View source for Asan, Guam

{{for|the village municipality that includes Maina and Nimitz Hill Annex|Asan-Maina, Guam}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Asan
|settlement_type          = [[List of census-designated places in Guam|census-designated place]]
|image_skyline            = View from outlook on Guam (76432108).jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Asan houses from the inland hills, 2005
|image_seal               =
|image_map                = War in the Pacific National Historical Park brochure map selection (Asan crop).png
|mapsize                  =
|map_caption              = Asan is completely surrounded by properties of [[War in the Pacific National Historical Park]]
|image_map1               =
|mapsize1                 =
|map_caption1             =
|pushpin_map             = USA Guam
|pushpin_map_caption      = Asan on Guam
|coordinates              = {{coord|13.472|144.716|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{USA}}
|subdivision_type1      = [[Territories of the United States|Territory]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Guam]]
|subdivision_type2      = [[Villages of Guam|Village]]
|subdivision_name2      = [[Asan-Maina, Guam|Asan-Maina]]
<!-- Area------------------>
|area_magnitude           =
| unit_pref               =US
| area_footnotes          =
| area_total_sq_mi        =
| area_land_sq_mi         =
| area_water_sq_mi        =
| area_total_km2          =
| area_land_km2           =
| area_water_km2          =
| area_water_percent      =
| area_note               =
|elevation_ft             =
|elevation_m              =
|population_as_of         = 2010
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 853
|population_metro         =
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
|timezone                 =
|utc_offset               =
|timezone_DST             =
|utc_offset_DST           =
|postal_code_type         =
|postal_code              =
|area_code                =
|blank_name               =
|blank_info               =
|blank1_name              =
|blank1_info              =
|footnotes                =
|website                  =
}}
'''Asan''' is a community and [[List of census-designated places in Guam|census-designated place]] (CDP) along the western coast of the U.S. territory of [[Guam]]. Asan, along with [[Maina, Guam|Maina]] and [[Nimitz Hill Annex]], are the three communities in the village of [[Asan-Maina, Guam|Asan-Maina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st66_gu/place/p6612450_asan/DC10BLK_P6612450_001.pdf|title=2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Asan CDP, GU|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=2020-10-09}} - See "Asan muny"</ref> It is known for being the location of [[Asan Invasion Beach|the northern invasion beach]] used by the United States during the [[Battle of Guam (1944)|retaking of Guam]] in 1944.
== Geography ==
Asan lies along the western coast of Guam along [[Asan Bay]], facing the [[Philippine Sea]]. It is surrounded by the Asan Beach Unit and Asan Inland Unit of [[War in the Pacific National Historical Park]]. The village lies between Asan Point and [[Adelup Point]]. [[Guam Highway 1]], better known as Marine Corps Drive, provides access to [[Piti, Guam|Piti]] to the west and [[Maina, Guam|Maina]] to the east. [[Nimitz Hill Annex]] on the [[Nimitz Hill (geography)|Nimitz Hill]] highlands inland of Asan is not directly accessible by road. The [[Asan River]] flows through the western part of the community. A distinguishing feature is the large grassy park at Asan Point, which is actually across Marine Corps Drive from the community in the Asan Beach Unit of War in the Pacific National Historical Park.
== History ==
Asan is thought to get its name from the [[Chamorro language|CHamoru]] word ''hassan'', meaning "scarce" or "rare." Before European contact, Asan was primarily a fishing village. The Spanish who colonized Guam in the late seventeenth century converted the village into an agricultural settlement, primarily farming [[taro]], [[rice]], and [[sugar cane]].<ref name="GP_Asan-Maina">{{cite web |last1=Babauta |first1=Leo |title=Asan-Maina (Assan-Ma’ina) |url=https://www.guampedia.com/asan-maina-assan-maina/ |website=Guampedia |access-date=16 April 2021 |date=January 10, 2021}}</ref> Asan lay along the only real road on Guam, which connected the port at Piti to the capital of [[Hagåtña, Guam|Hagåtña]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} A leper colony established at Asan Point in 1892 was destroyed by the [[1900 Pacific typhoon season#Guam typhoon|Typhoon of 1900]]. The next year, Filipino insurrectionists arrested during the [[Philippine–American War]] were placed in a prison camp constructed at the same location. The most prominent of the prisoners, [[Apolinario Mabini]], was the first [[Prime Minister of the Philippines]].<ref name="GP_Asan-Maina"/>
[[File:Asan, Guam on June 16, 1944.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial photo of the mouth of the [[Asan River]] in June 1944. Houses cluster along the road with farms inland. All of these structures would be destroyed in the U.S. bombardment preceding the [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Battle of Guam]] the following month.]]
