Tinian Island: WWII's Busiest Airfield Comes Back Into Focus

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AF Civil Engineers

AF Civil Engineers

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 825
@DJ-bh1ju
@DJ-bh1ju 27 күн бұрын
One word was never mentioned here.... the real reason this is getting done. CHINA.
@kamikazeboy123
@kamikazeboy123 27 күн бұрын
Ikr. They wont be doing this for fun
@LD-Orbs
@LD-Orbs 27 күн бұрын
It's unnecessary to mention the obvious: nobody is doing this for fun, spending money to spend money. It's necessary to get to work, and rebuild alliances and networks.
@southgpfi
@southgpfi 26 күн бұрын
Stop with your hate already We dont need any cold war boomer nonsense
@jamarplunkett3283
@jamarplunkett3283 26 күн бұрын
@@MikeNoybdang bro, you can from left field lol😂
@jimfesta8981
@jimfesta8981 26 күн бұрын
You're right. We foolishly thought the Cold War was over until Putin came on the scene in Russia.
@gaius_enceladus
@gaius_enceladus 27 күн бұрын
NZer here - this is great stuff! Really good to see the old airbase being rehabbed and brought back to life again! All of the old island bases like this, scattered across the Pacific, are priceless assets that should be rehabbed and used.
@LD-Orbs
@LD-Orbs 27 күн бұрын
They probably will be. A good chunk (or all!) in three years, and possibly more in five to ten years.
@danielwhyatt3278
@danielwhyatt3278 27 күн бұрын
I couldn’t agree more right now.
@thomasdragosr.841
@thomasdragosr.841 26 күн бұрын
...before the Chinese get them!
@zoso73
@zoso73 26 күн бұрын
Agreed. And I've voted for Trump for the 3rd time.
@RandomDudeOne
@RandomDudeOne 26 күн бұрын
@@zoso73 Trump loves Xi. "He's a STRONG man".
@user-dg7sy8cz3b
@user-dg7sy8cz3b 26 күн бұрын
One of those Sea Bees in WWII was my friend BQ Bratton. I met BQ when he was 89 years old and still working operating heavy equipment. He was 18 during the recovery of Guam, watched his friends die by snipers. Never forget these men or what they were fighting for. Freedom isn’t free. Thank You BQ for everything. ❤️ Thank You for your friendship.
@bessie1854
@bessie1854 25 күн бұрын
The Marianas have always been a key to controlling the Central Pacific.
@paulhart9102
@paulhart9102 25 күн бұрын
My uncle was in the Sea Bees. He was there when they loaded the nuke in the Enola Gay . He lived to be 101.
@davidcox3076
@davidcox3076 18 күн бұрын
The Navy really did the battalions right. Filled them with older men who already had construction experience. They could be quickly shipped to the Pacific. It's hard to imagine how much longer the Pacific war would have taken without them.
@thekingsilverado3266
@thekingsilverado3266 17 күн бұрын
Are you sure you don't mean Quinn Braxton Sea Bee's 1943???? The Quinn Braxton I am talking about was an enlisted contractor 30 Years of age from Florida. We meaning Americans were building bases prior to the happenings at Pearl Harbor. part of the reasons Japan did attack us they were feeling threatened in their own Islands by our Micro bases springing up
@SS-ec2tu
@SS-ec2tu 27 күн бұрын
This is not about history. It is about getting ready for WWIII.
@RobertEHunt-dv9sq
@RobertEHunt-dv9sq 27 күн бұрын
Better to be prepared, than fat,dumb and naive
@DJ-bh1ju
@DJ-bh1ju 27 күн бұрын
One word... China.
@PeterMuskrat6968
@PeterMuskrat6968 27 күн бұрын
It's both.
@LD-Orbs
@LD-Orbs 27 күн бұрын
@@PeterMuskrat6968 It's both, yes. I wouldn't count a future conflict with China as a world war, if it occurs. It would be a *major* war, though!
@PrimarchX
@PrimarchX 27 күн бұрын
The US is finally examining it's holdings in the Pacific and how they can be leveraged for defense in that theater. Maybe their head is finally a little bit out of the sand?
@barrygrant2907
@barrygrant2907 27 күн бұрын
My dad a WWII Seabee (92 NCB), helped build the atomic-bomb pits on Tinian. I didn't learn this until I was in my 50s. I'm sure he would be smiling to hear the runways he helped build were coming back to life.
@olsonspeed
@olsonspeed 27 күн бұрын
My father also was a Seabed stationed in Tinian. He said all personnel possible were evacuated from the island when the Bombs arrived. Yes, it is good to see the base receiving attention and restoration
@dcpack
@dcpack 27 күн бұрын
You think your father would feel great about this waste of time and money?
@Phil-y8c
@Phil-y8c 27 күн бұрын
@@dcpack👈🐀
@LD-Orbs
@LD-Orbs 26 күн бұрын
@@dcpack I hope that you're right, and we will all laugh about it in 2034 as a boondoggle. I _truly_ do.
@chrismaggio7879
@chrismaggio7879 26 күн бұрын
Sounds like your dad has passed, but yeah, you know he must have been incredibly proud of the work he did and the outcome because of it. Kudos to your pop.
@davef5277
@davef5277 26 күн бұрын
I actually stood in the exact runway the Enola Gay took off from on that historic day. I live in Saipan and can tell you that the transition that is underway on Tinian is really amazing. I can just imagine how they built those runways back in the day. Now, it’s going to be home for another important role. Hopefully it will never be needed as it was back in that time.
@1jamesreed
@1jamesreed 24 күн бұрын
they need to get Subic Bay in the Philippines back up and running.
@NATES84
@NATES84 26 күн бұрын
Tinian is not the only one being refurbished either . Some people in the military are still awake and planning ahead. Peleliu as well.
