Guam: A Biogeographic and Maritime Cultural Landscape Exploration of a World War II Amphibious Battlefield

Anne E. Wright

Principal Investigator; Underwater Archaeologist, Submerged Resources Center, National Park Service

Anne E. Wright is an underwater archaeologist with the National Park Service (NPS) Submerged Resources Center. She received a master’s degree in underwater archaeology/maritime studies from East Carolina University and bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Transylvania University. Anne’s primary research interests include World War II underwater archaeology and aircraft archaeology. She is also working on a pilot program for the NPS that uses citizen scientists to monitor submerged cultural resources for impacts caused by climate change. Anne is an avid technical and rebreather diver. She has been involved in underwater archaeology projects in the Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean, and across the United States and has previously worked in Guam with the underwater archaeology nonprofit organization Ships of Discovery.

Monique LaFrance Bartley

Co-Principal Investigator; Marine Ecologist, Ocean and Coastal Resources Branch, Water Resources Division, National Park Service

Monique LaFrance Bartley, Ph.D., is a marine ecologist within the National Park Service (NPS) Ocean and Coastal Resources Branch. Her primary role is managing benthic mapping and sediment and shoreline management projects that serve 88 coastal and Great Lakes park units. In addition, she provides technical expertise at the request of parks and is responsible for implementing and managing interagency collaborations. Prior to joining NPS, Monique spent twelve years at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, where she was a marine research specialist and earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in oceanography. Her research focused on mapping shallow water benthic habitat and dynamic coastal processes, classifying mapping data using the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS), using GIS to analyze and visualize data, and translating science to support resource management needs.

Marisa Agarwal

Marine Biologist, Scientists-in-Parks Program, National Park Service

Marisa Agarwal was a Natural Resource Management Assistant at War in the Pacific National Historical Park (WAPA) in Guam (2022-2023) and is currently a graduate student at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. She completed her bachelor's degree in marine biology at Brown University in 2021. In Guam, she created a reef flat monitoring program for WAPA, developed public-facing data analysis tools and maps, and assisted in the field on a variety of freshwater and marine research projects for NPS. Her current research focuses on the community ecology of marine systems spanning the temperate and tropical Pacific, with a focus on regional conservation and management outcomes. Marisa enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of this project and participated as a diver to find and identify archaeological targets within WAPA waters.

Luis F. M. Cabral II

Volunteer Diver, Retired Educator

A retired music educator from the Department of Education Guam since 2014, Luis is a full-time scuba instructor after 20+ years of part-time teaching. He has been involved in maritime archaeology through the University of Guam and has been involved in projects both locally and in Palau. He also participates in local reef clean-up dives and in Crown of Thorns starfish eradication efforts. Luis continues to be involved in dive tourism through teaching local and military divers in Guam the joys of scuba diving and some of the local culture and history as it pertains to Guam. Luis participated in this project as a volunteer diver and also shared his family’s history during oral history collection efforts.

Dave Conlin

Underwater Archaeologist and Chief, Submerged Resources Center, National Park Service

Dave Conlin, Ph.D., attended Reed College, where he conducted undergraduate work in anthropology and archaeology. He then received a master’s degree in Aegean and underwater archeology from Oxford University and master’s and doctorate degrees in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University. While at Brown, Dave began volunteering with the National Park Service (NPS) Submerged Resources Unit, assisting with the extensive field seasons at Dry Tortugas National Park. From 1993-1996, he split his summers between the Dry Tortugas and Greece, where he was doing his doctoral research on Mycenaean Bronze Age maritime trade. Following graduation from Brown, Dave took a job as an underwater archeologist with the NPS in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After the NPS Submerged Resources Center (SRC) moved to Denver, Colorado, he assumed the position of chief of the center. Dave was on the board of directors for the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology and the NPS National Dive Control Board and served as the cultural resources representative to both the National Ocean Council and President Obama’s National Ocean Plan. Dave is also one of the founders of the Slave Wrecks Project — a global initiative to document the shameful practices of human trafficking through an examination of shipwrecks.

John A. Dailey

Volunteer Diver, Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation

John A. Dailey is a former Marine raider and combat diver with more than 35 years of active duty and government service. He continues to work with Marine special operations forces as the training and education director for the Marine Raider Training Center. John is a writer and avid outdoorsman. His forthcoming memoir, Tough Rugged Bastards chronicles his experiences during the early formative years of the Marines’ involvement with U.S. Special Operations Command. As an environmentalist, World War II history buff, and the editor of the Marine Raider Association magazine, The Raider Patch, John is honored to work with the National Park Service and Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation in support of the Guam expedition.

