United States Western Pacific Overseas Territory, Guam
This tropical island with lush vegetation and a peanut-like appearance covers an area of ??less than 600 square kilometers and is located at the southernmost tip of the Mariana Islands. It was originally formed from an undersea volcano and is surrounded by coral reefs. It has a mild spring-like climate all year round and is rich in luscious tropical fruits. It is like a tropical Eden.
Generally speaking, compared with the entire Philippine Islands next to it, Guam itself has nothing worth mentioning. The only thing that really makes people take a look is Guam's geographical location - it is 5,863 kilometers away from Hawaii to the east and 5,863 kilometers to the north. Japan is only a four-day voyage. It is a liaison station between the Americas, Japan and the Philippines. It guards the maritime traffic hub of the Western Pacific. It has a very important strategic position and can be called one of the gateways to the Western Pacific.
As early as 1521, the Chamorro people, the indigenous inhabitants of Guam, discovered Magellan, the great navigator who completed the first circumnavigation of the world, on the coast of this island. This started the Spanish's three hundred years of exploration of this remote island. Occupy and dominate. Next, the United States captured Guam from Spain during the Spanish-American War in 1898 and built it into a forward base for the U.S. Navy in the Western Pacific.
However, in the 1930s, for the United States of America, which had not yet become a world hegemon and whose domestic isolationist ideology was prevalent, the strategic value of Guam, which was frequently hit by earthquakes and typhoons, was not as important as it would be in the future. There are also very few white immigrants, garrisoned troops and military facilities on the island, and its excellent Apra deep-water port was wasted. In addition to a few dismal operating tropical plantations, there is only one Apra naval station. Two hundred to three hundred logistics personnel are stationed, with a naval colonel serving as station commander and governor of Guam. The main task is to provide logistical supplies to US warships, which rarely pass by once a month. Arrange for the sick and wounded to go ashore for recuperation In the eyes of U.S. Navy personnel of this era, Guam was a remote and desolate place, with boring life and little merit. Therefore, it was regarded as a penal colony. Usually only the most unlucky guys were sent to prison. Kick it over.
However, the current Governor of Guam, Marine Colonel MacMillan. He hasn't lost interest in this sweet tropical island yet, because he was transferred from Alaska in March this year, and he still seems to be carrying the bone-chilling chill of the Arctic sea - the blue sky, white clouds, and coral reefs of Guam. , coconut trees, tropical fruits. In the eyes of Colonel Macmillan, it was as novel as a fairy tale. And when he talked about arctic storms, drifting ice, dense fog, seals, Eskimo natives and amputations caused by frostbite in the small bar on the island, the tropical people in Guam also heard it as if it was a fairy tale.
Since there was really not much official business on this isolated island, Colonel Macmillan spent his free time wandering around. Sometimes I paddle a boat to go diving in Tumon Bay. Watch the colorful marine life, and catch some fish and shrimps that can be used as a late night snack; more often, you climb to the island's highest peak of 407 meters above sea level, Lanshan Mountain, to overlook the beautiful scenery of the island - now is the time for scenery In the clear dry season, patches of calamus are undulating with the sea breeze. The water between the coral reefs is calm and clear, like golden-green chrysoprase. The blue sea reflects the floating clouds, the fine waves add a silver edge to the coral island, and the beach is as light yellow as jade. The coconut palms and shrubs on the island are lush and green. Bathed in the golden light of the rising sun, the air is always filled with the sweetness of tropical fruits. There is also the refreshing sea breeze and the fragrant fragrance of flowerswhat a quiet and peaceful scene!
Of course, no matter how beautiful the tropical scenery is, you will feel bored and tired after looking at it for a long time. The local indigenous people of Guam, who have tattoos on their hair and roast taro with red-hot pebbles, make the "civilized people" feel even more out of place, and they are increasingly nostalgic for the feasting, bustling and hustle and bustle of the metropolis In fact, Most of the employees at Apra Naval Station dream of leaving this hellish place called Guam every day, but unfortunately they can only live day by day. Fortunately, before the novelty of the tropical scenery had passed, Colonel Macmillan discovered another thing that excited him: a huge fleet flying the stars and stripes suddenly appeared on this wild island. On the coast!
¡ª¡ªSince God created the world, there has probably never been such a huge fleet in the waters of Guam! So he thought.
Colonel MacMillan is still basically clear about the general origin of this U.S. fleet - when he was transferred from Alaska to Guam, the federal government assembled the Philippine Asia Fleet, as well as the mainland fleets in Hawaii and the west coast. Traveling all the way across the Pacific, he went to China to teach those Bolshevik thugs who dared to violate the interests of the United States and kill American citizens Next, because he was on this remote island at the end of the world, he was always slow to understand the outside world's information. I only vaguely knew that the war in China was fierce, many people died, and the country was still gathering a second batch of reinforcements. As for the Marine Corps originally stationed on Guam, they were deployed to the battlefield to serve as cannon fodder before he took office.