@nomadmarauder-dw9re
@nomadmarauder-dw9re 26 күн бұрын
It gets my goat to hear/ see people denigrate Peleliu as being useless, a wasted effort, etc. They say it had no value, ignoring that the war in the Pacific was an air war. If it had no value, why did the Japanese build an airstrip on it and fight like hell to keep it? How many of these General Hindsights have told the Japanese that their soldiers lives were wasted?
@jaymaloney8321
@jaymaloney8321 25 күн бұрын
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re Great questions... The Japanese had come to the realization that they couldn't "win" the war with the Americans, but they could set up circumstances for a negotiated peace which would allow their government to remain intact and which would allow them to repair and rearm in the coming post-war years. The strategy, beginning at Peleliu and running through the upcoming battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, was to sacrifice the entire garrison on those islands in order to inflict catastrophic casualties on the American forces. The point, of course, was to create a killing machine that would turn American public opinion against the war, primarily to make the invasion of the Japanese mainland politically impossible. Japan was using their new strategy to secure a settlement that would avoid the American demand for total and absolute surrender. The United States was still going to invade the mainland, and it was prepared to suffer enormous casualties. Many people don't realize that every Purple Heart awarded in every war since the end of WWII -- Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and everything in between - - was taken from the stock produced prior to the invasion of Japan. The atomic bombs indeed saved millions of lives, American and Japanese.
@willowsloughdx
@willowsloughdx 25 күн бұрын
Trump's tariffs will not stop PRC expansionism.
@lwilton
@lwilton 24 күн бұрын
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re A lot of Japanese south pacific bases were simply isolated and bypassed, rather than having a big, bloody conflict for each. A lot of people argued that Peleliu was another base that could have been isolated and bypassed. By that point in the war Japan was pretty low on both airplanes to stock bases with, and transport to get the planes to the bases. The arguments that it could have been bypassed were going on at a high decision level from well before the actual invasion, it wasn't all just armchair generals after the war (though there were a heck of a lot of those). I'm not going to say they were right, nor that they were wrong. I suspect that we just don't know enough, today, about conditions back then that we can be anything except armchair generals. But there were a lot of loud voices back then, including quite a few of the surviving marines that took the island, that thought it could have been bypassed. Were they right? We'll never know. But it is worth considering their viewpoint.
@replynotificationsdisabled
@replynotificationsdisabled 24 күн бұрын
@@lwilton over a thousand lives lost for reference kzbin.info/www/bejne/bF67e5-AeMmmo9Usi=XhdiRRX4Y6LEmvMj
@wandapease-gi8yo
@wandapease-gi8yo 26 күн бұрын
My Chemistry/Physics teacher was stationed on Tinian and watched the Enola Gay loaded. The word on the base was that when she flew the war would end. He was an American of the Souix tribe, Mr. Iron hawk!
@JohnDorian-j7x
@JohnDorian-j7x 25 күн бұрын
What years was he your teacher?
@frankconnell7481
@frankconnell7481 23 күн бұрын
My uncle, T.F. Mc Mahon, was berthed next to the Indianapolis after delivering the bombs. He had been on 3 Destroyers, 1 sunk, 1 damaged both by u boats. The 3rd landed him in the Pacific Theater from Tinian ending in Tokyo Bay.He was lucky on the sinking, they were on Convoy duty.
@ljirish64
@ljirish64 17 күн бұрын
Listen to the song Able Baker Charlie And Dog by Joe Crookston. His grandpa was a See Bee there. The song is from the point of view of his grandpa.
@TheAmerican1963
@TheAmerican1963 26 күн бұрын
I am a former US Marine Grunt. In 1982 I went their with Combat Engineers to collapse some old Japanese bunkers. A group of us wandered around and found the "pits" but it was just pools of nasty water and truth be told we were not sure what the hell we were even looking at. Except for us younger folks, no one seemed to care about the place. I am over joyed that it is considered important historical structures. So much history. So many men were there. It is very emotional for me to see this. Thank you all for doing this !!!!!!!!! China or no China, the history remains ............. 🙂
@taproom113
@taproom113 26 күн бұрын
"Former" Marine ... ?!?! 🤔 Now on the 1 MC, Chesty Puller would like to have a word with you ... 🤣 ^v^
@TheAmerican1963
@TheAmerican1963 26 күн бұрын
@@taproom113 Yes ...,. "former" ....... never "ex" ...... Once, always ....... 0311
@BigE-wf6zo
@BigE-wf6zo 26 күн бұрын
I was there in '84. The airfields were overgrown. I knew we were on the old B29 runways. Nobody else knew or cared. We walked all around the place. We saw some old buildings, the bomb pits and and few other related items...not much to really look at. I think we we there for almost 3 weeks. No training conducted at the time. 0369 USMC ret
@jarrellbabb1344
@jarrellbabb1344 26 күн бұрын
Is Red Horse doing it.
@charlessanders7619
@charlessanders7619 26 күн бұрын
As an aircraft maintenance officer I went on numerous TDYs to Andersen AFB in the late ‘80s. C130 crews flew out of Andersen AFB to Tinian and back every day. I always wanted to take a hop with them but never got round to it. Been lamenting it ever since😢
@reallyhappenings5597
@reallyhappenings5597 26 күн бұрын
That old construction is probably highest quality
@MultiCappie
@MultiCappie 25 күн бұрын
Sortof. Like, highest quality paving necessary considering the weight of the aircraft of the time. Highest quality buildings considering the standards for personnel comfort of the time. The allied Seabees of WWII were the best of the best, but technology moves on.
@--Skip--
@--Skip-- 25 күн бұрын
They used what they had at hand. The asphalt binder was shipped in from the States.
@MrTmax74
@MrTmax74 25 күн бұрын
Right, before any government regulation on the amount of lime you can use, etc lol.