In 1917, the prison camp was used again to temporarily house sailors from the {{SMS|Cormoran|1909|6}}, the first German prisoners-of-war taken by the United States in [[World War I]]. Five years later, in 1922, Asan Point was converted into a [[United States Marine Corps]] camp. However, the camp, and much of the rest of Guam, was demilitarized in 1931 as a result of U.S. [[United States non-interventionism#Isolationism between the World Wars|isolationism between the World Wars]]. During the [[Japanese occupation of Guam|Japanese occupation]] from 1941, Japanese forces  constructed defensive strongpoints at Asan and Adelup Points, as well as the Libugon highlands overlooking Asan Bay. In 1944, the U.S. military chose the [[Asan Invasion Beach]] as the northern attack beginning the [[Battle of Guam (1944)|Battle of Guam]]. Three battleships, three cruisers, and three destroyers, as well as carrier-based aircraft, bombarded the area, destroying all pre-war structures in Asan. The bombardment was followed by 180 landing craft bringing Marines to the shore in the face of fierce Japanese resistance.<ref name="GP_Asan-Maina"/>
After the end of the [[Pacific War]], the U.S. Navy [[Seabees]] maintained a headquarters at Camp Asan at the point until 1947. The residents of Asan who returned to rebuild their homes were moved further away from the coast, creeping up to the bottom of the highlands, renamed Nimitz Hill. From 1948 to 1967, the area around Asan Point became "Civil Service Camp," a small military facility with housing and amenities such as an outdoor theater, tennis courts, and a fire station. In 1968, the number of injured servicemembers arriving from the [[Vietnam War]] began to strain the resources of [[Naval Hospital Guam]], and Civil Service Camp was converted into Advanced Base Naval Hospital, also known as the Asan Annex. This Asan Annex was used until 1973,<ref name="GP_NH Guam 1962">{{cite web |last1=Hadley |first1=Alice |title=US Naval Hospital, Guam 1962-Present |url=https://www.guampedia.com/us-naval-hospital-guam-1962-present/ |website=Guampedia |access-date=20 March 2021 |date=October 11, 2019}}</ref> only to be converted into an emergency refugee camp for Vietnamese fleeing after the [[Fall of Saigon]] in 1975. Dubbed [[Operation New Life]], the 110,000 refugees overwhelmed the initial camp at Asan, requiring the construction of a larger camp at [[Orote Field]] on [[Naval Base Guam]].<ref name="GP_Asan-Maina"/>
In 1976, [[Typhoon Pamela (1976)|Typhoon Pamela]] destroyed all the buildings at Asan Point and their wreckage was removed by the U.S. Navy. The [[National Park Service]] acquired the land from the military in 1978, establishing [[War in the Pacific National Historical Park]]. In the 1980s, the community of Asan was redeveloped by the [[Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority]]. While the post-war Asan was a village of winding streets with Spanish-style houses, the redevelopment straightened streets, added sidewalks, and rebuilt most homes in concrete.<ref name="GP_Asan-Maina"/>
==Education==
[[Guam Department of Education|The Guam Department of Education]] operates non-military public schools.
In regards to the [[Department of Defense Education Activity]] (DoDEA), Asan is in the school transportation zone for McCool Elementary and McCool Middle School, while [[Guam High School (Guam)|Guam High School]] is the island's sole DoDEA high school.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.militarymwrguam.com/modules/media/?do=inline&id=ec1335e8-67d4-4fde-824e-aabf8345f466|title=DoDEA Guam School Boundaries and Bus Transportation Zones|publisher=Military [[Morale, Welfare and Recreation]] Guam|accessdate=2023-07-07}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Asan-Maina, Guam}}
[[Category:Census-designated places in Guam]]
[[Category:Asan-Maina, Guam]]