As Intercontinental Services began to retain more and more stations, Harry Engel was launched into the lifestyle of a jet-setter. Any particular day found him either at one of his remote, exotic stations - or en route to it.
Friend and author James Ramsey Ullman wrote of Engel's extensive schedule: "he does his best to be on his assorted continents simultaneously. A not untypical Engelian week would involve some schedule as Monday in Bermuda, Tuesday in Lisbon, Wednesday and Thursday (he's slowing up here) in Nairobi, Friday in Karachi, Saturday in Hong Kong, with the day off on Sunday for a round of golf in Manila."
It was on one such red-eye flight, from Washington to Ventura in late 1952 or early 1953, that Engel read and re-read a magazine article, possibly given to him by fellow broadcaster Henry Kaiser in Honolulu. The article detailed the post-war years in the Marianas Island chain ... and specifically Guam. In his own words, "suddenly it dawned on me: here was a place with real opportunity. Or, to put it another way, there's no competition here."
An indeed, there wasn't. Records showed that as far back as March of 1930, an unknown commercial broadcasting representative had travelled to Guam to seek a site for the construction of a radio station ... but nothing had come of it.
Twelve years later, while Harry was recuperating in Army hospitals, Guam labored under Japanese rule. It was the only American territory occupied by the Japanese, from late 1941 through the mid-1944. Throughout these years the island remained radio-free.
Following the liberation of Guam by American forces in July and August of 1944, the island finally received its first taste of radio - but it certainly wasn't the commercial, entertainment-oriented programming the rest of the world was experiencing. For nearly ten years the sole source of radio programming on Guam was US Army KU51/US Navy KU5Q, operated by the Pacific Ocean Network arm of the Armed Forces Radio Service. Although it did offer a sampling of some of the U.S. commercial network programming of the time (with the commercials removed), this was broken up with a great deal of military-centric fare; shows with titles such as G.I. Journal, Mail Call, Jubilee, and G.I. Jive.
A mobile broadcasting truck from US Army KU51/US Navy KU5Q, circa 1950.
Regardless of the quality of the programming, Guam was listening. A 1953 survey conducted by Engel showed that in each village of the island, between 35 to 55% of the populace owned radios, tuned to the one AFRS station.
Furthermore (and this particular fact intrigued Engel), the audience was completely captive, because most residents simply left their radios running 24 hours a day. They were afraid to turn them off for fear that the island's high humidity would ruin the units. Said Engel, "Just think of it: 70,000 people and all they can do is listen to me all the time."
An early 1954 radio trade ad that drove Engel's point home.
Harry launched into action. He returned to Washington to consult with the Federal Communications Commission, and discovered that he would be granted a commercial monopoly on Guam if he could raise the $50,000 the FCC required for a private station. Additionally, he would require clearances from the Army, Navy, and the Department of the Interior, which governed the island.
Harry contacted West Coast partner Phil Berg to propose the raising of funds for this venture. He then travelled to Guam to clear red tape and conduct feasibility studies to justify the cost. He found his work cut out for him. A variety of problems reared their head from many quarters.
However, despite the pitfalls, Harry remained optimistic in his feasibility study:
"...a period of one year be anticipated for clearance of abstacles (sic) on this end. You will not be dealing with statesiders but with Guamanians and the process is considerably slower. Also the Government here is in its embryonic stage and cannot support you as readily as agencies in the states."
"The golden day of easy money is gone in the Pacific and in Guam in particular. The advent of taxes in this area destroyed all possibilities of accumulating quick money. This, plus the unrest fostered by the presence of the military in the controversy over civilian rule, has discouraged a great deal of American capital and money as a result is tight.
Two shots of Marine Drive, Guam in 1953: (l) Agana and (r) Asan
"To submit a photograph of the business areas would be impracticle (sic) because, as known in the States, they are non-existant. Tamuning has a line of stores on Marine Drive similar to a small town in the States but even they sit one behind the other and in a very erratic line down the road."
Two notable department stores on Guam in 1953: (l) Townhouse/J&G and (r) Sears Roebuck
"(Guam) has for the most part a thin layer of soil in its lowlands. We have found that although there is constant moisture in the land that coral is a poor susbstance for a ground. Blank spots result in transmission and it is attributable to the ground system under our towers."
"Being venturesome by nature it may sound strange for me to be throwing such negativisms up for your consideration. But you requested that I treat this as though it was my station and all of these facts and the accompanying attitudes are of paramount importance.
Engel's optimism did the trick. In less than a year, the $50,000 capital was raised and the red tape was cleared. Harry scouted the island for an ideal location to broadcast from. Initially Mount Santa Rosa, Adelup Point, Nimitz Hill, and Mount LamLam were all considered as locations. Finally, a decision was made to set up shop near the center of the island in Ordot. A target date for March 1954 was set for the premiere of KUAM.
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