@MultiCappie
@MultiCappie 25 күн бұрын
@@MrTmax74 Hi Ivan.
@brunonikodemski2420
@brunonikodemski2420 23 күн бұрын
For sure better than the crappy pothole filled roads we have here in Colorado. We need the SeaBees her ASAP.
@brucebear1
@brucebear1 26 күн бұрын
My dad, an aircraft repair/rebuild logistics officer, worked on moving the XX Bomb Group (later 20th Air Force) from India to Tinian. The last aircraft to leave Kharagpur was scheduled to go to Clark Field in the Philippines and then on to Tinian. As they cleared airspace that was within striking range of Japanese fighters, they were redirected to Okinawa. That C-54 landed on Yontan airfield (captured from the Japanese on the day before) of the second day after the invasion of Japan. My father was on that aircraft. His new job -- work to complete Yontan into a useable airfield for B-29s and continue the building of a Japanese airfield that was part-completed 3 miles away at Kadena. (Kadena was on terrain with room to expand, Yontan was constrained by geography and could not be enlarged much.) After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, the aircraft "Bock's Car" was so low on fuel that they had to set an emergency landing at Yontan. My father was in charge of organizing the refueling of that aircraft, replacement of at least one exhaust stack that had been overheated by too lean a mixture, and other small repairs -- this was done under strict MP supervision, he didn't know what was happening until decades later, only that a B-29 had landed and was parked at the new remote parking area -- the one with the rectangular holes in the paved surface. So, my father was part of the 20th Air Force but he never served on Tinian. (In July, he was transferred to the 8th Air Force as it was being transferred from the UK/Europe to take part in the campaign to invade Japan.)
@sherwoodski
@sherwoodski 26 күн бұрын
I got to go to Tinian in 1991. I worked AGE at Yokota. We had a TDY to Guam to support a war game between the Seabees. My job was to hang back at Guam and support the C130's flying troops to Tinian. The C130's were doing ERO, but just in case a plane had to shut down and if the APU would not work we sent a Dash Sixty to Tinian. The crew chief's could not get the Dash Sixty to start at Tinian and they wanted to make sure it did. Troubleshooting over the radio was not effective so they flew me out to Tinian for a very memorable flight. As soon as I stepped off the plane and saw the Dash Sixty, I realized they had not opened up the exhaust door that has a micro switch that must be triggered for the unit to start. Oops, my bad. I got a fun flight in the C130 for it. Fun Flight: The weather was perfect South Seas blue skies and blue water. On the way we flew over Rota. Rota looked like a quaint 1800's colony with a ship wreck on one end. Landing at Tinian was interesting on a shortened barely cleared runway. On the return the air pilot decided fly back low level just for kicks and giggles. As we were approaching the runway at Anderson, the pilot approached just below the cliff level dropped the flaps, popped us up and buzzed the tower and flight line. It was then that I realized I was with the aircrew I that liked to think they were Top Gun Maverick.
@Von7
@Von7 26 күн бұрын
I only wish my dad who was stationed at Tinian could have seen this.
@blackbuttecruizr
@blackbuttecruizr 25 күн бұрын
My Dad as well, he was 2nd MarDiv and was part of the operation to take it.
@tomasmatus7756
@tomasmatus7756 25 күн бұрын
He would probably be sad seeing that 80 years on humanity is still struggling with its own behaviour.
@Enzie-r8k
@Enzie-r8k 23 күн бұрын
I wish my dad could see this.....I have the book he wrote about it....
@robertmartinez4174
@robertmartinez4174 26 күн бұрын
my late uncle Ricardo was stationed on The USS Indianapolis during that time. he survived the sinking and lived to be in his 70's
@NVRAMboi
@NVRAMboi 26 күн бұрын
BIG SALUTE. RIP to Captain Charles Butler McVay, III. His name and record now rightfully cleared.
@robertmartinez4174
@robertmartinez4174 26 күн бұрын
@@NVRAMboi the ship's captain was much loved by the guys in the crew.
@replynotificationsdisabled
@replynotificationsdisabled 24 күн бұрын
that had to be one of the most frightening experiences in history with all the sharks feeding. but yeah, that ship delivered the Bombs. for Enola Gay.
@allthingsharbor
@allthingsharbor 23 күн бұрын
When I hear the word "Tinian," my mind goes straight to that scene in the first Jaws movie.
@robertmartinez4174
@robertmartinez4174 23 күн бұрын
@@allthingsharbor when my uncle would start to tell the story of The Indianapolis, he would start off by asking, "have you ever seen the movie Jaws" ?
@samharper4289
@samharper4289 23 күн бұрын
I was a Civil Engineer over 30 years ago in the USAF. What a pleasure to restore this historic site! My hats off to you brother's! 😉👍
@upscaleshack
@upscaleshack 27 күн бұрын
I'm the grandson of a US Army Combat Engineer who spent time on Tinian and very likely helped construct this airbase. Cpl. Harry Prettyman, 34th Combat Engineer Battalion, US Army. The Seabees get a lot of recognition (well deserved) but Army engineers also did a lot of the work. At one point my grandfather worked under the command of Lt. Robert Ryan, a very well known Navy Seabee who had also served as an Army combat engineer prior to the war.
@raymorley8241
@raymorley8241 26 күн бұрын
I hope you will keep us updated on the progress of North Field.
@kurochi89
@kurochi89 7 күн бұрын
This build up on these islands is both fascinating and terrifying.
@ColonelJohnmatrix1000
@ColonelJohnmatrix1000 26 күн бұрын
This is a very crucial strategic asset for our operations. We need to develop land for future air operations in the SCS. My grandfather was deployed here in the B-29.
