Save from the residents of Guiuan, a town situated in the southern tip of the province of Eastern Samar, very few are aware of the existence of a former United States Naval Base and Airfield Complex in this municipality. Of these very few, much lesser have the knowledge of the significant role these naval installations played in the World War II Pacific Theatre.
    It is estimated that several million dollars were poured into these various war structures which were used by the Allied Forces in World War II as their main storage area for the war supplies and equipment coming from the U.S. mainland. This, in turn, supplied the needs of the Liberation Forces of the Philippines Archipelago and of the combined air-assault forces which simultaneously softened the Japanese home-defense stronghold until the end of the Pacific War in September 1945. Indeed, the residents of Guiuan and Eastern Samar have remained unaware of a hidden historical treasure waiting to be unearthed in their midst.
    Almost nothing has been written in the war history books regarding this U.S. Naval Base in Guiuan, which included military installation extending up to the neighboring islands of Calicoan, Tubabao, Manicani, Homonhon and Sulu-an. Why is there a scarcity of account by war historians regarding the Guiuan Naval Installation? Why is there no mentioned of its use as a launching pad for the Allied Forces' Philippine Campaign and simultaneously constant bombing mission to Japan? There could only be one answer. It was a "classified" information then, which has remained "classified" until now.
    In the course of preparing the provincial development plan of Eastern Samar, a list of do-able projects included the development of various historical sites which can serve as tourist destinations. Aside from the town of Balangiga which is famous for the historical event called the "Balangiga Massacre" or "Balangiga Encounter," as some would prefer to call it, the town of Guiuan is possible tourist drawer due to the presence of already recognized historical sites, among which is the scenic island of Homonhon where Ferdinand Magellan first landed in 1521 en route to discovering the Philippines.
    During the deliberation of the Provincial Development Council, a project was proposed by the incumbent Governor Ruperto A. Ambil, Jr. a retired three-star Army General, to establish what will be the first War Memorial Complex in the Philippines, here in Eastern Samar specifically in the town of Guiuan, at the very site where the U.S. Naval Supply once stood. This suggestion steadily gained support both from the government and private sector due to its potential to draw tourists to the province, specially among war veterans and their families. Thus, this project.

    This project will henceforth be referred to as "The Guiuan War Memorial Complex".

    An institution will be established as the project's proponent and it will be called the "The Guiuan War Memorial Foundation". It will serve as one of the private sectors' entity which will get involved in the tourism development of the province.

    Development of tourism sites which will attract both domestic and international tourist groups is one of the many strategies proven effective in the economic development of any province due to its potential in income and employment generation.
    Every year, the province of leyte experiences these benefits of tourist influx during the Leyte Landing Commemoration. It is hightime that this annual event in Leyte becomes an opportunity to open Guiuan as an extension route of these tourist packages. Moreover, tourist visits and "sentimental journeys" of war veterans and their families need not be limited once a year to the Leyte Landing Commemoration event. These "sentimental journeys" and tourist packages may be schedule all year round.
    Certainly, the largest known Naval Base in the Far East during WWII deserves attention in our tourism development program. Time has come to "declassify" this information and bring to the limelight the very important roles which the U.S. Navy 3149 Base and the Guiuan World War II Operating Base played both in the liberation efforts of the Allied Forces and in the U.S. Fifth Airforce Command's participation in the strategic bombing missions and constant air-assault against the Japanese home defense stronghold. The establishment of the "Guiuan War Memorial Complex" will not only boost the economy of Eastern Samar but also significantly enhance its recognation both locally and internationally. At the very least, it shall have contributed to the historical wealth of the province and of the country in the eyes of the world.

      A.) General Description

    The project will go through several phases towards its completion. The first phase will involve extensive work and data gathering. The end-results of phase I will provide the necessary inputs to the second phase which will involve structural planning and design to come up with a master development plan. The third phase will involve project implementation and the fourth will center mainly on the project's operation and promotion.

      B.) Specific Description

        1. Initial Research

    As soon as the project gained the nod of both government and private sector, a task force was commisioned by the Governor to do preparatory work in preparation for this project's formal launching.
    The commissioned team engaged in serious research work as early as May 1999 with the objective of finding anything written about the U.S. Naval 3149 Base and the Guiuan World War II Operating Base. We visited various libraries in Samar, Leyte and Manila to look for books about the Pacific War. We interviewed old residents near the naval base and operating base; we interviewed guerilla veterans of WWII still living in the vicinity of Eastern Samar especially those who operated their guirilla units in the southern area where these bases were located. We contacted the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Defense Attache, the American care-taker of the Manila U.S. Cemetery and Memorial at Fort Bonifacio in Makati, all in the hope of getting assistance and have the access to the war records containing the classified information on these naval installations in Guiuan. Richard Jones of the Manila U.S. Cemetery and Memorial gave us a list of the Special Construction Batallions assigned in the Pacific during WWII. Five (5) of these special batallions were assigned in Guiuan, according to the record we got. The next big break came as surprise when the team came across xerox copies of some loose pages taken from a war journal of one of the Construction Batallions assigned in the area, courtesy of Mr. Johnny Badocdoc of the Guiuan department of local government office. These pages contained a brief account of how the 61st and 91st U.S. Naval Construction Batallion participated in the construction of the Guiuan Airfield and Naval Base. As of this writing, research is continuing with much the help of the U.S. Embassy as a conduit to the various American War Record safe Keepers. Hopefully, all our queries will be answered by the proper U.S. Military and Naval authorities through the pertinent records we believe are still preserved up to this time.

