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Yes Theory
Dark Secrets Hidden in America’s Most Isolated Islands (nobody comes here)
Dark Secrets Hidden in America’s Most Isolated Islands (nobody comes here)
Yes Theory
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38:22 · Nov 16, 2025
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We
may
have
just
been
on
the
craziest
trip
of
our
lives.
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0:00
We may have just been on the craziest trip of our lives.
0:04
>> Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are currently stranded actually in the middle of nowhere.
0:08
>> What was initially planned to be a 4-day trip turned into a multi-week
0:12
expedition into truly some of the most remote
0:15
and untouched parts OF THE WORLD.
0:18
>> A leg is still moving.
0:19
>> There was no publicly available way to reach some of the places we
0:22
went to.
0:23
And heading there means navigating days in full open water right above the absolute
0:28
deepest part of the ocean,
0:30
the Mariana Trench.
0:31
We're honestly happy we made it back alive
0:34
and are here to tell you the story.
0:35
After finding ourselves in so many more adventures than we originally expected,
0:39
we've created three distinct adventures we'll be publishing over the next 3 weeks in
0:44
a miniseries about our journey here.
0:46
Welcome to our unexpected
0:47
and extraordinary journey in America's wildest
0:50
and least known territory of the Northern Marana Islands.
1:00
As we searched for the world's most hidden and untold stories,
1:03
a set of islands grabbed our attention.
1:05
The Northern Marana Islands, a US territory we hadn't heard of before.
1:10
So, we called a few of our American friends,
1:12
and no one had heard of it either.
1:14
Strange.
1:14
But as we dug deeper, we found some jaw-dropping details about this place.
1:19
They speak more than just English here,
1:21
as they also have two of their own local languages.
1:24
And without these islands,
1:26
World War II may never have turned out like it eventually did,
1:29
as the most devastating destruction in history was hidden and launched from here.
1:34
But how come barely anybody has ever heard of this place?
1:37
Is it intentionally kept a secret?
1:39
Or has the world simply forgotten about it?
1:42
In our first story of the series,
1:44
we'll be exploring two of the main inhabited islands of Saipan and Tinyan,
1:49
where a lot of dark history from World War II hides.
1:52
Our main goal will be to find an elder who was alive during World
1:55
War II to tell us their stories,
1:57
as well as painting a deeper picture of what this place really is.
2:01
But our start was more than confusing. will be there at all time before
2:08
the aircraft.
2:14
>> Thank you for attending.
2:15
>> There's only one other American on this flight
2:17
and both of us got like pulled to the side
2:20
because the system said
2:21
that we weren't allowed to go there
2:22
and then it was just us
2:24
and I was like why why can't I board?
2:26
It's like I'm going home essentially.
2:28
You know, >> I also don't know who was going to this island.
2:30
Like there's not a single person including Americans
2:34
that I've spoken to
2:35
that know about this place.
2:36
>> I have friends on Hawaii who have never heard of >> in Hawaii.
2:40
>> Yeah, in Hawaii.
2:42
>> Wow.
2:42
>> That was sketchy.
2:43
I never ever had an experience like that before.
2:46
>> Okay.
2:46
>> I fought to enter this plane.
2:48
Oh gosh, that was sweaty.
2:52
We were at first confused
2:54
and a little bit unsettled at why Corey
2:56
and Stfan almost couldn't board the flight,
2:59
but this would all start to make sense later
3:01
as we learned a lot more about the complicated geopolitics of these islands.
3:05
>> We are maybe in the least known American territory
3:09
and uh we have lots of questions.
3:13
We're in a pretty funny situation where the woman checking us into our hotel
3:18
is in her pajamas
3:20
and she only speaks Chinese.
3:23
So, we're just eating noodles here at 2:30 in the morning.
3:27
All good.
3:27
The room's >> Sorry, I don't know.
3:30
>> Uhhuh.
3:31
It's okay.
3:33
Cute.
3:34
Shushi.
3:34
Shushi.
3:42
>> >> This is going to be interesting.
3:44
Yeah.
3:44
To be in a place where the more we speak to other Americans about
3:49
it,
3:49
the more we realize like nobody has heard of this place.
3:52
There is no flight from here to the US.
3:54
If if you want to fly to the US,
3:56
you have to fly back to Asia and then go to the US.
3:59
>> Wow.
4:00
That's a trip.
4:00
>> That's how like disconnected this place is from the rest of America.
4:05
>> >> We had planned to be on Saipan for only a couple of
4:08
days and were hoping to learn about its history during the war.