@Ahmat_Sila
@Ahmat_Sila 25 күн бұрын
To bully the whole region. The people are sick and tired of your military 🎉
@davidcox3076
@davidcox3076 18 күн бұрын
A strategically vital location way back then and now.
@joemartino6976
@joemartino6976 26 күн бұрын
All geopolitical considerations aside, I'm fascinated by the challenge of gathering all the materials necessary to build a functioning airfield, literally, in the middle of a vast ocean. That's got to be a cool story.
@NVRAMboi
@NVRAMboi 26 күн бұрын
We have a "How-To" manual for it.
@smctrout4423
@smctrout4423 19 күн бұрын
The airfield probably could not be built today because of environmental considerations. A lot of coral was crushed and used for paving on some of the Pacific Islands. The US would not crush coral now.
@trucker287
@trucker287 26 күн бұрын
I'm in the UK and about 7 years ago I went to visit a friend in the Philippines, while there I booked flights to visit a contact in Saipan, he arranged tripe to Tinian and Rota, so I was able to walk on the runways and see the bomb pits. Very interesting trip to a historical Island far from home.
@bobh9526
@bobh9526 26 күн бұрын
My Uncle was. propeller specialist on B-29's with the 40th Bomb Group, and he moved with his unit from India to Tinian in early 45 sometime. He wasn't a part of the Col. Tibbits unit, but his group was bombing daily over Japan. He wasn't flying, but it took a lot of people on the ground to keep those planes in the air.
@Inkling777
@Inkling777 27 күн бұрын
I knew someone who piloted B-29s out of Tinian. I asked him if he knew about the atomic bombers. He say "yes," that when the planes landed they were immediately surrounded by troops with Thompson machine guns. He knew something special was happening.
@glennrishton5679
@glennrishton5679 26 күн бұрын
Similar to my experience in the 1970s . The ship I was on could carry nuclear warheads for Talos missiles. When we loaded missiles at Seal Beach CA most missiles would come several on a flatbed truck. Then there would be one missile on a truck with Marines surrounding it.
@brittmrmanly4982
@brittmrmanly4982 25 күн бұрын
I'm an Airforce Brat and grew up on Strategic Air Command bases. Back in the early 1970's, there were always B52's on the flightline with nukes onboard. They were easy to spot because of they were guarded by troops with M16s. The other B52's weren't guarded at all.
@Richard-e5m
@Richard-e5m 14 күн бұрын
@@brittmrmanly4982 My father hated SAC and LeMay. The only way out was to take a bus to Ashville, NC from Hunter to re-enlist there. After re-enlistment, he was mostly on ADC bases in the states until we came back from Germany the second time. He retired from Lackland, and then started kicking himself for retiring.
@OsaPratama
@OsaPratama 26 күн бұрын
It seems that the Indonesian army was also asked to visit Tinian Island to check out the restoration of Tinian Air Force Base. This base held the Atomic Bomb that was destined for Japan, making a huge impact in WWII. Indonesia was one of the countries that benefited from Japan's surrender. Turns out Tinian Air Base played a role in Indonesian independence too.
@harryricochet8134
@harryricochet8134 25 күн бұрын
Indonesia was a Japanese ally in WW2, read some history.
@aloisius4188
@aloisius4188 24 күн бұрын
"the Atomic Bomb that was destined for Japan, making a huge impact" Was that a clever line or an intentional pun?
@OsaPratama
@OsaPratama 24 күн бұрын
@@harryricochet8134 please tell me how Indonesia was a Japanese Ally in WW2... I really want to hear it from you..
@OsaPratama
@OsaPratama 24 күн бұрын
@@aloisius4188 that was unintentional 😄
@harryricochet8134
@harryricochet8134 23 күн бұрын
@@OsaPratama The Japanese occupation was initially greeted with great enthusiasm by Indonesians who came to meet the Japanese army waving Japanese flags and shouting support such as "Japan is our older brother" and "banzai Dai Nippon". As the Japanese advanced, Indonesians in virtually every part of the archipelago killed groups of Europeans (particularly the Dutch) and informed the Japanese about the whereabouts of larger groups. The naive Indonesians picked the wrong side as the Japanese treated them as slaves. Enjoy reading that history lol
@leesorensen3077
@leesorensen3077 26 күн бұрын
My dad was one of the engineers that developed the lift to raise the bombs from the pit, into the aircraft.
@IM-lr6vz
@IM-lr6vz 26 күн бұрын
M1 bomb lift
@robertharper3754
@robertharper3754 27 күн бұрын
Well it was about damn time! This has been talked about in many circles for ages and it's nice to see that it is finally getting done!
@timmotel5804
@timmotel5804 26 күн бұрын
Yes. Finally. After decades of playing kissy-kissy with worthless "treaties", America may have actually come awake to it's long standing vulnerabilities. "When we build, they build. When we stop building, they Keep building". Cold War Saying/Reality. I was 27th CES at Cannon AFB when we had F111s & Vietnam.
@willowsloughdx
@willowsloughdx 23 күн бұрын
Thank the Biden administration for that.
@morganmarty
@morganmarty 27 күн бұрын
Well done guys, you are doing a great job.
@BulletproofPastor
@BulletproofPastor 27 күн бұрын
I've seen those air fields back in the mid 70's. Even overgrown, the history rises from the ground.
@gregsutton2400
@gregsutton2400 26 күн бұрын
Aside from what a great idea this is. Congrats on a great film about it.
@EstorilEm
@EstorilEm 26 күн бұрын
Man, I'd do anything to visit that place. The Enola Gay lives a few minutes from me at the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum - strange to think that the same exact plane once sat over top of that exact bomb pit the day of the single mist historic moment in military history. I've always wondered why these airfields were mostly abandoned beyond some wildlife offices and funding... the same strategic advantages they offered in WWII still apply today, albeit for a different adversary.
