[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 96 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMMEMORATION OF THE LIBERATION OF GUAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Guam [Mr. Underwood] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I take the opportunity to come to the 
floor to just simply commemorate an event that is very important to the 
people of Guam, and that is the liberation of Guam from the hands of 
the Japanese during World War II.
  The actual liberation of Guam occurred on July 21, 1944, with the 
landing of troops from the Third Marine Division and the First Marine 
Provisional Brigade and the 77th Army Infantry. We paid tribute to this 
event yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery with about 200 people 
from the local Guam community as well as various officials from the 
Federal Government. We laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, and 
joining with me in laying this wreath was General Krulak, the 
Commandant of the Marine Corps.
  Of course, this is entirely appropriate because it is in fact the 
Marines who were the shock troops of the landing which occurred 53 
years ago on Guam. Among the Marines that landed on Guam on that day 
were Capt. Louis Wilson, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor and 
who, unfortunately, could not be with us yesterday, but he won the 
Congressional Medal of Honor on Guam. Captain Wilson later went on to 
be Commandant of the Marine Corps.
  Also, last year, in commemorating this event, someone who joined in 
commemorating this event with us was former Alabama Senator Howell 
Heflin, who was wounded on Guam on July 21, 1944.
  The island of Guam was devastated by this conflagration, and the men 
in uniform, as liberators from the sea, deserve our gratitude and 
certainly the gratitude from the people of Guam for a job well done and 
for the honor of a sacred mission that was fully completed.
  But there were also liberators from within. There were also the 
people of Guam who suffered and who sacrificed and endured much 
hardship while awaiting their deliverance, but displaying all the while 
their courage and their capacity for survival, their ingenuity and 
their indomitable spirit.
  There are many dates in this month, in July, which testify to the 
intensity of the emotions of the Chamorro people and the endurance of 
the Japanese occupation. On July 12, the date in 1944, some 9 days 
before the arrival of the American troops, the Japanese ordered a 
massive roundup of all civilians and had a forced march into the 
interior of the island.

                              {time}  2145

  July 12 is also the date on which four men were beheaded, including 
Father Duenas, in a place called Tai. Father Duenas was beheaded for 
his continual insistence and protestations to the Japanese authorities 
that his people be treated fairly. And the same day that the Japanese 
decided to round up the entire population of some 20,000 Chamorro 
civilians and force them into camps into the interior of the island, 
was the day that they also beheaded Father Duenas.
  On July 15 there was the massacre of some 16 villagers on the 
southern end of the island in the caves of Tinta Malesso, and July 16 
the massacre of 30 other villagers at Faha, which is also in the 
village of Malesso. And on July 20, one day before the arrival of the 
Americans, the brave actions of some young men who were armed only with 
one rifle and several homemade spears under the leadership of Tonko 
Ayes of Malesso, overcame a squad of Japanese soldiers in Malesso in 
fear of their lives.
  So as we reflect upon this, certainly for the people of Guam there 
were numerous other beheadings, executions and beatings, but the people 
of Guam persevered because of their faith in the American flag and 
belief in their abilities. Today we pay respect to those who liberated 
Guam in 1944, from within, from without, from the sea and from the 
hills. The people who came from places like Kansas and Florida and 
North Carolina, but certainly also people that came from the interior 
of Guam, we honor all of you.
  It is important to remember that Guam was the only American territory 
which was occupied during World War II with civilians in it, and is in 
fact the only American territory occupied since the war of 1812.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Guam 
[Mr. Underwood] on the special order that he is conducting here this 
evening. When I visited some of the battlefields in Guam and saw the 
activities and learned of the heroic activities of the Guamanian 
people, I was moved and impressed.
  I think we have not given the Guamanians the recognition they really 
deserve, so I appreciate the gentleman's offer on behalf of his 
constituency tonight.

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