        2. Initial Suggestions

    As the construction and engineering plans of this project have yet to be executed and find print, we can only mention here the wealth of ideas and suggestions we have received. Definitely, in one way or another these ideas and suggestions will find their place in the construction plan.
This early, among the suggested ideas are as follows.

          a) An Administration Building

          b) A Separate Building housing the Historical Museum to contain various war memorablia of the different periods in the Philippine History specially of the Filipino-Spanish war of World War II and other historical battles fought in the province of Eastern Samar covering the period as far as early as Magellan's landing in Homonhon.

          c) Open Areas to cntain landscaped replica or scale models of the following:

              1) Guiuan World War II Operating Base complete with scale models of squadrons of fighter planes and heavy bombers of WW II vintage.

              2) The Naval 3149 Base at the Pacific Ocean side of Barangay Ngolos, Calicoan Island complete with sorting and transit shed, warehouses and administration building.

              3) The Naval Port at the Leyte Gulf side of Barangay Ngolos, Calicoan Island complete with scale models of cargo vessels, warships and submarines and stevedoring batallion buildings.

              4) The Major Destroyer Repair Base and Ship Repair Unit on ManicaniIsland complete with wharves, berths for several floating drydocks, shops and utilities.

              5) The Tubabao Island Receiving Station complete with qounset huts capable to house 10,000 men and the 515-foot bridge connecting the tiny island with Guiuan poblacion.

              6) The U.S. Navy's largest Motor Torpedo Boat Base at Salcedo, north of Guiuan complete with all the necessary facilities for the overhaul and repair of PT boats.

              7) The 3,000 bed fleet hospital 5 miles north of Guiuan.

              8) The Port Kennedy in Mercedes complete with the replica of the PT-109 of Capt. John F. Kennedy of the U.S. Navy.

              9) The Tank Farm at Bulusao, Lawaan where the Allied Forces got their potable water supply thru the nineteen (19) tanks they erected by August 1945.

              10) U.S. Forces' various detachment areas of the neighboring towns and islands.

          d) A mural depicting the events which led to the liberation of various islands of the Philippine Archipelago with reference to the construction and operation of the Naval 3149 Base and the Guiuan World War II Operating Base, complete with illustration maps, dates and narration of events.

          e) A Covered Chapel where multi-religious services could be held and where the visiting relatives of veterans can pray for the souls of their departed. Names of departed veterans may be inscribed on marble slabs or wall of this chapels.

    It is expected that the project will receive initial funding from various national andinternational agencies interested in preserving historical sites. From the Philippine Governmentfunding assistance is expected from the Department of Tourism, the Philippine Tourism Authority,the Philippine Veteran's Association, the Philippine Veteran's Bank, the Philippine Amusement and Games Corporation (PAGCOR), the Chairmen of the Committees on Tourism both of the Lower and Upper House of Congress, the Provincial Government of Eastern Samar and the Municipal Government of Guiuan.
    From abroad, funding assistance is expected from the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. War MemorialDepartment, the Australian Embassy, the New Zealand Embassy and the British Embassy, and even the Japanese Embassy.
    The "Guiuan War Memorial Foundation" will have to see to the suffecient funding for the projects' construction, operation and maintenance.

    October 20,1999 is the target date for the groundbreaking ceremony of this project, to coincide with influx of tourist for the Leyte landing Commemoration.
The "Guiuan War Memorial Foundation" is expected to be formally registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission by end of August 1999.
    The complete Feasibility Study of the project is expected to be submitted by end of November 1999, together with its Master Development Plan. Site Preparation is expected to start before the end of December 1999 in time for the start of construction within the first quarter of next year, 2000.

    The "Guiuan War Memorial Complex" will not prosper without the necessary infrastructural support facilities such as roads, power and water supply. In Guiuan these are now being put in place. Support facilities such as hotels, resorts and restaurants for a great number of tourists that will also be needed. Fortunately, the province has received proposals from sufficient number of investor/developers to supply these requirements.
    A lot of excitement is in the air and it seems that year 2000 will usher-in the realization of the adage "In Eastern Samar, Where the Sun Rises Early".