@jimhagberg6798
@jimhagberg6798 26 күн бұрын
My Dad was one of the Marines who fought for Tinian & Saipan; as well as other islands in the Pacific. He had nightmares until the day he died. He would be incredibly proud that the islands that were taken at such high human price are being used in a currently strategic manner.
@robertmorey4104
@robertmorey4104 26 күн бұрын
Awesome! As a former Dirt Boy combat engineer I say Huuah! Our Ww2 vets fought and died to liberate those islands so heck yeah re-use em!
@kimberlycorliss9616
@kimberlycorliss9616 26 күн бұрын
The comments by people who had family stationed there are really interesting. Thank you for sharing their stories. ❤
@QED_
@QED_ 25 күн бұрын
Yes, it's very evocative, isn't it (?) Hearing personal stories about other times and places -- especially if they are isolated or forgotten times and places -- can elicit altered states of awareness . . .
@TropicTrdr
@TropicTrdr 26 күн бұрын
I flew over this island in the 1970's and you could barely make out the runways. It's interesting to see this.
@alanwolbert1491
@alanwolbert1491 20 күн бұрын
My great uncle Eugene Wolbert was a Marine killed in action taking the island of Tinian. This makes me so happy that there is new interest in restoring and reusing the airfields on Tinian. I've been to the USAF museum in Dayton Ohio twice now and put my hand on B29 Bockscar knowing that my great uncle gave his life so that airplane could complete it's mission and bring an end to WW2.
@--Skip--
@--Skip-- 25 күн бұрын
My grandfather was part of the tean that cleared and built Tinian. The wire you see poking ou of the asphalt is a type of chainlonk fencing. When ground is soft for landing on sand or dirt, my grandfather told us that they would run this type of fencing and planes could land. See the coral embedded in the asphalt? They used it as rock for the tarmac. He was in the Army Air Corps, not SeeBees. He said they were so short-handed, they maintained the aircraft (all kinds) and cleared jungle brush to build airstrips. This is about the only thing he told us about the war because he was traumatized by his service in the Pacific. When my daughter graduated from the USAFA, he slowly opened up about some combat aspects of the war. It was gruesome. Kamakazi pilots hitting the ship you are on, picking up the pieces of Marines on Okinawa, rescuing American & British POW's, even catching Japanese soilders as they raided the mess hall trash when they were left behind to defend the island to the end.
@mikeknowles8017
@mikeknowles8017 21 күн бұрын
To be a young Air Force Engineer out there in the middle of the Pacific restoring Tinian sounds like a rugged assignment but at the same time a real adventure to tell your grandkids about.
@lewistasso8866
@lewistasso8866 27 күн бұрын
RED HORSE and Seabees can do and they will be successful. I always wondered about that island since I learned about it from the movie "Jaws." Quint was a sailor on the USS Indianapolis and was one of the survivors that delivered "the bomb."
@fjb4932
@fjb4932 26 күн бұрын
lewistasso, I can categorically ( and unsarcastically ) say you probably know more than the average college kid ( faint praise at best, i Know ), most of whom if asked to find New Mexico would look on a map of Mexico... ☆
@harryricochet8134
@harryricochet8134 24 күн бұрын
@@fjb4932 Yeah, but they can name all 267 'genders' and know all about wacism.
@MarkMayfield-d5k
@MarkMayfield-d5k 24 күн бұрын
I would love to go back to Tinian. I haven't been there since 1992 when I was stationed on Guam. Now, as a retired Seabee, hire some of us old dirt pushers to get it done. I'll island hop like the old guys back in the day.
@berteisenbraun7415
@berteisenbraun7415 27 күн бұрын
You can just see the War sabers rattling.War is coming in the Pacific.
@ChaplainBobWalkerBTh
@ChaplainBobWalkerBTh 27 күн бұрын
the enemy finances all sides
@bigd7780
@bigd7780 27 күн бұрын
Yep, the usual suspects. Those who call themselves G€₩$ but are not.
@aquila3958
@aquila3958 27 күн бұрын
Yes thanks to China, China is the aggressor and the last time we tried appeasement it led to the the Second World War, this will not happen again
@RickStaples-l1s
@RickStaples-l1s 27 күн бұрын
Rothschild family is always involved 😊​@@ChaplainBobWalkerBTh
@RickStaples-l1s
@RickStaples-l1s 27 күн бұрын
​@@ChaplainBobWalkerBThrothschild family is always involved
@chrismulligan6987
@chrismulligan6987 27 күн бұрын
I'm glad to see the work they've done on Tinian now. I was stationed in Guam (c.1983-84; c.1987-90; c.1994-96); I visited Tinian in 1996; then, as yet, nothing had been done; even the pits; it was a mess.
@NVRAMboi
@NVRAMboi 26 күн бұрын
The video didn't point out that Guam was a US Territory until the IJN attacked and invaded there among all of the other assaults.
@Jon-c7p
@Jon-c7p 24 күн бұрын
Great work USAF/USN team! Thanks for your sacrifice and commitment. America appreciates YOU.
@silverforkfarms7442
@silverforkfarms7442 26 күн бұрын
My dad was stationed on Tinion for a while. God bless our veterans !!
@JIMDEZWAV
@JIMDEZWAV 27 күн бұрын
Outstanding , Australia is with you all the way 👍👍
@davidjose9808
@davidjose9808 25 күн бұрын
The Aussies and Kiwis held pivotal roles in the fight for freedom…and are maintaining that noble mission into the future. Greetings Mates…from Texas
@JIMDEZWAV
@JIMDEZWAV 25 күн бұрын
@@davidjose9808 Outstanding mate 🍻🍻🍻🍻
@RobertEHunt-dv9sq
@RobertEHunt-dv9sq 27 күн бұрын
Fantastic video. Thanks for posting. The Seabees are smiling down on you. Hoo-rah. Cheers from Texas.
