1945 Harmon and Damp WWII Booklet of Tinian Island, Marianas w/ 2 Maps

This is an August 1945 typewritten booklet by Lloyd V. Harmon and Charles T. Damp, two U.S. Army chaplains stationed on Tinian with the 303rd General Hospital. The booklet, created for U.S. personnel stationed on the island, was commissioned by the U.S. commander on Tinian and took Harmon and Damp approximately 6 weeks to complete. It contains a history short history of the island before the war as well as information concerning the Battle of Tinian and the subsequent construction.

The Maps

Two foldout maps are included in Let Us Visit Tinian. The first is a map of Tinian before the war, illustrating the island's roads, railroads, and towns. Hospitals, docks, shrines, and Buddhist churches are identified as well. The second map focuses on Tinian after the 'Conquest'. Both the North and West airfields are illustrated, as are the American Memorial and American Cemetery. The Nav Seebees that constructed the base realized that the island bears a slight resemblance to Manhattan Island in New York, so they decided to name the streets after major New York City thoroughfares: Broadway, Riverside Drive, the Boston Post Road, and Canal Street. They even created something of a grid, as in Manhattan.

Let Us Visit Tinian

Let Us Visit Tinian, the booklet by Major Lloyd V. Harmon and Captain Charles T. Damp of the 303rd General Hospital, contains an introduction, 16 pages of typewritten text, and 2 folding maps. The text provides a history of Tinian, including information about the island, invasion, and occupation. The authors also discuss topography and the development of the port, hospitals, and American military government.

Tinian Island During World War II

The Battle of Tinian began on July 24, 1944, when the 4th Marine Division wrested control of the island from the Japanese. Combat raged until August 1, 1944, but mopping-up operations continued until January 1945. Construction for the airbase on Tinian began almost as soon as the island was secure. By the end of 1944, both North Field and West Field were complete. North Field boasted four 8,500-foot runways, and West Field had two similar runways. North Field could accommodate 300 B-29s and was the largest airfield in the world. Approximately another 200 B-29s operated out of West Field.  Tinian was also home to the 509th Composite Bomb Group, which (unknown to the pilots) was part of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb and operated out of its own separate base near North Field. The two atomic bomb missions, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, launched from Tinian and forever changed world history.

Publication History and Census

This booklet was written by Lloyd V. Harmon and Charles T. Damp in August 1945. We note a single cataloged example, which is part of the Harry Stephen Ladd papers at the Smithsonian Institution.