Matgue River Valley Battle Area | |
Location | 0.6 mi. SW of Asan off Guam Highway 1, Asan-Maina, Guam |
---|---|
Coordinates | 13°27′54″N144°42′17″E / 13.46500°N 144.70472°E Coordinates: 13°27′54″N144°42′17″E / 13.46500°N 144.70472°E |
Area | 55 acres (22 ha) |
Built | 1944 |
NRHP reference No. | 75001917 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 3, 1975 |
The Matgue River Valley Battle Area was the site of a decisive Allied victory during the 1944 Battle of Guam. The area was the scene of a major counterattack by Japanese forces against the Allied beachhead, in which the Japanese suffered extremely heavy casualties and were beaten back. After this attack, the remaining Japanese forces on the island retreated to the north. The area is located in the hills southwest of Asan Point along the Matgue River. The only surviving structural remnants associated with the battle are caves dug by the Japanese as defensive positions prior to the invasion. [2]
The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [1]
The War in the Pacific National Historical Park is a multi-unit protected area in the United States territory of Guam, which was established in 1978 in honor of those who participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Uniquely among the National Park System, it honors the bravery and sacrifices of all those who participated in the Pacific Theater.
This is a list of the buildings, sites, districts, and objects listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Guam. There are currently 134 listed sites spread across 17 of the 19 villages of Guam. The villages of Agana Heights and Mongmong-Toto-Maite do not have any listings. Listed historic sites include Spanish colonial ruins, a few surviving pre-World War II ifil houses, Japanese fortifications, two massacre sites, and a historic district. Two other locations that were previously listed have been removed from the Register.
The Bennington Battlefield is the Rensselaer County, New York, location where the Battle of Bennington occurred on the 16th of August 1777. It is located on New York State Route 67 in Walloomsac, New York, a historic route between Bennington, Vermont and the Hudson River. Here, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts militia under General John Stark rebuffed a British attempt led by Colonel Friedrich Baum to capture American stores. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. A portion of the battlefield is preserved in the Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site.
The Japanese Occupation Site on Kiska island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska is where the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked and occupied the island in World War II, as one of the only two enemy invasion sites in North America during the war. The Japanese built defenses and other infrastructure on the island before abandoning it in 1943 after losing the Battle of Attu. American and Canadian forces reoccupied the abandoned island, and departed the island in 1946. Now a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, the central portion of the island, where these military activities were concentrated, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
The River Raisin National Battlefield Park preserves the site of the Battle of Frenchtown as the only national battlefield marking a site of the War of 1812. It was established as the 393rd unit of the United States National Park Service under Title VII of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which was signed into law on March 30, 2009. The park is located in the city of Monroe in Monroe County, Michigan. It was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on February 18, 1956 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982. The house at 1403 East Elm Avenue was added to the National Register listing in 2019. It officially began operation as a national park unit on October 22, 2010.
The Piti Guns or Piti Coastal Defense Guns is the site of three Vickers-type Model 3 140-millimetre (5.5 in) coastal defense guns in the War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Piti, Guam. The Japanese manufactured these Model 3 coastal defense guns in 1914. During the Japanese Occupation of Guam from 1941 to 1944, they built up defensive positions on the island. The Chamorro population was forced to work in building up these defenses, and did so here at the Piti Guns.
The Ilik River Fortification I near Yona, Guam was built by Japanese forces during World War II. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The As Sombreru Pillbox I, As Sombreru Pillbox II, and As Sombreru Pillbox III are three historic defensive fortifications on Guam, near Tumon, that were listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1991. They are pillboxes, a type of defensive fortification, built by the 48th Independent Mixed Brigade; 29th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army during 1941-1944, between Japan capturing Guam on December 8, 1941 from the United States and the U.S. recapturing Guam in 1944.
The Agana Spanish Bridge is a stone arch bridge built in 1800 in Hagåtña, Guam, during the administration of Spanish governor Manuel Muro. It is the only surviving Spanish bridge in Hagåtña, which is the capital of the United States territory of Guam. Also known as Sagon I Tolai Acho, it is located at the southwest corner of Aspenall St. and Rte. 1 and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Japanese 20mm Cannon Blockhouse is one of many relics of World War II on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is a concrete blockhouse, semi-circular in shape with a diameter of about 6 metres (20 ft). Its walls are 1.22 metres (4.0 ft) thick with four firing ports large enough to accommodate 20mm cannons, originally equipped with steel sliding shutters. A steel door 25 millimetres (0.98 in) thick provides access to the structure at the rear, sheltered by a concrete wall and covered defensively by a machine gun port. The blockhouse is located near the center of what is locally called Big Agingan Beach, on the south coast of the island, about 20 metres (66 ft) from the shore. It was built in some haste by the Japanese forces defending Saipan in 1944, and was captured by Allied forces early in the Battle of Saipan.
The Agat Invasion Beach is a historic site in the village of Agat, Guam. The beaches of Agat were one of the landing sites of American forces in the 1944 Battle of Guam, in which the island was retaken from occupying Japanese forces. The designated historic site includes the beaches and inland areas extending between Bangi Point and Togcha Beach. Surviving remnants of the Japanese defenses on this stretch of coast include trenches and rifle pits located a short way inland, and a fortified bunker and 40mm gun emplacements at Ga'an Point. Remnants of pillboxes that had lined the beach also survive, with one at Gangi Point in relatively good condition.
