When Ferdinand Magellan first anchored off the island of Guam in 1521, the inhabitants of the small Chamorro village at Afetna Point on the southwest coast of Saipan were likely unaware. Archaeological investigations of the traditional village yielded Latte Period burials, ceramics, stone and shell tools, microfossils from food remains, and charcoal from cooking features dating between A.D. 1450 and 1700. No direct evidence of Spanish Contact before forced abandonment of the island circa 1730 was encountered, after which time Saipan remained virtually unpopulated until the arrival of...

After 75 years, this story presents archaeological evidence, archival records, and respected elders' accounts from WWII and the most catastrophic period in Pacific Basin history, and then into modern times on Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. On June 15, 1944, Afetna Point was called `Yellow Beach 2' by the U.S. Marines and Army infantry braving Japanese resistance to establish a beachhead before capturing As Lito airfield the following days. The beachhead then served as a resupply landing for the next two weeks or more as U.S. forces slowly cleared the island...