Matthew Hanks

Underwater Archaeologist, Submerged Resources Center, National Park Service

Matthew Hanks is an underwater archaeologist and diver at the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center (SRC). He earned his master’s degree in maritime archaeology from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, and bachelor’s degrees in archaeology and anthropology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. After graduating from Flinders, Matthew’s professional experience has included work at the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, the Maritime Branch of the South Australian Department for Environment and Natural Resources, and SEARCH. His primary responsibilities with the SRC have included planning and conducting marine remote sensing surveys to locate submerged cultural resources, marine remote sensing data analysis, GIS, search and recovery missions, equipment maintenance and repair, underwater archaeological documentation, data recoveries, report writing, boat operation, and diving. Matthew has conducted more than 80 marine remote sensing surveys across the United States, Oceania, Mediterranean, and Australia since 2010. During those surveys, he became familiar with multiple side-scan sonar, magnetometer, sub-bottom profiler, and GPS systems, as well as their respective data acquisition and processing software.

Liza Hasan

Marine Biologist, Volunteers-in-Parks Program, National Park Service

Liza Hasan is a marine biologist specializing in remote sensing and marine geographic information systems (GIS). She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and a master’s degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her interdisciplinary research incorporates technology, ecology, geography, and resource management. Liza has contributed to mapping efforts at Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks in Alaska, including collecting and analyzing multibeam sonar data and developing associated GIS products. Her master’s research focused on assessing the relationship between sea otter presence and benthic habitat in Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet, Alaska. Liz has experience operating survey equipment for marine habitat mapping, including the uncrewed surface vessel and remotely operated vehicle that will be used in this project. Liza will be participating in this project as part of the National Park Service’s Volunteers-in-Parks program.

Olivia Helinski

Civil Engineer, Volunteers-in-Parks Program, National Park Service

Olivia Helinski received a degree in civil engineering from the University of Portland in Oregon. As an undergraduate research assistant, Olivia worked to study plastic pollution capture technology and to establish baseline knowledge of microplastic concentration levels in urban stormwater. After graduation, she joined the Juneau Icefield Research Program, where she collected glaciology data to maintain mass-balance records and better understand glacial retreat on the Juneau Icefield in Alaska. Olivia will be participating in this project as part of the National Park Service’s (NPS) Volunteers-In-Parks program to assist with data collection and learn more about NPS’ efforts to manage and protect public lands.

Joe Hoyt

Diving Program Manager, NOAA

Joe Hoyt is the NOAA Diving Program Manager, responsible for the safe execution of diving operations across the agency. He specializes in archaeological recording of deepwater shipwrecks and has supported and led several NOAA archaeological expeditions since 2001. In 2004, he was awarded the North American Rolex Scholarship through the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society. He has worked on underwater archaeology projects in North and South America, Europe, the Great Lakes, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and several inland rivers. Joe is also an avid underwater photographer and technical diver. He earned a master’s degree in maritime history and nautical archaeology from East Carolina University.

Tahzay Jones

Coastal Ecologist and Alaska Region Ocean Coordinator, National Park Service

Tahzay Jones is a coastal ecologist and the Alaska regional ocean coordinator for the National Park Service. Tahzay has worked to support resources management needs in Alaska parks for the past twelve years. He has also worked extensively at island park units, including on Guam and Hawaii. Tahzay has a broad range of expertise, including coastal physical processes, coral reef ecology, biological and physical monitoring, and fisheries. His technical skills include acoustic sonar, structure from motion, and GNSS data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Tahzay earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago and his doctorate at the University of Miami.

Mikey Kent

Training Specialist, NOAA Diving Program

Mikey Kent is a training specialist with the NOAA Diving Program, where he teaches NOAA divers and is a dive medical technician. In addition to dive training, he supports field work with open and closed circuit dive operations and is a hyperbaric chamber supervisor. Prior to joining the NOAA Diving Program, Mikey worked with the National Park Service at Dry Tortugas National Park and Caribbean Parks. He holds an associate degree in diving and business technology from the College of the Florida Keys.

D. Blair Moore

Scientists-in-Parks intern, Submerged Resources Center and Ocean and Coastal Resources Branch, National Park Service

Blair Moore is a Scientists-in-Parks intern working for the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center and Ocean and Coastal Resources Branch. Two years ago, Blair decided that he needed a career change, and his passion for the ocean led him to enroll in the University of Miami’s underwater archaeology graduate program. On top of all things ocean and maritime, he’s acutely interested in traditional maritime ecological knowledge. Previously, he spent 10 years working as a blacksmith specializing in architectural ironwork. Blair obtained his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Montana. He is also a scuba instructor, a technical diver, and a novice closed-circuit rebreather diver.