4:11
We were also fascinated by the fact
4:13
that there are two other languages besides English spoken on the island.
4:17
The first language is Chamorro,
4:19
brought to Saipan over 4,000 years ago
4:22
when the seafaring Chamora people settled this island.
4:25
The second is Carolinian,
4:27
brought by immigrants from the Caroline Islands who had lost their homes in devastating
4:31
typhoon in the 19th century.
4:34
As these are two types of Americans we didn't even know existed.
4:38
We were determined to meet someone who spoke one of these languages.
4:41
We only have three days.
4:42
We have a lot to do.
4:44
Meeting people that speak other languages other than English.
4:47
Meeting somebody who remembers the war here.
4:50
If there's anyone here that does that.
4:51
And then the day after tomorrow we're going to take the uh a local
4:54
plane to the small island where the dark history happened.
4:58
Oh, there's already a tank right there.
5:00
You see that?
5:01
>> Oh, damn.
5:02
Is that a real tank?
5:03
Japanese flag on it.
5:05
>> Wait, let's I'm going to pull over.
5:07
>> Wow.
5:07
Now somebody speaks a Korean.
5:10
>> Hi.
5:10
>> Welcome to Saip.
5:12
>> Can I have a picture, please?
5:13
>> Yeah.
5:13
Yeah.
5:14
>> How you doing?
5:14
Are you from here?
5:15
>> I'm from here.
5:16
Yeah, I'm born here.
5:17
Yeah.
5:17
>> Like nobody knows about this island.
5:19
Uh >> yeah, no one does, >> right?
5:21
>> Yeah.
5:21
Whenever I fly to the States, they always ask, "Where are you from?"
5:24
From Saipan.
5:25
Japan.
5:26
>> No, not Japan.
5:28
>> I love it here.
5:29
I've traveled to the States to Asia.
5:32
It doesn't compare >> really.
5:33
>> It's so peaceful here and the people are so friendly here.
5:36
Like it just feels like home.
5:38
There's no place like it.
5:39
Nice to meet you for the island.
5:41
>> Thank you.
5:42
>> Thank you.
5:42
Thank you.
5:42
>> Usually a young person who lives on a remote island like this will say,
5:45
"I can't wait to leave."
5:46
You know, it's my has been my experience cuz people are like bored
5:49
and >> they just feel like it's too small
5:51
and there's not enough things to do.
5:52
And she was like, "I love it here."
5:54
>> So it's a good it's a good sign.
5:56
>> Yeah.
5:56
This is a real tank.
5:58
>> This is a real tank.
5:59
Yeah.
6:06
>> >> This is the contrast.
6:08
You have this beautiful beach here
6:10
and then you have a destroyed Japanese tank displayed on the side of the
6:13
road.
6:14
It's paradise, but also a lot of very dark things happen here.
6:19
So many different conflicting emotions at the same time.
6:22
At the start of World War II, Saipan was a full-on Japanese colony,
6:26
home to 30,000 troops, 30,000 Japanese civilians, and 4,000 Chamoros.
6:32
It lay on the edge of Japan's absolute national defense zone,
6:36
a line that Japan needed to defend at all costs to defend its home
6:40
islands.
6:41
>> Taipan, the Mariana's administrative center, was our first objective.
6:45
The US, who had joined the war after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor,
6:49
were desperate to get their hands on the Maranas.
6:52
Because from these islands,
6:53
the US's advanced bomber planes would be able to reach the Japanese home islands
6:58
for the first time.
7:00
On June 15th, 1944,
7:02
after having shot down 130 of Japan's airplanes that were deployed in the Maranas,
7:06
the US launched a D-Day beach assault on Saipan. 8,000 men landed on the
7:12
southwestern beaches of the island,
7:14
met by Japanese artillery, mortars, and machine guns.
7:18
The intense landing was day one of a battle
7:20
that was expected to only last a week,
7:22
but would drag out to 24 days.
7:25
US intelligence estimated that the island had about 15,000 troops stationed,
7:29
but the real number was closer to 30,000.
7:32
On top of that, the island was an extremely challenging battlefield.
7:36
The interior of the island was mountainous,
7:38
dense jungle that hid countless caves and ravines.
7:41
The flatlands were covered in sugarcane fields where the enemy could easily hide.
7:45
And on the western coast of the island, full-on urban warfare took place.
7:50
This tank is one of the many.
7:52
The island's reefs, beaches, and mountains are covered in the history of the fighting.
7:57
Hard to imagine it like a human being has been inside of this tank.
