Northern Mariana Islands

North of Guam lies the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory that most Americans know relatively little about. Here, like elsewhere in the Pacific, beautiful tropical island scenes openly coexist with the weight of omnipresent reminders of world war. Given to Japan as a League of Nations mandate after WWI, the islands remained under Japanese control until after Japan's defeat in WWII, at which time they were transferred to American trusteeship.

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From tiny Managaha Island, looking across the water to the island of Saipan.

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Reminders of Japan's past presence are easy to find.

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But the islands' connection to Japan will perhaps be better remembered for the atomic bomb. It is here, marked by this memorial on the island of Tinian, the atomic bomb was loaded onto the Enola Gay for its fateful mission to Hiroshima.

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Aerial view of Tinian, showing the remains of the long airstrips used during the waning days of WWII for bombing runs to Japan. During the latter stages of the war these were the busiest airstrips in the world with round-the-clock bombing sorties fanning out to Japan towards the northwest.

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Another aerial shot of Tinian, this one showing a quarry site of ancient latte stones.

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On the ground near the latte stone excavations.

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The island of Rota was some of the clearest, bluest water I've seen anywhere.

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Yet even on this remote sun-swept speck in the middle of seemingly nowhere,
war reminders are never far away.