By Fred Nelson

“KUAM signed on as Guam's first commercial AM radio station on March 14, 1954. There had been an AFRS military station servicing the island since its liberation in 1944, but under a military non-compete clause, that station agreed to sign off the air permanently at 5:55 p.m., five minutes before KUAM signed on,” said former KUAM staffer Fred Nelson.

Radio station KUAM was the brainchild of international radio tycoon Harry Engel Jr.

Engel Jr. said, “This evening, we are dedicating radio station KUAM to the service and the entertainment of the people of Guam.”

Nelson said, “Harry had a company in New York that provided services for radio stations around the world. In late 1952, he was on a red-eye flight from la to New York when he read a magazine article about how Guam was rebuilding after the war. And he realized it was the perfect place to set up a new station.”

Although Engel's company represented radio and TV stations around the world, KUAM and Guam became his personal pet project.

“He actually moved to Guam and ran his world business out of Ordot. At the same time, he was working out the red tape and researching the island for nearly a year to determine what the people would want out of a radio station,” said Nelson.

Engel personally supervised the building of the station in late 1953, and KUAM launched as an NBC radio affiliate on March 14.

Nelson added, “That first day of broadcasting was a strange mixture of local notable names like Bishop Baumgartner and Antonio Won Pat, alongside the voices of some of the biggest movie stars of the day.”

In a KUAM video file, Hope Crosby said, “Hello, this is Bing Crosby. I'd like to add my good wishes and congratulations to station KUAM, its management and personnel in Guam. But sincerely, I do want to send along my personal congratulations to Harry Engel and all of the staff at KUAM on this first day of broadcasting on Guam, by KUAM commercial radio.”

From this auspicious beginning, KUAM would make good on its promise of quality programming.

This radio log from our second day on the air shows something for everyone: music, news, religious services, programming for chamorro and tagalog listeners, a local women's show and national NBC programming shipped in from the mainland.

Nelson said, “Two years later, Harry repeated his success when he brought television to the island. The station we are on right now, in fact.”

Harry sold KUAM in 1960. Under new owners, it would establish an FM station, originally automated beautiful music in 1966 and our first color broadcast was in 1970.

But although we've expanded over the years, we remain true to the original words of Harry Engel on that March night in 1954.

Engel said, “To all the people of Guam, I give this pledge, that radio station KUAM will always serve the best interests of the people.”

Our thanks goes to Fred Nelson in Washington DC for helping us prepare this story and he had some news of his own to share.

In a few weeks, Nelson will be returning to Guam after 25 years on the east coast, not only for vacation, but also a little research.

He's producing an audio docuseries about the life story of Harry Engel and KUAM’s impact on far east broadcasting in the 20th century.

We'll be sure to have him stop by and say Hafa Adai!