before the invasion of the island. Battalion cooks set up a makeshift chow processing area, using empty 55-gallon fuel drums to heat water and sanitize metal mess kits. My father indicated he was sitting on the ground in the right middle of the photograph. [135th USNCB]

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North Field with runway number one and the corresponding taxiway cleared in 1981, by Seabees from Okinawa as part of training exercise. The runway looks as if it could sustain aircraft runways. [George Allen]

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The two atomic bomb loading pits on North Field. Each atomic loading bomb pit was dug into the coral and a supporting B-29 parking apron was provided. Seabees who worked on this specialized area were repeatedly warned not speculate on what they were doing with anyone on the island under the penalty of military confinement. [George Allen]

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Atomic bomb loading pit one on North Field. The pit has been filled in with dirt and a flame tree planted inside. The sign is in English and Japanese, giving an indication of the visitors who come to the location. This bomb-loading pit was only used once to load the B-29 Enola Gay with an atomic bomb called Little Boy. This atomic bomb on its weapon’s dolly was too big to go under a B-29, even with the bomb-bay doors open. It had to be slowly backed onto the platform raised from the bottom of the bomb-loading pit, lowered to the bottom. Cables were attached to the atomic bomb from the B-29’s bomb bay and it was slowly winched up and secured inside the bomber. [Larson]

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Plaque mounted on top of the concrete pedestal in front of bomb loading pit number one on North Field, Tinian Island. [Larson]

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Bomb loading pit number two on North Field. The plutonium bomb was loaded into the B-29 named Bockscar. [Larson]

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135th’s insignia.

Chapter 1: Tinian Island

Geographically, as one of the Marianas Island, Tinian became known to the world as a result of the round-the-world exploration sea voyage of Ferdinand Magellan reaching Guam on 6 March 1521. Magellan called Guam the island of thieves because the local natives, Chamorros, boarded his ship stealing anything not guarded or out of sight below decks. It took one hundred fifty years for a proper name to be given to the islands in the western Pacific. The islands were finally named Marianas Islands after the Queen of Spain. Spanish military and civil occupation by 1700 nearly destroyed the native Chamorros.¹ On 23 August 1741, an English warship, the Centurion, sailed into Tinian’s southern anchorage after escaping from interception and battle with a superior Spanish warship squadron. England and France were fighting the War of Jenkin’s Ear for commercial control of the western Pacific. During the naval engagement English warships, Centurion and Gloucester, encountered the Spanish warships. The Spanish warships sank the Gloucester and badly damaged the Centurion. The Centurion was able to break off the engagement and escape to the east, finding Tinian, which was guarded by a small garrison. Most of the Centurion’s crew suffered from scurvy. Fortunately, the island’s abundant supply of fruit, vegetables, boar meat and fresh water saved many of the sick crew. The English seamen thought Tinian had a charming appearance with pleasant surroundings. After the crew repaired the Centurion and stocked it with provisions they sailed out of Tinian’s anchorage, eventually making it back to England. The Marianas remained under Spanish control until the 1898 Spanish-American War.²

On 20 June 1898, USN Captain Henry Glars, commander of the cruiser USS Charleston, escorting three transports with 2,500 Army troops, entered Apra Harbor, Guam. The troops disembarked and quickly occupied and captured the island, overcoming the small Spanish garrison by 21 June. In 1941, the Japanese did the same thing to the United States Marine Corps (USMC) troops and Guam constabulary defending the island in a one sided and brief battle.³ The Treaty of Paris signed on 10 December 1898, gave the United States colonial control of Guam and the Philippine Islands for twenty million dollars. Even though the Spanish government offered the United States the opportunity to purchase the rest of the Marianas Islands, unfortunately, short-sighted government officials did not want to present the image that the United States was bent on becoming a colonial power and turned down the offer. This purchase might have changed future US-Japan military confrontation timetable in the western Pacific. Japanese military forces would have had to target the Philippines first, serving as a base to attack Guam, Tinian, and Saipan as the navy conducted more distance amphibious operations against Wake and Midway Islands after knocking out the USN Pacific fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. After the United States turned down Spain’s offer, the islands were sold to Germany, a country anxious to extend their colonial possessions in the western Pacific.⁴

During World War I, Japan was part of the Allied coalition against Germany. This allowed Japanese military forces to seize and occupy Germany’s colonial possessions the western Pacific, the Carolinas and Marianas. Some historians, including myself, speculate Japan’s long-range goal was to outflank US possessions and it could do this by joining the Allied war effort. Japan’s control of these islands was formalized in 1919 by the League of Nations, legalizing its mandate over the islands.⁵ In one single military stroke and post-World War I breakup of Germany’s colonial possessions to the victorious Japanese military, US western Pacific islands were made vulnerable to invasion.⁶ The Japanese transformed Tinian and Saipan into sugar cane production centers which changed these islands into important food production sources for the home islands.⁷ It took a large work agricultural work force to plant, cultivate, harvest and process the sugar cane on these islands. By 1936, Japan had forcibly imported 16,000 Korean workers before the outbreak of war in the Pacific when transports freely moved into and out of the Japanese controlled Pacific islands under control of the South Seas Development Company. Japan was not able to produce enough food on its limited agricultural land to feed its growing population and supply the needs of its military. Japan had to import huge quantities of food and strategic materials (especially oil). Japan’s need for a secure source of these items was one of the reasons given for its military conquest and occupation of Manchuria and China. The Japanese military looked eagerly to the south at the valuable and productive oil fields located in Southeast Asia, along with other strategic resources and huge supplies of rice.⁸ The South Seas Development Company built two large sugar cane processing mills on Tinian, ten miles north of the main population center. These plants turned sugar cane molasses