Bottle hunting in Guam

[daven2nl]

I live in Guam and have been a long time lurker/seldom poster here in these forums. I'm a WW2 enthusiast and do a lot of exploring in the jungle. I enjoy getting off the beaten path and to search for WW2 history away from the tourist type destinations. After 60+ years in the jungle, not much is left except for bottles. That's what ultimately led me to this forum. I wanted to share what it is like to go exploring for bottles here on Guam.

For some background, Guam is a tropical island in Micronesia, with year-around temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s. We get two seasons - a winter dry season and summer wet season. This time of year - January/February - is nice because of lower humidity and drier conditions. Guam has been a US possession since the Spanish-American War, and about 15,000 people lived here in 1941, mostly local Chamorro with a few Americans, including a small Marine detachment. Shortly after December 7th, Guam was invaded and occupied by Japanese forces. In July, 1944, American forces began liberating the island from the Japanese. When the battle was over, more than 1,200 US and nearly 17,000 of an estimated 18,000 Japanese defenders would die. In early 1945, Guam was transformed into a huge forward supply base, with nearly 250K soldiers preparing for an invasion of Japan when the war ended.

My interest is in WW2 history, and more specifically, I have been doing research on WW2 era Coca-Cola and Japanese bottles. I have found that there is not much information on the web about either topic, and I am in a unique position to have access to both. Much of Northern Guam is still jungle, and I enjoy spending time researching and looking for potential WW2 sites with Google Earth, then exploring those sites to see if I can find anything.

Today I decided to explore a site on military property, something I am able to access as an active duty member of the USCG. Since it's federal land, collecting is not allowed, but the hunt and "catch/release" is just as much fun for me. To get to this site, I first have to ride my bike up a jeep road to get into the vicinity.

My gear includes a large backpack with 3-liter Camelbak (absolutely necessary due to the heat), long sleeve white shirt, a pair of military BDU pants, comfortable disposable sneakers, gloves, bug repellent, a couple towels for wiping off sweat, a compass, and my Nexus tablet. The tablet is critical because of the built in GPS function that allows me to see where I have been and where I'm going. Getting lost is easy when you're looking for bottles on the ground!

After a 7 mile bike ride from my home, I get close to the site I located earlier on Google Earth. I hide the bike in the jungle, lock it up to a large tree, and I'm off on foot, using my tablet to navigate. It does not take long to find stuff.

This is a large scatter of beer bottles, with a few hobbleskirts mixed in. I have been able to determine that this area of the jungle was occupied by local Chamorro ranches before the war, and after the liberation in 1944, was used as a military bivouac site. There are bottles scattered everywhere, the vast majority from 1944 and 1945.

Further in the jungle, I come across a large former dump site.

The photo does not do justice - there is stuff piled up everywhere.

 

[daven2nl]

Looking closer...

in this photo is a broken crock, shards from Japanese ceramic bowls, Japanese beer bottles, Maerican beer bottles, and other debris. Everything is from the wartime era. Japanese bottles are somewhat rare to find. I suspect many have been kept as souvenirs by the US troops, because of the kanji embossing. For every 100 or 1000 US bottles, I may find one or two Japanese bottles.

Also in this pile I found an old turn-mold bottle. It could date back to the early 1900's, but it could just as likely be a Japanese beer bottle as their bottle making processes were not as advanced in the 30's and 40's.

Here is a US Army Medical Services coffee mug (broken), some more Japanese ceramics, a Sea Breeze Pharmaceuticals bottle, an ink bottle (to the left of the ceramic pieces), and an old cooking pot lid.

Rusted metal pot, US GI canteen cup (dated 1941), blue bottle (bromo seltzer?), and a Japanese kanji embossed Kirin beer bottle

This area is absolutely covered with bottles. Literally acres of them scattered about. There is no digging required or even possible, the whole northern end of Guam is limestone, with only a scratching of soil over hard rock. Everything is dated 1944 and 1945. Thousands upon thousands of beer bottles and WW2 era hobbleskirt cokes (clear, with some greens mixed in from Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle). Somewhat rarer are the Pepsi Cola, Nehi, and Royal Cola bottles.

