[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E39]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page E39]]
RECOGNIZING THE DUTY OF THE MARIANAS SCOUTS
______
HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD
of guam
in the house of representatives
Monday, January 31, 2000
Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, on January 31, 2000, a ceremony will take
place in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands honoring and
recognizing the service of a small group of civilian men who, during
WWII on the island of Saipan, willingly put themselves in harm's way to
ensure that American soldiers could defeat the occupying Japanese
military forces. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Resident
Representative, the Honorable Juan Babauta, has been key in making sure
the sacrifice and service of these men are recognized by the United
States. I commend Mr. Babauta for his persistence and wish to submit
his statement honoring the ``Marianas Scouts'' for the Record.
At Last America Remembers Marianas Scouts
They helped American Marines find their way on unfamiliar
ground during one of World War II's fiercest battles. And
once the Japanese-held island of Saipan was ``secure'' they
continued to help: rooting out the hundreds of enemy soldiers
who remained a menace, lurking in the dense jungle and hidden
deep in limestone caves.
But when the fighting was finally over, the fifty Chamorro
and Carolinian men who had volunteered to join the US
military after the invasion of Saipan were forgotten by the
US. They received no discharges, no campaign ribbons, none of
the benefits accorded other US veterans. Only their families
and friends remembered the valor of these ``Marine Scouts.''
On Monday, January 31, at least America will remember.
In a ceremony to be attended by Brigadier General R.E.
Parker, Commanding General of the US Marine Corps Base in
Hawaii and personal representative of Marine Corps Commandant
General James L. Jones, the twenty-one surviving Scouts and
the memory of those who have already passed on will finally
receive the recognition they deserve.
General Parker will present the Scouts or their survivors
with the ribbons and medals acknowledging service in the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign and commemorating Victory in the
World War II. The men will also receive their official
discharges at the rank of corporal.
The Marianas Campaign of 1944 was critical to the outcome
of World War II. The fall of the Marianas led directly to the
fall of the government in Tokyo, because now America was
within bomber range of the Japanese home islands. That
strategic significance was reflected in the ferocity of the
fighting here and the tenacity of the Japanese defenders.
Even after the battle of Saipan was official over and the
Japanese military command had surrendered, still there were
hundreds of Japanese soldiers hidden in the dense jungle,
squeezed into pockets of limestone in the hillsides. At night
they materialized to harass; by day their sniper shots struck
without warning. Americans continued to die.
The US Commander of the Military Government decided that
local men, who best knew the local terrain and spoke
Japanese, could best track down these holdouts.
Fifty Chamorros and Carolinians were selected and put under
the command of the 6th Provisional Military Police Battalion.
They were issued Marine Corps uniforms, trained to use rifles
and grenades, and instructed in hand-to-hand fighting.
Once on duty, platoons of these local Marine Scouts, as
they were known, combed Mt. Tapotchau, the hills of Laulau
and Kagman, and the ridges of Marpi, exposing and capturing
Japanese. The Scouts also took part in the American
expeditions to round up the hundreds of Japanese troops on
the islands of Pagan and Maug.
The service of these men of the Marianas saved American
lives. But their service was never fully acknowledged.
It took six years of work, beginning with exhaustive
research in military archives at the National Archives, the
Marine Corps Historical Center, and the Naval Archives,
through some 50,000 pages of war records and diaries, to
uncover the few sentences attesting to the Scouts' service.
For the men themselves had no paper record, only their
memories.
Then, the materials had to be presented to the Department
of Defense Civilian/Military Service Review Board for its
scrutiny. On September 30, 1999, two years after the original
submission, the decision came down:
``In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 95-202
and upon the recommendation of the Department of Defense
Civilian/Military Service Review Board, the Secretary of the
Air Force, acting as the Executive Agent of the Secretary of
Defense, determines . . . the service of . . . three scouts/
guides, Miguel Tenorio, Benedicto Taisacan, and Cristino Dela
Cruz, who assisted the U.S. Marines in the offensive
operations against the Japanese on the Northern Mariana
Islands from `June 19, 1994, through September 2, 1945,'
shall be considered `active duty' for purposes of all laws
administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
``Additionally, the service of a group described as `the
approximately 50 Chamorro and Carolinian former, native
policemen who received military training in the Donnay area
of central Saipan and were placed under the command of Lt.
Casino of the 6th Provisional Military Police Battalion to
accompany United States Marines on active, combat-patrol
activity from August 19, 1945, to September 2, 1945,' shall
be considered `active duty' for purposes of all laws
administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.''
Now, on Janaury 31, the Scouts will receive their
discharges, medals, and ribbons.
Among those who should be recognized for their efforts to
make this day possible are: Mr. Joseph C. Reyes, President of
the US Armed Forces Veterans Association in the Northern
Marianas, who was tireless in pursuit of this goal; former
members of the Northern Marianas Legislature Crispin I.
Deleon Guerrero and Vicente C. Guerrero, who would not let
our men be forgotten; both Joseph Palacios, the former
Director of the CNMI Veterans Office, and Jesus C. Muna, the
present Director, who have been most supportive; Mr. Pete
Callahan, Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3457,
who helped mobilize national recognition; Senator Daniel
Akaka of Hawaii, a vet himself, who weighed in with the
Pentagon when we needed him; and the Northern Marianas
Legislature, under the leadership of Speaker Diego T.
Benavente and President Paul A. Manglona, which passed two
resolutions on behalf of our World War II veterans, spurred
to act by Representatives Frank G. Cepeda and David M.
Apatang. Major Harry Blanco, should also be recognized; he
extended PX privileges to the Scouts, even before they were
declared to be vets; a much appreciated act of faith.
The Roster of Scouts
Ignacio Reyes Ada, Antonio M. Aguon, Antonio Angailen,
Pedro SN. Attao, Santiago Miyasaki Babauta, Antonio Manahane
Benavente, Juan V. Benavente, Daniel T. Borja, Gregorio
Flores Borja, Gregorio Camacho Cabrera, Juan Camacho Cabrera,
Albert S. Camacho, Lorenzo Tudela Camacho, Cristino S. Dela
Cruz, Joaquin Duenas Dela Cruz, Bernardo C. Deleon Guerrero,
Joaquin C. Deleon Guerrero, Jose S. Deleon Guerrero, Lorenzo
Diaz Deleon Guerrero, Serafin Borja Kaipat, Juan Limes,
Rafael C. Mafnas, Jose Blas Magofna, Miguel Blaz Magofna,
Pedro Mettao, Nicolas Quidachai Muna, Francisco Nekai, Juan
Quitugua Norita, Isidro Limes Ogarto, Francisco C. Palacios,
Joaquin B. Pangelian, Juan San Nicolas Pangelian, Edward M.
Peter, Jose Roberto Quitano, Benigno A. Rabauliman, Antonio
T. Rogolofoi, Isidro R. Rogopes, Vicente T. Rosario, Ignacio
Mangarero Sablan, Segundo Tudela Sablan, Herberto San
Nicolas, Pedro F. Sakisat, Felipe Agulto Salas, Gofredo Aguon
Sanchez, Juan A. Sanchez, Guillermo P. Saures, Felipe
Mazinnis Seman, Juan Malus Tagabuel, Benedicto Satur
Taisacan, Antonio Camacho Tenorio, Antonio P. Tenorio,
Vicente Olaitiman Taman, Miguel Pangelinan Tenorio, Pedro
Peter Teregeyo, and Manuel Seman Villagomez.
____________________