Jason Nunn

Senior Diving Safety Officer, University of Miami

Jason Nunn is the senior diving safety officer for the University of Miami. Prior to his time at University of Miami, he was the diving safety officer at East Carolina University. Jason is an instructor trainer, cave diver, and technical diving and rebreather instructor. He has provided dive support for projects all over the world, including the Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Worth Parker

Volunteer Diver, Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation

Russell Worth Parker retired from the Marine Corps after 27 years, with the majority spent as a Marine raider. He deployed to Southwest and Central Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Rim, with combat service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Worth graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in history, the Florida State University College of Law with a Juris Doctor, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a master’s degree in conflict Management and resolution. Worth is a freelance writer represented by Peter McGuigan of Ultra Literary. He is published in The New York Times, Garden and Gun, Outdoor Life, and other publications and was the contract writer for the bestseller Always Faithful: A Story of the War in Afghanistan, The Fall of Kabul, and The Unshakable Bond Between a Marine and an Interpreter and is the editor-in-chief of the Tom Beckbe Field Journal, Lethal Minds Journal, and Duffel Blog.

Natalie Scott

Marine Biologist, Scientists-in-Parks Program, National Park Service

Natalie Scott is a natural resource management assistant working for War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, where she primarily works on ecological surveys and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems. She received her bachelor's degree in biology and marine science from the University of Miami and completed her undergraduate research on coral microbiome shifts in response to thermal stress. Natalie is an experienced scientific diver and has worked on various coral restoration projects in Florida and on Guam. Natalie is excited to be a part of this interdisciplinary project and participated as a diver assisting with underwater archaeological surveys.

Brett Seymour

Audiovisual Production Specialist and Deputy Chief, Submerged Resources Center, National Park Service

Brett Seymour is an audiovisual production specialist and the deputy chief of the National Park Service (NPS) Submerged Resources Center (SRC). The SRC has been the operational center for the NPS’ 150+ divers for nearly four decades. The SRC supports the protection, preservation, public access, and interpretation of submerged resources, both in the United States and internationally. With a degree in television and film production from Messiah University, Brett started working as a full-time underwater photographer with the NPS in 1994. His work with the NPS has provided underwater access to some of the United States’ most captivating national parks. In addition to making a whole new dimension of the park system available to the public, for the past three decades Brett has specialized in documenting historically significant underwater sites around the world. As project photographer on the civil war submarine HL Hunley, the arctic exploration vessel HMS Investigator, the Greek cargo/trading shipwreck of Antikythera, the 1485 Danish warship Gribshunden, and World War II sites throughout the Pacific, including several hundred dives imaging the USS Arizona, he has connected the present to the past through a career in underwater imagery.

Andrew J. Van Slyke

Underwater Archaeologist, Submerged Resources Center, National Park Service

Andrew J. Van Slyke received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in anthropology with a specialization in historical archaeology from the University of West Florida. He is currently an archaeologist with the National Park Service (NPS) Submerged Resources Center (SRC). Andrew has led submerged pre-contact and historical archaeological investigations in the continental United States. He specializes in maritime cultural landscape theory, remote sensing surveys, and the earliest shipwrecks in the western hemisphere. He is a co-founder of the Maritime Legacy Project: Jamaica, where he assists the Jamaica National Heritage Trust in locating Columbus’ last caravels in St. Ann’s Bay. Andrew also leads the NPS Shipwreck Tagging Archaeological Management Program, which documents the degradation of beached shipwrecks in U.S. national parks.

Julia Young

GIS Analyst, Volunteers-in-Parks Program, National Park Service

Julia Young received a bachelor’s degree in watershed science from Colorado State University. During her undergraduate studies, Julia worked in the field with a professor, studying stream stoichiometry and measuring stream characteristics before, during, and after nutrient injection experiments. In addition, she used that data to do an independent study on sediment phosphorus uptake rates along experimental stream reaches. After graduation, Julia worked for the Colorado Department of Public Health in water quality. She also earned a GIS certificate from Front Range Community College, which included working on a project to map the rocky intertidal zones of Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This project entailed creation of a seamless topobathymetric dataset and identification of a threshold for rugosity that identified intertidal rocky areas for both parks. Julia is looking forward to conducting field work and building on her skills. She is participating in this project as part of the National Park Service’s Volunteers-in-Parks program.