@OmegaNet-mj4sm
@OmegaNet-mj4sm 17 күн бұрын
Finally I have always been apposed to the loss of our bases post-WWII
@davidkimmel5153
@davidkimmel5153 17 күн бұрын
Thanks for sharing
@johnpetry5321
@johnpetry5321 20 күн бұрын
Back in the 1970s I lived and worked on Saipan. San Jose, Tinian was famous for its annual fiesta. There was a group of us who would go every year, paying deck passage on one of the tuna boats. We would take our bicycles and camp out. We would often ride down to the old airfield and other parts of the island. The bomb pits were a regular stop and they were not protected in any fashion then. Somewhere around here is a photo of me standing in one. In 1980, I went to Japan with a couple friends and one of the places we visited was Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was a bit eerie to stand at the starting and ending points of one of the pivotal moments in world history.
@michaelgabriel7919
@michaelgabriel7919 27 күн бұрын
"This is every Dirt Boy's dream." You can say that again. I'm not a Dirt Boy... but working on a project like this would be EXTREMELY satisfying to me. I LOVE history (and heavy equipment)... and knowing that all the work is going to go to restoring this field... is AMAZING. Good luck to all involved.
@milanpavlak867
@milanpavlak867 26 күн бұрын
NICIT PRIRODU TO VAM IDE AKO AJ VSETKO COHO SA CHYTITE HAVED AMERICKA
@mrfilamfishing
@mrfilamfishing 26 күн бұрын
They restored bases in the Philippine Islands as well. Tinian will be a massive base once it's done.
@kpolenz9772
@kpolenz9772 27 күн бұрын
Seabees built it, Seabees should be the main ones rebuilding it. Says this ex-Seabee.
@barrygrant2907
@barrygrant2907 27 күн бұрын
Having had experience with Red Horse, they'll get the job done.
@goodday126
@goodday126 27 күн бұрын
The Mitsubishi is ironic. They hit all of the woke virtue signaling teamwork targets.
@upscaleshack
@upscaleshack 27 күн бұрын
Don't forget Army Combat Engineers. My grandfather was with the 34th Combat Engineer Battalion and was on Tinian with a bulldozer. I have photographic evidence.
@DJRonnieG
@DJRonnieG 26 күн бұрын
​@goodday126 hey, the Japs are our friends and they are anything but woke. Japan took it on the chin with those two nukes, and the result sure beats having them under the thumb or Soviet control.
@lisagrignon5365
@lisagrignon5365 25 күн бұрын
@@kpolenz9772 agreed by another SEABEE that did combat training on Tinian in 86!🍻✊🏼🤟🏼😇🫡🇺🇸
@NVRAMboi
@NVRAMboi 26 күн бұрын
Even Peleliu. They're not kidding.
@Sanford4-ws9sc
@Sanford4-ws9sc 26 күн бұрын
The island was a training area for us on deployment in 1988. I was with Charlie-1/1 on a C-130 from Okinawa conducting airstrip seizure while the rest of 1/1 land from the water. Good times.
@PhilipDarragh
@PhilipDarragh 27 күн бұрын
As an AF vet, this is a great vid! ❤ it.
@joenop3393
@joenop3393 27 күн бұрын
As an Air Force Veteran (1985-2005) I would love to walk on the same grounds as those Airmen before me!!
@AFITgrad86
@AFITgrad86 26 күн бұрын
If you want to see another of the bomb pits used to load the B-29's without traveling to Tinian ... there's one at Wendover Utah. Oh .. by the way there is also a launch rail on the south side of the field that was used to test fire captured German V1 Buzzbombs.
@alaingadbois2276
@alaingadbois2276 26 күн бұрын
The V-1 was copied and built in the US, called the Loon.
@albertringshauser5805
@albertringshauser5805 17 күн бұрын
My father was stationed on Tinian. He said that he arrived shortly after the first atomic bomb was dropped.
@markbooth1117
@markbooth1117 27 күн бұрын
Nice, an historic airfield being put back to use. It has a significant past history. However, the present reason for rehabilitation isn't its history, it is towards the future and the current threats in that area and the impact a forward base has, basically the same reasons it was built in the first place in 1944/5 to project power forwards, but the potential enemy has changed, but that area of ocean is exactly the same as 80 years ago.
@Ltngstrike
@Ltngstrike 26 күн бұрын
Great to see Charging Charlie on a red cap again! Penny short alumni here.
@phil20_20
@phil20_20 26 күн бұрын
Dad worked om the bomb. Mom worked on the planes. It's a family affair! We need this, big time! I hope they have an evacuation plan though. This will become a prime target just like Guam.
@gfodale
@gfodale 26 күн бұрын
Good to see a few folks are actually paying attention and doing something about it. Well done!
@willowsloughdx
@willowsloughdx 24 күн бұрын
Biden may stumble a lot but his administration is on the ball. Trump couldn't have cared less.
@anthonyhowe1419
@anthonyhowe1419 26 күн бұрын
Cool. Was there in early 80's for about a month with BLT 3/2. We came in by LST (the Tomlinson I think). All the old Japanese barracks were still intact.
@Lex1uth3r
@Lex1uth3r 26 күн бұрын
Seabee's are the most badass construction workers in the world. Had the pleasure of working with some decades ago and will never forget how versatile and talented they are. Cool that Tinian is finally getting restored, was sad to see such a historically significant place get all but forgotten, even though the reasons for its restoration aren't ones any of us wish to experience.
@brushylake4606
@brushylake4606 23 күн бұрын
As a U.S. Army veteran, I want to correct the record. Tinian was never a U.S. Air Force Base. It was the U.S. Army Air Corps that operated Tinian. Having said that, great video, we're proud of you great men and women!