The Agat World War II Amtrac is an underwater relic of World War II, located off Ga'an Point in Agat Bay on the west side of the island of Guam. It is the remains of an LVT 4, an amphibious tracked landing vehicle. It is located about 500 yards (460 m) off Agat Invasion Beach in 45 feet (14 m) of water, and was described as being in good condition when it was discovered and surveyed in 1985. These vehicles were used during the 1944 Battle of Guam, in which American forces recaptured the island from occupying Japanese forces. This particular vehicle does not appear to exhibit significant war damage. This is the most intact of the three Amtracks remaining on Guam from the 850 that participated in the battle. It was re-surveyed by maritime archaeological field schools conducted from 2009 to 2012.
Hill 40 is a militarily historic landform on the island of Guam. It is located about 325 metres (1,066 ft) east of Bangi Point, south of Agat on the island's west coast, rising to a height of 40 to 60 feet above the coastal plain, with a strategically significant view of the Agat Invasion Beach. This hill was the scene of some of the most intense fighting during the landing phase of the 1944 Battle of Guam as Allied forces sought to establish their beachhead against the defending Japanese forces. The American 4th Marine Regiment of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade captured Hill 40 on June 21, 1944, the day of the landing. That night the Japanese launched a counteroffensive that successfully retook the hill on three occasions. The Marines regrouped and regained the hill each time. The final push came in the early morning hours of July 22. The Japanese 38th Regiment was wiped out during this military action, with 345 killed on the Bangi Point plain, immediately west of Hill 40 near the beach.
The Asan Invasion Beach is a historic site in the village of Asan, Guam. The beaches of Asan were one of the landing sites of American forces in the 1944 Battle of Guam, in which the island was retaken from occupying Japanese forces. The designated historic site includes the beaches extending between Asan Point and Adelup Point, and extends inland roughly to Guam Highway 1. It also includes the water area extending from the beach to the reef, about 100 metres (330 ft) out, an area that includes at least one abandoned Allied landing vehicle.
The Dungcas Beach Defense Guns are an old World War II Japanese fortification in the United States territory of Guam. It consists of a tunnel dug in the coral limestone of the cliffs overlooking the beach on the northeast east side of Hagåtña Bay on the west side of the island. The tunnel has two guns mounted at openings facing the beach. This fortification was built by the 48th Independent Mixed Brigade of the 29th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, during its occupation of the island 1941–44. The guns from this position were probably fired on landing Allied forces during the 1944 Battle of Guam, in which the United States retook the island.
The Asan Ridge Battle Area was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the 1944 Battle of Guam, the World War II battle in which Allied forces recaptured Guam from occupying Japanese forces. The area is now part of the Asan Inland Unit of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The area is just inland of the Asan Invasion Beach, one of the two major beachheads established by the Allies, and has a commanding view over that area. The landforms included in this area are Chorrito Cliff, Bundschuh Ridge, and Nimitz Hill, and they were heavily fortified by the Japanese prior to the battle. Surviving elements of these fortifications include two concrete pillboxes, and an unfinished battery of 4-inch guns.
The Gongna Beach defenses are a collection of World War II structures built on or near Gongna Beach in Tamuning on the island of Guam, now a United States territory. These defenses were erected by the Imperial Japanese Army during its occupation of the island 1941–44. The three surviving elements were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. They are located well north of the main Allied landing areas of the 1944 Battle of Guam.
The Mount Tenjo Fortifications are a historic defensive gun battery site on Mount Tenjo, a hill overlooking Apra Harbor, the principal deep-water port on the island of Guam. The site includes concrete mounting pads for seven guns and the crumbling remains of a concrete command post structure. These facilities are located just below the crest of the hill on its west side. A defensive trench also extends along the top of the plateau-like hill. Unlike most early 20th-century fortifications on Guam, these facilities were built in the late 1910s by the United States Navy, and not by Japanese forces during the World War II occupation period. These are the only known surviving pre-World War II defensive fortification sites on the island. They were functionally abandoned as a result of the 1922 Washington Naval Conference. Mount Tenjo was the site of battle during the 1944 liberation of Guam.
The Talofofo River Valley Site is an archaeological site near Inarajan on the island of Guam. The site's major features include latte stone sets and rockshelters, with radiocarbon dating placing human occupation of the area as early as the first century CE. The site is located in the alluvial plain of the Talofofo River, and was excavated by archaeologist Fred Reinman in 1977.
Yokoi's Cave refers to the cave on the island of Guam in which Imperial Japanese Army Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi hid until he was discovered in 1972. Yokoi and several companions hid in the area for more than 25 years, two of them dying in the cave; their remains were found in the cave after Yokoi's surrender. The original cave was destroyed by a typhoon, so a replica was created near the original cave. The replica bears the same name as the original cave, and is a tourist attraction in Talofofo Falls Resort Park in the village of Talofofo.