Here is a Japanese mess bucket, carried by individual soldiers like the US GI's mess kit. Often the name of the owner is scratched into the side in kanji. The odds are overwhelming that the owner of this mess kit was killed in the fighting. Of course, there are hobbleskirt cokes everywhere.

 

[cowseatmaize]

Welcome back Dave, that's pretty cool. Does the base have an historical dept? Maybe you could get involved with that for your research if they do.

 

[daven2nl]

After a couple hours, I'm soaked with sweat and it's ready to head back to my bike for the seven mile ride home. Here my GPS is incredibly helpful, after looking at the ground for two hours, It would be tough otherwise to find my way back.

Everything looks the same no matter what direction you look.

It can get spooky in the jungle, because it is absolutely silent except for the wind in the trees. You may have heard of the tree snake problem on Guam; it is very real. There are very few birds, because the snakes have eaten them all. The jungle is crawling with snakes, but you never see them - they are nocturnal and hiding in the tree tops. I would not want to spend a night out there alone!

One consequence of the snakes is that the spider population has exploded. These guys are everywhere. Fortunately, their webs are not sticky - and evolutionary trait modified due to the wet tropical climate. They are also harmless, but it is nice to have a towel to wipe the webs off your face when you walk into them. It is also very unnerving to see a 3" spider like this crawling up your shirt. Yet another reason for wearing long sleeves, pants, and gloves.

When I get home, it is time to download the data from my GPS and see just where I was.

The total distance I covered was just over a mile. The lighter dots in the image are all coconut trees. These were all planted here at some time in the past, meaning humans lived here up until the late 40's when the area was taken over as military property. Basically, I explored only a small section of a much larger area that most likely is just as loaded with bottles. I time capsule of sorts, abandoned 60+ years ago, aside from a few poachers over the years. (the house looking object is actually a well; there is not much civilization in the area).

Anyway, I really enjoy reading stories from all of you... I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 

[cowseatmaize]

The total distance I covered was just over a mile.

+ the 14 miles of biking, don't sell the trip short.
If there isn't a archeological dept have you thought about one of those geo-caching clubs? []

 

[daven2nl]

ORIGINAL: cowseatmaize

Welcome back Dave, that's pretty cool. Does the base have an historical dept? Maybe you could get involved with that for your research if they do.

Thanks for the reply! Actually there is a historical section, and both the Air Force and Navy have historians on the payroll. I believe their primary focus is on the ancient Chamorro remains, several hundred to a thousand years old. I've stumbled across old grinding stones, latte stones, and ancient pottery shards. I absolutely do not touch that stuff at all. In my opinion that belongs to the locals - not me. I've exchanged emails with the National Park Service people and I think they are overwhelmed with bottles at this point. People pick up the old coke bottles and turn them in, thinking they found something rare when they literally are everywhere if you know where to look. The historian takes the bottle, thanks the donator, and puts it in the back room with the hundreds turned in by others.

I try to do my part by not disturbing the sites, and not publicizing exactly where they are. The military does historical surveys of the properties from time to time, and I would imagine they probably know a lot more sites than I've found, but just as likely don't advertise them for preservation purposes. I have a small bottle collection, somewhat limited because I am limited in weight when I transfer. I only collect from places where it is OK to do so - such as private properties where I've received permission from the land owner.

 

[idigjars]

Very interesting history lesson Dave. Thanks for sharing that with us. Good luck on your hunt for bottles. Paul

 

[DaddyDaughterDiggers]

Oh heck. That spider gave me goosebumps! This is when you see me running like a bat out of hell lol

 

[DaddyDaughterDiggers]

Great pictures Daven, love the history you shared with us. The dump you found looks great. Is it all surface glass or deeper?

 

[deenodean]

Great story, a nice visit to the South Pacific and I did not even have to leave my house. Spiders dont freak me out but SNAKES do...glad you did not get lost and spend the nite in there...