Now, this fleet has actually appeared in Guam, and it is probably returning in triumph Looking at these majestic giant ships with numerous gun barrels from the beach, as well as the navy hunting and flying on the masts The flag and the Stars and Stripes, that's how the people on Guam think of it.
For a lonely and remote island, every ship coming from afar can always cause quite a stir. As a result, the enthusiastic islanders rowed small boats, loaded with goods, and swarmed out to sea from the port, trying to sell the fresh mangoes, pineapples, coconuts and bananas they had just picked to the fleet officers and soldiers. The Governor of Guam, Colonel Macmillan, carefully groomed himself, put on a straight military uniform, and put on his only medal, and then rushed to the dock with his entire team to prepare to welcome the naval officers. The great chariot. There were also countless indigenous boys and girls wearing wreaths on their heads, who came to the port at the command of the tribal elders, stood in a line holding bouquets of flowers, and stretched their necks to look at the approaching fleet.
As time went by, several 10,000-ton battleships anchored in the open sea one after another, while several other small-tonnage, shallow-draft destroyers continued to head towards Apu, Guam, accompanied by circling seabirds and howling sea winds. Driving in port. Getting closer to the pier
When the islanders on the shore saw this, they immediately burst into cheers, and almost everyone was busy waving and shouting to the boat. But the fleet still maintained a deathly silence. No one cheered or waved, only the sound of the bow cutting through the waves The people on the shore gradually fell silent. They had never seen such a quiet fleet, and an indescribable uneasiness instantly seized their hearts. The heart makes them feel as if something bad is about to happen, but they can't tell where this premonition comes from.
??????????????????????????????????????? Immediately afterwards. With a gentle collision, the three destroyers docked at Apra Port one after another, and it took a while. Only a few sailors stumbled and jumped off the ship What made people feel uncomfortable was that most of these sailors were staggering and looked haggard, and their eyes were full of indescribable despair and fear. Every one of them was The person they look at with their eyes. Everyone can't help but feel a little creepy.
From these desperate American sailors. The people of Guam seem to smell the breath of death!
¡°Some people tried to talk to these sailors, or sell fruits and cigarettes, and even gorgeous indigenous prostitutes came forward to show off their coquettishness. But these sailors, who are like walking zombies, seem to be not interested in anything. They just sit silently under the coconut trees or beside the rocks on the beach, looking at the roaring sea without saying a word. There were also a few sailors who took out all the banknotes in the bar without saying a word, and then drank heavily in strong drinks in an attempt to numb their nervesif you observe carefully. It can also be found that a considerable number of sailors are losing their hair, eyebrows and even beards, and some sailors have festering scars on their skin. There seemed to be traces of burns, and purple-black spots appeared on the skin.
Feeling that something was wrong, Colonel Macmillan quickly found a transport boat and rushed to the USS Pennsylvania, the flagship of the US fleet, to meet with the fleet commander, Admiral Frank Upham As a result, By the time he stumbled back from the flagship, his entire mental state was also not right. However, out of the duty of an officer, Colonel Macmillan still summoned all the officers, soldiers and staff of Apra Naval Station, as well as several local planters, and announced to them a terrible news with a trembling voice:
"Plague! A terrible plague broke out in our expedition fleet! And now they have brought the plague to this island!"
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At the same time, Guam's U.S. Navy doctor O'Brien was also ordered to board the warship to check the epidemic situation, and then saw a horrific scene in the stinky cabins - countless dying sailors, lying on the ground. In the narrow cabin with rancid air, his body was covered with pus and ulcers, he moaned in pain, his skin fell off, and he even had maggots on his body He died in an extremely miserable manner. Before his death, he was almost inhuman shape.
In the face of this sudden and severe plague, the doctors of the expedition fleet were helpless - in fact, the doctors and nurses on the ship were often the first people to die, because they participated in the assistance and treatment of the Nagasaki fire, and their bodies were often Contaminated with a lot of "volcanic ash".
In the destroyer O'Brien boarded, he just dug out the ship's doctor's record book from the empty doctor's cabin desk, which recorded the poor doctor's last words - he described his initial At that time, I first felt a strange sour taste in my mouth, and then I found that my vision began to become blurred, and then I began to vomit, and kept vomiting until there was no food in my stomach. Further back, thisThe unfortunate garrison doctor lay on the hospital bed, suffering from high fever, high blood pressure, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and semi-shock. All treatment methods were ineffective until he died painfullyand until the moment of death, The doctor also didn't know what disease he had. The nurse who took care of the doctor and wrote down the records also died of a similar illness a day ago.