8:05
Having experienced a glimpse of the island's contrasting beauty and history,
8:09
we continued north along the coast,
8:12
passing by many abandoned military installation and strangely hotels.
8:18
As the island is only 12 mi long,
8:20
it didn't take much time until we reached the northernmost point
8:24
and a monument that we approached with a heavy heart.
8:27
>> Trigger warning here.
8:31
This is the suicide cliff.
8:35
Apparently, Japanese propaganda said that if they got captured,
8:38
the Japanese people who were living here
8:40
that they would be tortured
8:42
or used in prisons
8:44
or whatever.
8:45
So, thousands of Japanese people instead of surrendering to the Americans,
8:51
they jumped off the cliffs here.
8:54
Oh, bless their souls.
9:01
During the American invasion,
9:02
Saipen had become hell on earth for the thousands of Japanese civilians,
9:06
but most importantly, Shamoros caught in the conflict.
9:10
They evacuated into designated caves
9:12
that were dotted all over the island
9:14
and were trapped between the Japanese army,
9:16
who forbade them to surrender, and the Marines, who, in the fog of war,
9:20
sometimes confused them for soldiers.
9:24
Eventually, the Americans gained ground
9:26
and pushed the Japanese army north until it became clear to the Japanese
9:30
that the battle could no longer be won.
9:33
However, the Japanese Empire considered surrender a disgrace
9:37
and had painted the US Marines
9:38
as cruel and bloodthirsty,
9:40
telling their civilians that if they surrendered, they would be tortured, then murdered.
9:45
So, as the US troops closed in, the Emperor of Japan commanded a yukai,
9:50
a suicide charge, where every able-bodied soldier left was to charge into battle without
9:55
regard for his own life.
9:57
And all of the remaining civilians
9:59
and injured soldiers were told they had only one option left.
10:04
What happened next was described by witnesses
10:06
as one of the darkest moments in the entire Pacific War.
10:24
>> >> It is estimated that more than 5,000 men, women,
10:28
and children were forced to take their own lives by jumping off from these
10:33
cliffs,
10:34
many after the fighting had already finished.
10:50
There's 31,000 Japanese military personnel on this island. >> 29,000 were killed.
10:58
And this US arrived here with 71,000 soldiers. 3,000 were killed.
11:03
>> Yeah.
11:03
So they like were more than double American soldiers arriving here compared to the
11:09
amount of Japanese ones
11:10
that were holding the island.
11:12
And then some unfortunate Chamorro people who were living here
11:15
as well were killed in the during the war.
11:19
This is the final outpost of the Japanese army
11:22
that still stands here
11:22
as a memorial.
11:48
>> >> This is the reality of life and war.
11:51
And it's not just numbers on a history book.
11:54
It's a reality.
11:58
>> Yeah.
11:58
We continued spending almost the whole day driving around the island
12:00
and were feeling quite low
12:02
and heavy after what we had just seen.
12:05
We had spoken to a few locals,
12:06
but none that had any personal experiences with the war times.
12:11
And as the sun was about to set in the next few hours,
12:14
we were on the verge of giving up.
12:16
when we stopped at a diner to get some food
12:18
and try to boost our morale
12:20
and saw an elderly man walk out who had been eating by himself
12:24
that we were about to let go
12:26
but instead decided to run after him
12:27
and say hello.
12:28
He first seemed a bit busy
12:30
so we said goodbye
12:31
but then this magical moment happened >> looking at me.
12:38
>> Yes.
12:38
>> How old do you think I am?
12:39
>> I don't know. 85 maybe.
12:42
>> 94.
12:43
>> You're 94?
12:44
>> 94 years old.
12:44
You carry yourself well, sir.
12:46
Are you from here?
12:47
>> Yeah, I'm a caipaniac.
12:49
>> Ah, crazy about >> Saipan.
12:52
>> You um you speak Chammoro or or uh >> I'm Chammoro.
12:55
>> You're Chammoro.
12:56
>> I wrote a book about my dad
12:59
and the invasion of Saipen during the war.
13:02
We were in the cave for 3 weeks.
13:05
And uh >> you you were in a cave for three weeks for three weeks.
13:08
>> For 3 weeks in the cave hiding.
13:10
My dad knew the international morcope.
13:13
So he was reading all the exchanges of lighted morse code from the cave.
13:18
He was reading everything that was going on.
13:20
But what I like to do is get together with you.
13:23
>> Yeah, that would be great.
13:24
>> We'll jump in the car.
13:25
We'll go up to >> Perfect.
13:27
It's an honor to meet you.
13:28
What was your name?
13:29
>> David.