@keithstudly6071
@keithstudly6071 19 күн бұрын
You noticed that? Air Force tends to forget they were a part of the Army till 1948. The facility at Tinian was built by SeaBees, Navy and Marines. What they are doing now is likely a test to see if the Air Force is capable of taking on projects of this scale in remote locations just in case.... Navy joke, what is the first thing the Air Force plans when they start a new base? The golf course! (Told to me by a retired naval aviator)
@barrygrant2907
@barrygrant2907 15 күн бұрын
And I will correct your record. It was an Army Air "Force" base. The Air "Corp" effectively dissolved in June 1941, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. All WWII aerial forces were AAF after that.
@keithstudly6071
@keithstudly6071 14 күн бұрын
@@barrygrant2907 Sounds good to me.
@harryschaefer8563
@harryschaefer8563 25 күн бұрын
My dad was one of the SeaBees who built these runways. He said that they dynamited the coral reefs, scooped up the debris, rolled it out onto the runways and then watered them with seawater, keeping the coral alive for a while so it sort of "knitted" itself back together, making for a more solid runway. He once traveled with a group from his unit back to Tinian to place a memorial plaque there. He said the runways were still in great shape.
@fastwheels195
@fastwheels195 16 күн бұрын
Saw something on the WSJ page and it got my attention. I'm a former Fire Dawg with the 8th CES and pay a lot of attention to what's going on in PACAF. This was an amazing job y'all. You should be very proud of the work done. I truly hope we don't need to use these airfields but am glad the Pink Pony is working hard to make them viable once again.
@arizseabee
@arizseabee 27 күн бұрын
The ‘Pink Ponies’ are helping U S Navy SEABEES to restore/renovate North Field. On of the Pink Pony leader said they help build the field during WWII but North Field was closed before the USAF was even established. 100,000 SEABEES built North Field during the war.
@fredditt9902
@fredditt9902 26 күн бұрын
Yeah I heard that "100,000" number, don't think so! maybe 3-4 thousand!
@joespeed1952
@joespeed1952 27 күн бұрын
Now this, is epic.
@michaelwood9766
@michaelwood9766 26 күн бұрын
Landed there in 1964. Took Bicycles from NAS Agana to an orphanage on Tinian. Knocked the leaves off of trees alongside the runway. Good experience. The kids took turns riding those bikes. No fussing no complaints. Nice place, nice people.
@Paladin1873
@Paladin1873 26 күн бұрын
FACT CHECKING: The number of Navy Seabees who built the airfields on Tinian was about 15,000, not 100,000. The first USAF RED HORSE squadrons were created in 1966 to support the Vietnam War.
@mmouseav8r402
@mmouseav8r402 26 күн бұрын
Awesome, my great uncle was a B-29 navigator with the 73rd Bomb Wing on Saipan.
@stephenskinner4857
@stephenskinner4857 24 күн бұрын
My father was part of this WW2 activity as being stationed on Guam to support the group that created all the mapping for bombing and land invasions in the Pacific theater thru the Army cartographic intelligence group or known as Corp of Engineers Military Intelligence Division of the Army Map Service. Coincidentally I was also stationed on Guam during the Vietnam Conflict that was supporting the bombing out of Anderson Airforce base. This area is considered the air staging base for reach to Asia.
@RobbHooper
@RobbHooper 16 күн бұрын
Visited Tinian Island quite a few years ago, saw the pits as they used to be (uncovered) and actually drove down the strip where Ebola Gay took off. We were staying on Saipan
@bradisbell
@bradisbell 25 күн бұрын
There's a huge emphasis that this is a "restoration" not a "build up". Everything put in this video is so carefully phrased... and yet, it's obvious what's going on.
@dalehannon4922
@dalehannon4922 24 күн бұрын
Atta boy guys to see and hear this piece of history being revitalized wow !! I was once in a cival engineering squadron Prime Beef unit based out of McChord AFB. To see many different cammand units working together is a great thing!! Thanks guys.
@dzjobak9302
@dzjobak9302 27 күн бұрын
History likes to repeat itself.
@LD-Orbs
@LD-Orbs 27 күн бұрын
"Aggressive authoritarian Asian empires."
@koori3085
@koori3085 25 күн бұрын
My uncle was Red Horse in Nam, hope you guys know the honor and lineage you are a part of! Good speed!
@johnalden4605
@johnalden4605 26 күн бұрын
I was a Sea Bee heavy equipment operator in Viet Nam and would love to have been involved in the restoration you are doing!
@SnowTiger45
@SnowTiger45 25 күн бұрын
Well it certainly makes more sense than Space Force !
@Erik-rp1hi
@Erik-rp1hi 26 күн бұрын
I've got Tinian pinned on my Google earth. Hopefully I can see a new image with all the improvements soon.
@P-61B_Black_Widow
@P-61B_Black_Widow 19 күн бұрын
I agree yes it’s an historic airfield, but that’s not why they’re going to repair and rehab the island airstrips
@PeaceLoveandMolotovs
@PeaceLoveandMolotovs 25 күн бұрын
I love the appreciation to history and restoring this beautiful runway on an island with 200 inhabitants, for purely historical purposes
@Phil-y8c
@Phil-y8c 27 күн бұрын
I wish that Red Horse, SeaBees and Army Corp of Engineers would take over the I-30 rehab-construction here in Arkansas. Damn it's taking too long!
@barrygrant2907
@barrygrant2907 26 күн бұрын
All road projects have become retirement projects.
@LWJCarroll
@LWJCarroll 21 күн бұрын
I hope it is used as a civilian peace type airfield. Having lived in Honiara and used Henderson Field and the grass fighter strip at Kukum Beach in the late 1960’s. Laurie NZ. 😊
@billakers6082
@billakers6082 27 күн бұрын
My dad was stationed there when the Enola Gay launched.
