PHG Blog

A B-29 named 'Bockscar' took off from Tinian in the Marianas, and finding the primary target of Kokura obscured by cloud cover and smoke, dropped its bomb on the secondary target, Nagasaki City. The bomb missed its target by approximately 3 km, exploding halfway between the naval arsenal and the Mitsubishi armament works.

On 6 August 1945, the first atomic weapon used in combat was deployed over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Dropped at 8:15 AM by a B-29 named the Enola Gay, the bomb destroyed much of the city.

Indy had started her final wartime cruise in Mare Island, California. Following service as Admiral Spruance's flagship for the Marianas Campaign in the summer of 1944, she was laid up in overhaul for the first half of 1945. In July, she loaded a secret cargo bound for Tinian, in the Marianas, arriving on 26 July. It was later revealed that she had transported parts for the atomic bomb that was to be used in the attack on Hiroshima on August 6th.

The Kikkawa, whose leader Hiroie had helped foil the Mori Clan's designs to betray Ieyasu at Sekigahara, were given 30,000 goku across Suo Province; much of what is now modern Iwakuni City.

Greetings PHG Fans! For those of you interested in the military history of Saipan, check out this talk I gave on WW2TV, regarding the fight for the island in June 1944. I offered my perspective from that of the Japanese defenders on Saipan, specifically the 43rd Infantry Division under Lt. Gen. Saito Yoshitsugu. Having lived in the Marianas, and visited quite a few battlefields and historic sites throughout the islands, I was more than excited to examine the Battle of Saipan

Happy Birthday America! It has been 250 years since the 13 Colonies of the United States declared independence from Great Britain.

Although Singapore is a small place, the history here is deep and broad. Anybody's first stop should be the National Museum, which covers the history of the island and larger region from almost the beginning of recorded history, through the colonial period and to the modern day.

Since January 2025, Pacific History Guide has passed some fantastic milestones. We've had more than 2,500 unique visitors view 6,500 pages. Our reading list and resources page are updated monthly with new titles and sources, and the official PHG google maps has more than 4,100 locations, with more added every week!

During our time living on Guam, we were just down the road from the final battlefield in Yigo, where the South Pacific Memorial Peace Park now stands. Near here, General Obata Hideyoshi killed himself, shortly after organized resistance in the battle ended.

There were two attempts at turning the ship into a museum, but neither measure was successful. A storm later set the ship adrift, where she settled in the mud. In 1973, the bow and stern sections were removed and set as memorial pieces, and the rest of the ship remains as a wreck near Milson Island.

When reading about this monument, and the story behind it, I can't help but think of the gesture of friendship, and how things would change between the two countries. In 1876, the Japanese were rapidly modernizing, rapidly industrializing and working harder than anybody to gain a seat at the international table; Imperial Germany was the inspiration behind many of these reforms.

On my bucket list for my next Korea trip is a trip to the Gyeongju National Museum; aside from the National Musuem there's also the Hwangnyongsa History & Culture Hall, the ruins of Wolseong Fortress, and the Gyeongju Gyochon Traditional Village.

Last year I presented an analysis of the Battle of Leyte Gulf for WW2TV, speficially from the perspective of Admiral Kurita Takeo. This is my favorite story of the Second World War, and Kurita is my favorite Japanese admiral to talk about.

Here, the last Japanese organized resistance on Guam ended on August 10, 1944; at the site you can find a small remembrance chapel, a peace memorial, and several monuments and markers that commemorate both the people who took part in the battle of Guam, and those who came later to remember them.

Below the Korean-Britain monument is Busan Harbor, a waterway that saw 86,000 ships transit in and out in 2024.The traffic through Busan accounts for 97% of container throughput in the Republic of Korea; the other ports of Incheon (near Seoul) and Gwangyang (southwest of Busan) make up for the rest.

Ready for combat by 1905 but too late to take part in the conflict with Russia, the ships were used as training vessels, and were later joined by no. 6 and 7, as Kawasaki Shipyard in Kobe bought plans directly from Holland and built them under the supervision of two of his assistants.

This is the entrance to Katori Shrine. Saipan was part of Japanese-mandated Micronesia from 1914 until the end of the Second World War. Some 60,000 Japanese people lived on the island in 1944.

My kids, who were young at the time of our visit, were exposed to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy and Japanese-American internment for the first time in their lives at these institutions. The importance of what is expressed in Hawai'i's museums and cultural sites is only overshadowed by how it is expressed; with pride and enthusiasm, and a firm foot in a shared cultural history.

Perhaps best known for his 'sleeping giant' comment issued immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he has been somewhat sanitized in recent scholarship as an anti-war figure (he was not). Yamamoto was fated to preside over a series of quick victories in the early days of the Pacific War, only to be caught up in his own complicated plans at Midway.

The mission of this website remains unchanged: we aim to connect military members, veterans, and their families with historical insights into their duty stations, TAD locations, and ports of call throughout the Pacific. We're here for you, and here to stay.