13:30
David Sablan.
13:31
>> David Sablon.
13:31
I'm >> David M.
13:32
Sublan.
13:33
We'll get to know each other once we're >> Perfect.
13:35
>> Yeah, bro.
13:37
Don't smile.
13:38
Well done.
13:38
Sorry.
13:38
>> This is incredible.
13:41
This is >> Oh, beautiful.
13:44
We said before this trip that we should find someone who is like 94.
13:47
>> Didn't we say?
13:47
>> Yeah, we said 94.
13:49
Exactly.
13:49
94.
13:50
>> I hope I'm not intruding.
13:51
>> Not at all.
13:52
We're very happy to meet you.
13:55
>> Well, thank you.
13:55
I'm happy to meet the three of you.
14:00
>> We've been traveling across Asia for the last few months now,
14:03
filming our final stories of the year,
14:06
and getting to the northern Mariana Islands was much more complicated than we thought.
14:10
There are no direct flights from the US,
14:12
which means you have to come from Asia, which meant booking multiple flights, fairies,
14:16
and hotels across the region.
14:18
And here is something that I learned the hard way.
14:21
Flight prices to the same destination can be wildly different depending on where the
14:26
website thinks you are.
14:27
And before booking our tickets for this trip, I actually used today's sponsor,
14:31
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14:34
And throughout the trip, we actually ended up saving a few hundred.
14:37
Same exact flight, wildly different prices.
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The way it works is
14:41
that airlines and travel websites change their prices based on your location.
14:45
With Surf Shark, you can connect to a server in a different country
14:48
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14:50
Sometimes it's the same, sometimes it's way cheaper.
14:53
When you're constantly moving like we are, those savings matter.
14:56
Plus, it keeps your data encrypted on all of these random Wi-Fis
15:00
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15:01
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15:02
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15:04
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15:07
or scan this QR code right here to get four extra months on your
15:11
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15:12
Link is at the top of the description.
15:13
And now, let's get back to exploring these islands.
15:18
>> And welcome home.
15:20
>> Oh, thank you.
15:22
>> Incredible.
15:23
We've just met >> this incredible man.
15:26
>> Welcome to our house.
15:28
>> Thank you.
15:29
>> You can come up.
15:30
He's in just such good form.
15:32
Look at him.
15:32
94.
15:33
>> And he is walking up and downstairs making it look easy.
15:37
Oh wow.
15:39
>> This is a picture >> of my dad.
15:42
He was the first local to ever appear before the trusteeship council of the
15:48
United Nation to report
15:51
that we're so happy
15:52
that we're now a territory of the United States.
15:58
That's my wife that passed on.
16:00
>> Oh, >> right back.
16:01
I used to be a disc jockey.
16:03
>> Oh, you were a DJ?
16:05
>> I I used to be a disc jockey in Guang Kim Radio >>
16:10
when I was a sales manager for General Motors in Guang.
16:15
>> Wow.
16:15
>> Yeah.
16:15
>> You have lived many lives.
16:19
>> Here's my book.
16:22
>> Oh, >> I never went beyond high school.
16:25
>> Wow.
16:25
But I learned how to speak English.
16:28
>> A degree of success through curiosity.
16:30
>> That is incredible.
16:31
A degree of success through curiosity.
16:34
>> It's a great title.
16:36
>> I love this too.
16:37
True story of a young boy eager to learn
16:39
and find his calling in life.
16:41
>> Anyway, >> did we meet the most important person on the island?
16:44
>> I think we did.
16:46
>> I hope you enjoy reading the book.
16:47
>> Thank you so much.
16:49
>> I hope you enjoy reading the book.
16:50
>> Which is your first language?
16:52
>> Chambor is my first.
16:54
How do you say hello in Chammoro?
16:56
>> Half a day.
16:57
>> Half a day.
16:58
>> Half a day.
16:59
>> Half a day.
17:00
>> Half a day.
17:01
>> Do you remember when the Japanese were ruling here?
17:04
>> Oh, vividly.
17:05
>> Vividly.
17:06
How was it?
17:07
>> They were okay until they brought a lot of Japanese soldiers
17:11
and kicked out of our house >>
17:14
so they can house the military.
17:17
M >> how did it feel
17:22
when you were inside of the cave for 3 weeks?
17:25
>> Oh, we were ready to die.
17:27
There were a group of able body
17:31
that used to go down from the cave to the sugarcane field to get
17:36
our meal.
17:37
One day when they were down there, they ran into a Japanese patrol.
17:41
So they hid for an hour.
17:44
The sun rose.