@bountyflyer
@bountyflyer 26 күн бұрын
As my first pilot job I used to fly a Cherokee Six between Titian and Saipan. I flew my RC planes off of this field as well. These runways were in bad shape on the surface but really just needed some work on the top. Structurally looked sound to me. There is a very long runway for the new airport what was originally the Japanese field but got extended when I was there so the Chinese tour planes could land. Since there were no instrument approaches into that runway they always landed on Saipan. China Southern weren’t allowed to do visual or ADF approaches with their 757s. I flew the crew and the high rollers in and out of Tinian where the hotel was. The Chinese tourism minister came one day to approve the location for Chinese tourists, I flew him too. So as Gen Tibbets the tail gunner and the navigator of Enola Gay when they came to visit the field. The bomb pits were covered with dirt up to that point and 2 palm trees were planted there. Now they have pictures and a cover on top. Apparently when they dug it up there were tons of relics what the soldiers throw in when the war was over. Supposedly there was a film in there what showed the test bomb explode but they couldn’t play it since it was a different film then what they had a player for. Wonder what happened to that rail now. Whatever the Japanese built, those buildings are still standing…. Only the roads and runways remained from the US times…
@stevegibbs9695
@stevegibbs9695 27 күн бұрын
Thank you, for breathing life in something old instead of just destroying it for something new.... For we as a country may need to put into service again....
@simonolsen9995
@simonolsen9995 27 күн бұрын
Enola Gay, the kiss you gave is never gonna fade away. Here we go again.
@phil20_20
@phil20_20 26 күн бұрын
Kiss? 🤪
@praisehim9463
@praisehim9463 25 күн бұрын
My dad was a ground engineer for the B-29s on Tinian. I have the B-29 slide rule he used. He was assigned to the 444th bomb group.
@4edward61
@4edward61 25 күн бұрын
This is VERY cool to see. I have a long description of my brief time there in 1988 while on a WestPac with HML(A)-169 (a component of HMM-164(C)). To keep it "simple," we flew up from Guam in a CH-53E aling with 2 AH-1W Cobras (their 1st WestPac) so we could run a remote mission for practice (refueling, loading, arming, firing, safing, then flying back). While wrapping the mission, the '53 went down in the chocks when a bearing seal broke, and we had to stay in place overnight. So, my crew chief friend and I investigated the beach, after bushwacking through the dense brush. An axle and a couple other truck/vehicle parts could be seen in the water - couldn't get to them. Then we "toured" the two story command building, the bomb bunkers, and the atomic bomb loading areas. Overall, a fantastic place to be "stuck" enabling us to take in the history of the north Tinian airfields. Great memories for this old Marine. I'd love to visit, again!
@ryanb974
@ryanb974 26 күн бұрын
My Grandpa, V.C. Willlson a SeaBee was one of the 100,000 that helped build those runways.
@roypaulcarter4654
@roypaulcarter4654 26 күн бұрын
You guys at time frame 6:47 shooting from the prone need to keep your heels down so they don’t get shot up. 😅😮God bless love what you are doing out there. The people on that island need the work don’t forget them.
@ronaldszarek9079
@ronaldszarek9079 27 күн бұрын
Cool, maybe they will have Jet-A available 🤣.. hated our 757 sitting there with tinkered fuel from Guam..I nervously watched the fuel on that trip back to Guam.
@TheStr5010
@TheStr5010 20 күн бұрын
I'm glad North Field is being rejuvenated even if the reason is a threatening one. Thank you for bringing it back.
@bernardinocabero9921
@bernardinocabero9921 25 күн бұрын
No one can tell what will happen tomorrow,from the beginning there one things for sure history repeats itself 👍
@williamnelson9332
@williamnelson9332 27 күн бұрын
This is a great military decision ❤
@motorbikemuso
@motorbikemuso 9 күн бұрын
As a Brit, born ten years after the atomic bombs were dropped in Feb 1945, I grew up with the Second World War in a good two thirds of all the childhood books, TV and comics, etc. that were everywhere at the time. (The rest were about cowboys and Indians.) It wasn't until well into adulthood that I became aware, through the internet, that the war actually continued in the Pacific, after the defeat of the Axis powers in Europe. I'm an aviation retentive and it was through reading about the American fears of a Japanese invasion on the US West coast that I discovered the hellish conflict in the Aleutian Islands, that started me on a hobby of Google Maps research into former 2nd WW airfields throughout the Pacific. My fascination, I slowly realised, was only fed by the total silence of my parents' and grandparents' generations, who only wanted to forget the horror and look forward. It's the 11th of November as I write and I give thanks for the life of peace that the Allies gave us. My 98 year old D day veteren father out law died a year ago and he said that he was worried because the world was becoming the same as it was in the 1930s, with the rise of the Far Right. Thanks for a very interesting video.
@davidg3944
@davidg3944 26 күн бұрын
Sobering to be back at Tinian. I hope it never has to serve as a fighting base, but if it does I am sure it will serve as well as it did in WW2.
@goldviper5280
@goldviper5280 16 күн бұрын
Awesome project, it also is in close proximity to China.
@DickLancaster
@DickLancaster 24 күн бұрын
I was on Tinian with a small contingent of Marines in 1976. The island was still hot with unexploded ordinance. Only a quarter of the island was cleared at that time. Shipwrecks, rusted tank hulks and pillboxes with bones still visible inside were everywhere. The lush greenery on the way up toward the caves in the cliffs was deceptive. What looked like a carpet of thick, ground-hugging vegetation was actually a cover for long-dead coral husks so sharp they left gouges in our boots. Standing on the north point looking over the channel to Saipan was a beautiful contrast to the surreal reality of the dark realization that we were standing in front of that pillbox that was sealed as a grave for its unfortunate occupants.
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