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No one expected, 74 years ago, the island of Papua recorded the largest war history in the Pacific Region precisely on Biak Numfor Island.
Biak Numfor is one of the districts located in Papua Province. The capital of the county is in biak city district. This regency is also commonly referred to as an island district because of its location separate from the main island, Papua.
World War II in the land of Papua precisely in Biak occurred in 1944, until now still leaving a deep wound on those involved, such as Japanese soldiers, allies and local residents.
Many things are sacrificed, some become fighters who carry out state duties, but there are also locals who should not be involved in conflicts, fields, villages, beaches and where they live exhausted into battlefields.
Imagine how many died in this war? Hundreds to thousands of soldiers and locals were killed in the incident.
The gripping event is still clearly remembered, attached to the memories of the perpetrators, witnesses, and families who lost loved ones.
Even the remnants of the war can still be found scattered from Supiori to Biak describing how devastating the war that occurred.
World War II relics, Binsari Cave or Japanese Cave
Papuan people, especially biak, believe that binsari cave is a place for the ancestors of the Biak people to get in touch with the supernatural. In Biak, this cave is called Abyab Binsari. Binsari consists of two words, namely Bin which means woman and Sari which means old. When combined it has the meaning of old woman or grandmother.
Behind the meaning of the word binsari cave, it turns out that there is a gripping thing that happened.
At that time, Binsari Cave became a battleground between the Japanese army and the allies. This natural cave was used as a hideout, logistics center, and defense for the Japanese army during World War II in 1943-1945.
This binsari cave is located in Samofa Subdistrict, located to the west of Biak City. The site, better known as the military tunnel, is a hideout that houses 3000-5000 Japanese soldiers.
Allied forces under the command of General McArthur dropped bombs and fuel drums on June 7, 1944 at Binsari Cave.
As many as 3,000 Japanese soldiers were killed and buried alive in the cave. Many remnants of mortars, bullets, weapons, car wrecks, which are evidence of the enormity of the attack in the cave which has a depth of about 45 meters and a length of 180 meters.
Remembering the Bombing in Binsari Cave, built World War II Monument
If you visit Biak Island, no wonder occasionally you will definitely find tourists from Japan who are on the island. They visited to pray for their parents, their brothers who died in the great war.
The construction of this World War II monument was inaugurated in 1994. The monument was built on the beach in Paray Village located between Mokmer and Bosnik, seven kilometers from Biak City.
Until now this monument has become a tourist attraction on the island of Biak.
This area consists of several parts, one of which is in the main part of the wall with a slightly curved shape that reads “WORLD WAR II MONUMENTS” in Indonesian, England, and Japan.
Furthermore, on the front of the main section there are eight large stones in different sizes and shapes. This stone arrangement symbolizes eight fallen Japanese Generals, three of whom are General Kirohito, General Yakoyama, and Konodera.
In the monument there is a room in the form of a hallway along 10 meters. The passageway contains Japanese flags, photos of Japanese soldiers, and cremation ashes of the bodies of Japanese soldiers who died in World War II when the allies launched bombs on Biak Island. The ash is stored in an aluminum box.
That is the history of several tours on biak island, the former occurrence of a gripping event, namely World War II.