David M. Sablan shares his experiences and personal account growing up during the World War II years on Saipan in this book, A Degree of Success through Curiosity. Because there was a heavy battle between the U.S. forces and the Japanese Imperial Army on Saipan during 1944 (World War II), the idyllic island life under the Japanese regime changed with the arrival of war on Saipan. David and his family fled to the hills when the battle became very intense during the early summer of 1944. There he and his family lived in a well-hidden cave and survived on coconuts, sugarcane, and whatever they could scrounge in the immediate vicinity of the cave. They survived on this diet for at least three weeks before the Americans rescued them from the cave and took them to a safety stockade, where local residents were held out of harm's way. A Degree of Success through Curiosity teaches us, the readers, a fascinating account of someone who experienced living under the Japanese regime before and during WWII on a remote Pacific island, who grew up under hardship but made something positive out of his life.
About the Author
David M. Sablan is an accomplished musician, though he never learned how to read notes. He taught himself to play the following instruments all by ear: piano, guitar, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, and ukulele. He loves to play golf and also loves traveling, but these days he is content to stay on Saipan and enjoy his semiretired life.