I had been to the island several times, but I had not been a tour guide to some family members from California who had not experienced the many sites on the island of Tutuila. We toured the East and the West, as far as the historic village of Leone to the mystical village of Vaitogi, and to the east where the scenic village of Vatia and equally photogenic village of Aoa, seemed to encompass the overall beautiful Polynesian place call American Samoa.

I was shocked when our tour took us up Mauga o Alii, where the Tramway that crossed over the deep Pago Pago Bay stirred up a deep sense of nostalgia which was a mixture of pleasant memories and a remembrance of a traumatic event that imprinted a powerful sense of loss in my psyche as an eighteen year old senior from Fagaitua High School, who among the many students from elementary and high schools were unaware of the catastrophe that changed the most celebrated event of our government’s history—Flag Day-- since it became known as the Territory of American Samoa.

The year 1980, on April 17th, marked a sad day among the years since the Flag Day Celebrations on Tutuila and Manu’a islands had commemorated the ceding of the Eastern Samoan islands to the United States. I wanted to remember the Tramway as a place filled with good memories with my grandfather, the late Saofolau Popese Malemo, who had been an engineer for the Tramway. I used to take rides with him from the Mauga o Alii side to the top of Mt. Alava, when I was just nine years old. My grandfather told me that when the Tramway was first built, the cable lines were pulled up with heavy machines at Atu’u village. These cable lines were heavy and any mistake could cause a tragic accident. He recalled how he narrowly escaped being crushed by the heavy machine when one of the cables snapped suddenly while being pulled up to the Mt. Alava, but his close friend and coworker was not so fortunate; his coworker was crushed to death by the heavy machine.

It will be thirty-four years ago this April 17, 2014, that another tragic event happened that caused the lives of several Navy personnel and a civilian. That tragic event also destroyed the beautiful and iconic Rainmaker Hotel, the first hotel built in American Samoa. I can clearly remember the many hundreds of elementary and high school students lining up where their own schools were directed for the procession on the sunny morning. Dignitaries from many Island countries and visiting tourists, with the hundreds of locals and neighboring Western Samoans coming to be a part of the celebration.

A new event was scheduled before the procession when it was announced by the Master of Ceremony that some paratroopers would parachute right down the middle of Malae o le Talu as a tribute to those sons and daughters of American Samoa serving in the Armed Forces. Three paratroopers landed away from the Malae o le Talu, landing over some houses above Fagatogo and in the hills. We were concerned and alarmed as we worried about their safety, with some not understanding the danger. But two were able to land on the field with great precision. A great round of applause erupted out of the crowd as these brave men landed safely.

And with almost eerie silence, our attention was immediately turned toward the Pago Pago harbor, where from beyond the Pago Pago bay mountain range, the airplane that carried the paratroopers was taking a low flying swoop across the water in between the Mt. Alava height and Mauga o Alii Tramway port. As a slow motion picture of horror, the airplane flew between two cables when the rear fin of the airplane was clipped and snapped off. The realization of the tragedy hit us with sudden panic as the airplane flew briefly towards the ocean before slanting towards the Rainmaker hotel and burst into flames. The crowds in the Malae o le Talu were running in every direction. The applause that filled the Malae o le Talu earlier was now replaced with cries of fear and chaos.

The event of thirty-four years ago during our Flag Day celebration this year must not be forgotten. The rusted condition of the Tramway cable car, the vines growing over the steel platform of the cable car, the missing structure of the platform for the Tramway, the broken cables lying on the side of the road, the memorial dedicated to the lost lives stood filled with moss, and broken down paint, and the dumped trash over the side, sent a powerful message that we have forgotten the memory of what made our history. I wondered about the next generation of elementary and high school students who will be watching the Flag Day celebration of 2014 if they have any idea of the important history being eroded and erased from our memory. The Tramway cable car is an important fixture of history that is hidden from the history books, and the memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives must not be left to rot and forgotten.

If anyone reads this “cry in the wilderness,” and stands up to lend your voice to my cry, a great shout will be heard in our land that we do not want to forget the important stories of our people. If the leaders in the Fono hear this call, please stand with me and bring our people to remembrance of the sacrifice that others gave and the values of important sites to our people and to those who come to visit our islands.

What needs to happen are: a) the Tramway car and structure on Mauga o Alii must be preserved as a national treasure; b) the Memorial must be preserved as a national treasure; and c) the Mauga o Alii pathway must be preserved and documented as a tourist attraction. I pray that our people will have a wonderful and safe celebration.

Happy Flag Day!

God bless American Samoa.