17:46
They returned to the cave
17:49
when the sun were already up
17:51
and uh they were
17:52
so afraid because they the ship ashore American ship start shooting at these people
17:58
moving on top of the hill.
18:00
Then they said that three Marines three Marines went up there.
18:05
They saw a statue.
18:07
They heard a little baby cry in the cave.
18:11
So they finally discovered the entrance of the cave where there were at least
18:17
15 of us were hiding.
18:19
They say means without fear come out with your hands up.
18:28
So my dad jump right on and he says I surrender.
18:33
He says oh you speak English.
18:36
>> He says little bit.
18:37
He's really one of the two people that spoke English or Saipan.
18:41
And he said, "By any chance you're lean?"
18:45
He says, "Yes, we've been looking for you because we need a translator."
18:51
>> Wow.
18:51
>> He says, "Well, I've been here all the time for 3 weeks."
18:55
>> So anyway, they they discovered us.
18:58
There were 50 of us in the cave
19:00
and they recovered us
19:02
and took us down for 2 weeks.
19:05
Dad was involved in translating on behalf of the Americans to these Japanese soldiers
19:13
that were caught.
19:15
These were the three Marines that saved us from the hills.
19:19
>> This is you.
19:20
Yeah.
19:20
And these are the three Marines.
19:24
>> Yeah.
19:24
>> This island is
19:24
so special because of the history
19:26
and the fact that it is an American island,
19:28
but there are people here who speak different languages and have their own history.
19:33
And now it's all intertwined with American history.
19:36
But in the US, nobody knows about this place.
19:39
And without this island,
19:40
maybe winning World War II would have been significantly more difficult.
19:44
>> This is my my laundry room.
19:47
>> Oh, >> that's the statue that we had at the cave.
19:51
>> Oh, really?
19:53
>> 1944.
19:53
>> That's it?
19:54
>> Yeah.
19:54
I kept it >> because uh it's a blessing for me.
19:59
>> Wow.
19:59
This is this is the statue
20:01
that was sitting outside of the cave
20:03
that the Americans saw
20:04
and then that you know le led them closer to it
20:07
and then they heard the baby.
20:09
We learned later that David was actually one of two people on the whole
20:13
island who remembers the wartimes
20:15
which made our serendipitous encounter even more incredible.
20:19
>> We're literally inside of a museum.
20:21
A very unique one.
20:22
>> He's a history time capsule.
20:25
>> Yeah.
20:26
I mean, how many how many people remember World War II
20:29
that are alive today
20:30
that have vivid memories of not just existing during it,
20:33
but being at inflection points in where the history of it was happening,
20:46
>> the the fact that humans like this exist >> without any questions,
20:50
he just invite he just said,
20:51
"You want to I'll just take you back
20:52
and tell you my whole story >> like to be
20:55
that generous and kind
20:56
and intelligent and curious.
20:58
>> I'm glad to make a friend >> a >> among yourselves
21:02
and thank you very much >> for at least uh getting it together with
21:08
me and chat up a little bit.
21:11
As you can see, that house is uh is a loner.
21:15
>> I'm all by myself in there.
21:17
>> Yep.
21:18
Yep.
21:18
Yep.
21:18
Yeah.
21:19
We're very glad that we met you.
21:21
If you will have time,
21:22
all of you are cordally invited for lunch on Friday.
21:27
>> Mhm.
21:27
>> Oh, >> at the Crown Plaza.
21:29
>> Oh, at the Crown Plaza.
21:30
>> Thank you so much.
21:31
>> Thank you, David.
21:32
>> Thank you, David.
21:32
God bless you.
21:33
>> Bye, David.
21:35
>> Bye-bye.
21:35
>> That was incredible.
21:37
>> That was amazing.
21:39
That was amazing.
21:40
>> What a privilege to uh to meet a living time capsule.
21:46
At the start of this trip, before we'd begun filming,
21:48
I had overheard a group of lively locals who were speaking Chammoro.
21:52
We introduced ourselves and got chatting
21:54
and they invited us to go meet them again for coffee.
21:57
So, to kick off our second day of the trip,
21:59
we went out to meet them.
22:03
>> And you all speak Chammoro together
22:05
when you >> don't You don't have to teach us.
22:09
You don't have to teach us.
22:10
>> You should know that.
22:11
Half a day.
22:11
>> Half a day.
22:12
Yeah.
22:13
>> That's hello, right?
22:13
Yeah.
22:14
And without realizing it,
22:15
this coffee catchup would lead to our next adventure for the day.