¡ª¡ªAfter witnessing many cruel death scenes with his own eyes, military doctor O'Brien, who had never really been on the battlefield, almost suffered a nervous breakdown. He returned to the shore in despair, got into his simple medical clinic, and then wrote. The horrible things I saw on the warship:
"According to records in the logbook, since the expedition fleet left the port of Nagasaki covered in 'volcanic ash' and returned to Hawaii, more than 70% of the officers and soldiers suffered from a strange disease. The first main symptoms were nausea, Vomiting and loss of appetite; then severe diarrhea. Large amounts of blood in the stool; then fever, weakness, dizziness; then large amounts of blood seeping under the skin, causing purple spots to appear on various parts of the bodymouth, throat and gums Successive inflammations and ulcers Continuous bleeding from the mouth, gums, throat, rectum and urethra Large amounts of hair falling off the scalp or other parts of the body Some people even have rotten internal organs while they are still alive!
In most cases, this is an irreversible chronic process that will continue until the patient's entire body becomes ulcerated and eventually dies.
At present, at least one-sixth of the officers and soldiers in the entire fleet have died, and more people are dying, and new cases appear every day Every corner of the battleship has been cleaned. All drugs and sterilization precautions had been used, but they still could not stop the rapid spread of the plague. Even the commander of the fleet, Admiral Upham, was infected with the plague. What's even scarier is. As sailors continued to fall ill, the number of those left who could barely move was no longer enough to drive the warship for normal navigation, so the original plan to rush to Hawaii had to be abandoned. Instead, the ship stopped sailing and dropped anchor in Guam. Request help from the local naval supply depot. Unfortunately, we are equally helpless about this"
As he wrote this, he paused for a moment, and then he seemed to shudder, and then wrote in trembling and messier handwriting: " subcutaneous bleeding, dark spots, strong putrid odor all of this It reminded me of the terrible Black Death in the Middle Ages. The original source of the Black Death that killed nearly half of the population in Europe was twelve ships of death from the Crimean Peninsula. Ship'Oh, I hope God bless. Let the same tragedy not appear in our time, let alone spread to Guam"
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After discovering these majestic steel giants in front of me. It was not a victorious army returning in triumph, but a group of "ships of death" that brought a horrific plague, and the island of Guam immediately exploded. The islanders were frightened half to death by the tragedy of the plague. Their first reaction was to drive the scourge away and tell this unlucky fleet to get out of the way quickly to prevent the plague from spreading to the island Unfortunately, such a thing is really impossible. .
Then, they wanted to prohibit the sailors from disembarking in the name of preventing the spread of the plague, but they failed - any general in the expedition fleet had a higher rank than the Governor of Guam, Colonel Macmillan, and had the right to attack Macmillan. The colonel gave orders, and they obviously did not intend to wait to die in the smelly battleship. The Department of Defense in Washington also issued a strict order, requiring the Guam supply depot to provide full support!
Colonel Macmillan, who did not dare to disobey military orders, had no choice but to take the sick sailors ashore, and tried his best to free up houses and beds for resettlement, turning Guam into a giant field hospital Unfortunately, the level of the Apra Naval Station is really not good. It¡¯s relatively high, but the medical conditions are also very rudimentary. Although Guam has tried every means and tried its best, hundreds of sick sailors are still dying. Only a few patients can finally recover, and the death condition is generally extremely horrific, with the whole body swollen and black, and the internal organs are rotting. Thus, Guam has transformed from a giant hospital into a giant cemetery.
Such a tragic scene caused some Guam residents to suffer a mental breakdown. They believe that a terrible disease has enveloped the island, and the only way to survive is to escape to the sea. As a result, some U.S. naval officers and soldiers at Apra Naval Station abandoned their duties and colleagues in the fleet, and fled ninety nautical miles away in small boats. At that time, Saipan and Tinian Islands were under Japanese rule ( Also known as Tinian Island)¡
Since the relationship between Japan and the United States was not bad at that time, the Japanese troops stationed on the island who did not know the inside story were initially friendly, trying their best to provide shelter and food for the refugees, and trying to find out the inside story of their escape. However, when the Japanese finally figured out thisAfter hearing the inside story about the "Plague", they were also frightened out of their wits. They quickly expelled these refugees who were suspected of being plagued and let them return to Guam to fend for themselves!
As time went by, although the expedition fleet almost became a death fleet, no one among the Japanese on Saipan and Tinian, as well as the aborigines and American immigrants on Guam contracted similar plagues. . Although they were happy, they couldn't help but feel a little confused.
¡ª¡ªWhat the people in the Mariana Islands don¡¯t know is that shortly after leaving Nagasaki Port, the American fleet encountered a subtropical storm on the way, which caused the torrential rain to wash away the radioactive dust on the warships However, although the heavy rain can wash away the radiation dust on the surface of the battleship so that it will no longer harm more people, it cannot restore the health of the people who have already endured huge amounts of radiation
At the same time, the British fleet that retreated back to Hong Kong, and the French fleet that fled to Vietnam, also silently spread death and fear to all directions As for the Japanese island of Kyushu, which was covered by the nuclear radiation cloud, it became a complete A death purgatory. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!