Anyone on Guam?

Steve, I guess no Forums members on Guam. I was there years ago, must have been early 1970, for a prolonged repair job on the pitch system (adjustable function on propeller blades) on a minesweeper. We were there for maybe a month or more, and all I saw was the naval base. Amazing there was no offer or provision to haul the crew members to town for a few hours r&r. So I ran on the gym's outdoor track and lifted weights. I don't even remember an on-station enlisted club for a meal and a beer. Years later, I read about the infestation of green snakes that were brought to Guam by a ship or ships, that showed up everywhere. Glad I missed those. Wish I'd at least seen what there is on Guam, since I was there. I know there may not seem like much, but a beach view and a souvenir or two would have been a big deal. We did a better job of seeing Hong Kong, but it was a long stretch in Guam with no recreation. Even Subic in the Philippines was better by comparison.

Guam? Guam is still there (somewhere)?

I thought Guam became overpopulated by military personnel, tipped over, and capsized long ago. 8O

I'll bet there's someone there,

Guam had a significant population, I heard, but never saw or met them. I did spend eight months living on Midway Island, the best part of which was the many species of birds and the seals, sea turtles, and other aquatic life, but maybe not the tiger sharks so much. The Navy had the airstrip and a little town, but most of it was (imported) Australian ironwood trees and nesting albatross, terns, bo'sun birds, frigate birds, and many more. Now it is administrated by the Dept. of Interior; the Navy is completely gone. Off and on, Midway has had a small staff and provided for tourist stays. Intermittently, there have been stretches with no inhabitants, and only day visits by cruise ship passengers ferried to the island by whale boats. I'm not sure what the status is now. I've thought of venturing out there, but it could be desolate. Albatross have a problem with vast areas of plastic trash that they ingest then regurgitate for their chicks as food, that of course kills the chicks and sometimes the adults. Not good.

Cool story about Guam... I used to have a roommate in college, still best friends, that I was absolutely positive was a chronic liar. He had told stories about living on an island, his dad being on the last helicopter at the fall of Saigon, his dad collected antique cars, his mom collected fire trucks, and his family was best friends with Frank Zappa, and tons of other stories. Until, I went to visit them, and collecting cars and fire trucks, we are talking about wooden framed cars and fire trucks that ran on rails, all in their own buildings with museum quality monitoring, pictures of him setting of Frank Zappa's lap, and climbing coconut trees. But anyways... his dad was stationed on Guam with the USAF, he was a major at the time, and he found a stack of boxes rotting on the beach. He opened them up and found that each box had a dissassembled Morris Minor inside. He brought them to the US, and assembled a few of them to find Bakelite knobs, mother of pearl inlay, and motors with leather flap valves. He and I spent a summer putting one together and drove it around until we graduated. They weren't very fast, maybe top speed of 60 rolling downhill, but they were fun, and at the time top speed on the interstate was 55 anyways.

Apparently, on the islands Britain had sent Morris Minors to their military to use as transportation on military bases on the islands, but some islands were just not big enough to worry with assembling them, so many just rotted in their boxes.
Anyways, that's what I think of when I hear Guam... a summer of driving little bitty muppet sized cars, ha ha.

Cortez jested:

I thought Guam became overpopulated by military personnel, tipped over, and capsized long ago.

Click to expand...

I'd completely forgotten about that!
Tipping Point

Might try to link into the Military community, sure there are some brothers stationed there

MSO, Guam is alive and well with a thriving population and a substantial tourist economy supported, for the most part, by the Japanese. For them it's the budget version of Hawaii. I was there two years ago as a port of call on a U.S. Navy white ship (oceanographic vessel). I found it fascinating with all the WWII artifacts, Japanese defenses, an old Spanish well and Spanish carved rock steps from the late 1700s leading down a cliff face to the well, and still visible bomb craters in various places. You'd find the base much different today and could even rent a car and travel the island. I did just that and saw the small bay where Magellan made landfall after the long voyage across the Pacific (mostly across anyway) with a starving crew and the native population fed and watered them saving their lives. One of the last Japanese hold outs from WWII was found on Guam, I think in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The very last one was uncovered on Luzon, PI. Anderson Air Force Base is also there on the north side of the island. I found it a fascinating place with friendly folks-- very laid back.