22:19
>> Small island tourists would go there and swim, relax,
22:25
>> but the boat is taken care of.
22:26
The rain is taken care of.
22:27
>> Oh, thank you.
22:28
>> Thank you very much.
22:29
Compliments from us.
22:31
>> From our coffee boats.
22:36
>> Well, then we have our next adventure prepared.
22:39
>> Thank you, Ralph.
22:40
Sounds good.
22:41
So, we made our way to the pier to head out to this next
22:44
island.
22:44
But first, we'd be starting with an underwater exploration.
22:49
The Northern Mariana Islands is an untouched paradise.
22:51
They used to get 600,000 tourists a year.
22:54
Now barely get any.
22:55
And it's just raw tropical paradise.
22:58
Everything is super affordable.
23:00
Locals are super nice.
23:01
There's like history things to explore and do.
23:03
It's uh one of the most underrated places in the US
23:06
that I've ever been to.
23:07
>> Oh, turtle.
23:13
Oh, >> wo.
23:13
>> Oh, turtle.
23:13
Turtle.
23:14
>> You know that it's like an untouched place
23:16
when a turtle is in a harbor >> swimming around.
23:20
>> Okay, time to go underwater to see what history hides below sea level.
23:26
>> Yeah.
23:34
>> So, we're going to see a Japanese airplane today here.
23:38
Yes.
23:39
>> And it's right down here.
23:40
Where is it?
23:41
>> Thank you.
23:42
>> Let's go.
24:24
>> >> After spending all this time learning about the challenging history of this
24:28
place and before our final day flying to the next island where World War
24:32
II's biggest secret was hidden.
24:34
We were quite happy to take a short break,
24:36
as organized by our friendly locals, and enjoy some sunshine.
25:19
>> >> Okay.
25:20
So, um, Thomas and Cory is walking over there
25:22
and you said hi to these lovely people.
25:24
And you are who?
25:25
You are.
25:26
>> I'm David Sablan's granddaughter.
25:29
>> That is so wild.
25:31
Yeah.
25:32
We met him randomly yesterday and had the time of our lives with him.
25:36
>> Really?
25:36
>> Yeah.
25:37
Yeah.
25:37
Yeah.
25:38
And yeah, he was showing us pictures
25:39
and photo albums and
25:41
that he was a former DJ.
25:42
And >> I didn't know he was a DJ.
25:46
>> Hi.
25:46
>> Hi.
25:46
I'm Thomas.
25:47
>> I'm Danielle.
25:48
>> Danielle.
25:48
>> What was your name?
25:49
My name is Mary Sablad.
25:51
>> Oh, no way.
25:53
>> My grandpa is David.
25:55
>> Are you serious?
25:57
>> Yeah.
25:57
>> We met him yesterday.
25:59
>> Wow.
26:00
I can't.
26:00
What a coincidence.
26:02
>> It's a small island, but there's like 50,000 people.
26:04
It's still like not that small.
26:06
>> Yeah.
26:06
Yeah.
26:06
Yeah.
26:06
>> Yeah.
26:07
You said David Sablan.
26:07
I immediately turned around.
26:08
I was like, >> "What's What's the name of your dad?"
26:11
>> Uh Steve.
26:12
>> Okay.
26:12
Steve.
26:13
Yeah.
26:13
Yeah.
26:13
Yeah.
26:13
Yeah.
26:14
>> Called yesterday when we were at the house.
26:15
>> Oh.
26:17
And he was like, "I have guests here from Sweden."
26:22
>> By the way, I have visitors here from Sweden.
26:25
>> That's That's your grandpa.
26:27
>> It was so funny, >> bro.
26:29
What are the odds?
26:30
This is incredible.
26:31
We were meant to uh to capture the legacy of the of the Sablon
26:38
family.
26:38
As the sun set on another day on this paradise island,
26:41
we couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive
26:44
because the next day we would be going to the northern part of Tinion,
26:48
a place that played a pivotal role in the most cataclysmic event in the
26:52
history of warfare.
26:58
>> Have you seen the size of the plane we're taking?
27:01
>> It's just us three.
27:02
Us three in the pilot.
27:07
We are the only ones on this plane going to the Tinyan Islands,
27:11
which is historically one of the most pivotal places on planet Earth.
27:30
>> Wow.
27:30
>> Well done, Captain.
27:32
>> Well, let the Tinian Island exploration begin.
27:37
Thank you so much.
27:39
How are >> you?
27:41
Can we take a picture?
27:42
>> Oh, of course.
27:44
>> I watch yesterday.
27:46
That's so awesome.
