A Visit to the White Cross Memorial

TINIAN — Driving around in circles on a hot Monday afternoon proved fruitless as we searched for a particular site which I haven’t been to or even heard of before. My companion was looking for a cliff line with a couple of white crosses which he saw through his telescope on Saipan but we couldn’t locate it. We followed one road that we felt might lead to the area, but it ended in a jungle.

Leaving the comfort of our rented car, we explored the jungle, brushing away spiders and other creatures only to discover we were lost. We got back on the trail again and decided to check out Chulu Beach or Star Sands Beach. A couple selling coconut juice gave us directions to the White Cross Memorial (so that was the name of the place we were looking for) and we left after buying a coconut for $3.

We made our way past the bomb pits and reached the intersection of the Blow Hole then took the straight road leading to somewhere I hadn’t explored before.

Pretty soon the path widened, bordered by tangan-tangan on both sides. The place looked like somebody was maintaining the area. We drove several miles down the tree-lined road and saw a white cross several meters away from the cliff line.

Another white cross was erected a few feet away from the first one, near a small white chapel. Names were written on a marker and I learned the memorial was erected in memory of Tinian residents who had been lost at sea.

The bigger cross at the White Cross Memorial or the Tinian People Lost at Sea Memorial bore the names of four people who were lost at sea on Jan. 5, 1997 — Clifford M. Manglona, Ignacio Joey San Aquiningoc, George A. Manglona and Isaac P. Palacios.

Beside the White Cross, another marker bore the names of eight people who met a tragic death at sea in March 1974 —Soledad C. Ayuyu, Evelyn C. Pangelinan, Maria C. Barcinas, Catalina B. Barcinas, Maxima P. Manglona, Ray M. Blas, Juan T. San Nicolas and Soledad DLC Santos. The marker was installed by Sen. Jose P. Mafnas and Rep. Francisco T. Cabrera and their staff on November 1, 1984.

Flowers and candles adorned the markers and the two white crosses, indicating somebody had been to the place recently.

We picked our way through the sharp rocks and coral and headed to the edge of the cliff where a spectacular view awaited us — in fact more stunning and more dangerous than at the Blow Hole. The waves were rolling in from the sea, exploding up into a powerful, fascinating geyser spray along the rocky coastline.

I had been to Tinian several times in the past four and a half years, but I hadn’t ever ventured beyond the Blow Hole although I had always been curious where that road led.

Staring at the deep blue angry waters, I knew no one who had not lived here could really understand how dangerous the channel between Saipan and Tinian was. The excitement of watching the spray coupled with the eerie feeling of seeing the white crosses was beyond description. I wanted to stay longer, but we had to catch a flight back to Saipan.

To get to the White Cross Memorial, follow the road all the way to North Field and just go straight up through the intersection to the Blow Hole and the Bomb Pits.

This was first published at the Marianas Variety