Oral History Interview with David Sablan, August 4, 1997

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with David Sablan. Sablan lived in Garapan, Saipan during the Japanese occupation and attended a strict Japanese school where he was forced to pledge allegiance to the emperor. Sablan’s father was conscripted as an interpreter for the Japanese military during the invasion of Guam. When their family home was seized, they fled to their ranch, where they were raided by the Kempeitai after Sablan’s father was suspected of being a spy. They fled to a cave, with only sugarcane to eat, until they were forced out by a fire. As they left in the darkness, they could hear a banzai charge. Terrified of the American Marines, they considered suicide. But upon discovering that troops were friendly, his father began serving as their interpreter. They were taken to Camp Susupe and given medical treatment, but Sablan's sister was so malnourished that she could not properly digest food and soon died. Sablan’s father became the chief of police in Garapan in 1944, and Sablan interned at a Navy supply department so that he could learn English. He later worked for the military government, attending school in Guam, and went on to have a successful business career