27:47
Wow.
27:48
>> It's so awesome that you guys came in here.
27:50
Like you found this small island.
27:52
>> Yeah, that's so cool.
27:53
>> It's so surreal.
27:54
I'm shaking.
27:55
Oh my god, I'm shaking.
27:57
>> So nice to meet you.
27:58
>> We're from the reservation office of the star.
28:00
So >> Oh, no way.
28:01
So you like saw our name?
28:03
>> Yeah.
28:03
I was like, "Oh my god, is this real?
28:05
Like, are they coming here?
28:12
>> We're the only ones here."
28:13
>> The only ones here are literally like one from the Yes community.
28:17
>> Yeah.
28:17
>> And the people are working here.
28:19
>> Guess we just go through here.
28:22
>> I've never been at such an empty airport in my entire life.
28:25
Like everyone that worked at the airport just left after we left
28:28
because there's nothing else to do for a
28:30
while.
28:32
We drove across the island
28:34
and eventually off the main roads onto dirt tracks
28:36
as we approached this secretive area.
28:39
Uh uhoh.
28:41
>> This is now a military area and the road is closed.
28:44
>> This guy's going.
28:46
He doesn't care.
28:47
>> We just follow him.
28:48
>> Yeah, we follow him.
28:49
Yeah.
28:50
>> We are out in the thick wilderness right now.
28:53
>> Wa.
28:54
Ladies and gentlemen, we are on the abandoned airplane strip.
29:00
This was the largest airplane strip during World War II.
29:05
>> With Caipan secured, the US quickly took over the neighboring islands of Tinian
29:10
and Guam and immediately started building air strips
29:13
that could accommodate these.
29:14
The B-29 Superfortress, the biggest, fastest bombing plane in the world.
29:19
>> B29 Superfortress bomber planes.
29:22
Tiny became the largest air base of World War II, housing 40,000 personnel.
29:28
The US had been launching bombing raids on Japanese territories from Changdu in China.
29:33
But being 2,000 mi away,
29:34
the B29 could only reach a tiny sliver of the Japanese home islands.
29:39
The Marianas were 500 m closer,
29:42
putting the bottom half of the islands within reach.
29:45
Thousands of bombers conducted hundreds of air raids across 66 Japanese urban centers,
29:51
culminating in the two most significant bombings in history.
29:56
From this air base,
29:57
two bombs developed under absolute secrecy by Oenheimer were loaded into their planes.
30:03
They took off towards Hiroshima
30:05
and Nagazaki to carry out the only two nuclear attacks in the history of
30:11
mankind.
30:20
Atomic bomb pits one and two.
30:22
Is that a replica of it?
30:24
I think that's a rep two replicas of the bombs.
30:52
>> >> The deadliest weapon ever built laid right here.
30:56
I've never been this close to anything like this.
30:59
Right here, there was a nuclear bomb
31:00
that was dropped and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
31:03
It's uh hard to understand
31:05
that what started on this now abandoned airplane strip has defined world politics ever
31:14
since that day.
31:16
Everything that we do is impacted by the existence of these things right here.
31:23
And now we're the only people here standing in this pivotal place in history.
31:30
This little beautiful paradise island ended up being marked in history
31:36
as where the threat of our destruction was seated.
31:57
>> >> Oh.
31:57
Oh, wow.
32:09
So, we're inside a World War II air raid shelter in here.
32:42
>> >> Data.
32:42
This is a Japanese fuel and bomb storage.
32:46
I'm not going in there.
32:48
>> Yeah.
32:48
>> Let's get the hell out of here.
32:50
>> It's a very eerie feeling to be here.
32:52
If these things continue to happen,
32:53
then we're just going to see a world
32:55
that is probably not
32:57
so pleasant to to be in
32:58
or even possible to be in.
32:59
So, >> it felt absurd to be at such a pivotal place in world
33:04
history and have no one knowledgeable to speak about it with.
33:08
But thankfully, a yes subscriber we met at the airport gave us the phone
33:11
number of a local historian who we hoped could answer all of our questions.
33:16
>> What may I do for you this morning?
33:18
>> Uh we're actually in Tinion
33:19
and we we make travel YouTube videos
33:22
and uh we were told
33:23
that you were the the local legend to speak to here uh about the
33:27
history and about obviously all the World War II uh history
33:30
that happened here.
33:32
>> This afternoon, how long are you going to be on Kenya?
33:34
Uh, we're taking the last plane at at 5:00 p.m.
33:37
Uhoh.
33:37
Uhoh.
33:38
Mr.
33:39
Are you with the IRS?
33:42
>> Is that thing on?
33:43
Am I being recorded?
33:44
What can I do for you, >> man?
33:45
It's good to see you.
33:46
What made you so interested in the history of the islands here?
33:49
>> Um, I came to Guam in January 1977 as a contract school teacher.
33:54
Had no idea where I was going or what I was doing.
33:57
And so, I came out here to go scuba diving and teaching.
33:59
Shortly after that, I was invited to one of my students um birthday parties.
34:04
So, I went back there and sat down and I don't know anybody.
34:07
I don't know anything about Chammorals.
34:09
I don't know what a chum I know nothing.
34:11
Finally, one of them very politely looked over at me and said, "Um, Mr.
34:15
Frell, do you have any particular questions or anything?"
34:18
And I said, "Well, well, yes.
34:19
As a matter of fact,
34:20
I've been trying to read World War II novels
34:23
that include stories about uh the island of Guam."
34:28
And I I I some of them tell stories about some atrocities >>
34:33
that supposedly occurred out here right by the Japanese.
34:39
>> Are those stories true?
34:41
Lette the whole backyard went silent and they said,
34:45
"You want to know about the atrocities?"
34:48
And I said, "So they're real?"
34:50
And he said, "I will tell you the story."
34:53
So when I heard those stories, I said, "Why hasn't America read about this?
35:00
This is supposed to be a part of America.
35:02
That's an atrocity against America, right?"
35:06
And they said like that.
35:11
So I began doing more research
35:13
and that led to my first book
35:15
because those atrocities occurred right before the American invasion.
35:20
And then I remember walking across the street uh one day shortly after
35:25
that this guy on the other side stops me
35:27
and he says,
35:28
"Are you Don Frell?
35:29
You're the guy that wrote that book."
35:30
I said, "Yeah."
35:33
And he says, "Thank you."
35:35
I said, "Why?"
35:36
And he says, "That's the first time anybody's ever tried to do that."
35:41
So with that, I said, "I guess I got it."
35:47
Tenian's critical role in uh World War II was the use of the atomic
35:53
bombs,
35:53
the establishment of the nuclear facilities on the island of Tenyan.
35:58
It was all under done under the deepest of security
36:02
and that's why most people don't know what really happened out here during World
36:07
War II.
36:08
And the dropping of the atomic bombs prevented the invasion of Japan.
36:13
And as a result, we have a very positive relationship with Japan today.
36:18
They are our closest ally in the Pacific
36:21
and it's something that we must preserve
36:24
and maintain.
36:25
>> Thank you so much.
36:26
>> Thank you.
36:27
>> We can feel the love
36:28
and passion in your words
36:29
and that >> it would grow on you too.
36:31
And I can tell from what you guys are doing,
36:34
you have your passions as well, >> right?
36:36
And they will amplify more the older you get
36:39
and the longer you play in the game.
36:41
M yeah.
36:42
>> Our time in the northern Maranas was not over yet.
36:46
Caipan and Tinian were like nothing we'd experienced before.
36:51
The scars and stories of war on this island are still hard for us
36:54
to fully process.
36:55
And when hearing these stories,
36:56
we were reminded that these global conflicts always cause pain
37:00
that ripples far beyond what we tend to perceive.
37:04
No matter how much we think we know,
37:06
there are always more untold stories of the atrocities of war.
37:10
But these islands also stole our hearts.
37:12
From their untouched beauty to the kind-hearted locals,
37:15
somehow these islands have gone under the radar of everybody.
37:19
Yet deeply deserves a visit for explorers and lovers of nature.
37:23
But just as we thought we were leaving this region for good.
37:26
We had no idea what was on the cusp of happening
37:28
because the same subscriber Ed who had told us about Don the Historian also
37:33
told us this. the the remaining islands up north like there's only like maybe
37:37
like one or two people like in a volcanic island paradise.
37:40
>> One or two people live there.
37:42
>> It's on an active volcano.
37:44
It's active volcano, bro.
37:46
>> It's crazy.
37:46
>> How did you get to those islands?
37:48
>> By boat.
37:49
It's like a 18 hour boat ride. >> 18-hour boat ride.
37:52
>> Feeling like we'd only just scratched the surface of Saipan,
37:55
we knew we couldn't possibly pass up the chance to visit one of the
37:58
world's most isolated islands. with only one man living full-time by himself on an
38:04
active volcano.
38:05
And if that already sounds dangerous enough,
38:08
it's nothing compared to what actually happened next.
38:11
>> We ran out of fuel.
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