[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 106 (Monday, June 25, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E906]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING GUAM WAR SURVIVOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 25, 2018

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the people of 
Guam who endured 32 months of horrific enemy occupation during World 
War II. Today on Guam, our community is commemorating War Survivor 
Remembrance Day to honor their patriotism and unwavering loyalty to the 
United States. The residents of Guam suffered unspeakable harm as a 
result of our island's occupation by Imperial Japanese military forces 
during World War II. Guam was the only U.S. territory with a permanent 
civilian population occupied during World War II, and many of our 
people were subjected to death and the atrocities of war including 
forced labor and internment.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that our nation recognize the 
residents of Guam for their steadfast loyalty to the United States of 
America, as demonstrated by the countless acts of courage they 
performed despite the threat of death or great bodily harm they faced 
at the hands of the enemy forces that occupied Guam during World War 
II.
  Today, I extend my gratitude to the members of our greatest 
generation in recognition of War Survivor Remembrance Day. I join the 
people of Guam and all Americans in honoring the lives of all of Guam's 
war survivors, and the memory of those who we lost during the 
occupation. The courage and resiliency of our Guam's war survivors 
continues to live on in the legacy of our people.
  I am especially mindful that as our community celebrates War Survivor 
Remembrance Day, the Guam War Claims Program has reached a new 
milestone, and applications for claims are under review by the Foreign 
Claims Settlement Commission at the U.S. Department of Justice.
  Passing the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act was a 
commitment I made to the people of Guam and an initiative that I and 
our community persisted in advocating for despite the challenges we 
faced. Working to secure passage of war claims alongside many of our 
local organizations on Guam, as well as with policymakers and officials 
in the Bush, Obama, and now Trump Administrations, ensured that the law 
is implemented as intended.
  I commend all the work of my predecessors, former Congressmen Antonio 
Won Pat, Ben Blaz, and Robert Underwood, as well as the members of the 
Guam War Claims Review Commission, who laid the groundwork for our 
success.
  This was a positive accomplishment for Guam, and it gives our elders 
(nanamko) recognition for what they endured during the occupation as a 
result of their loyalty and patriotism to the United States. Again with 
the people of Guam and a grateful nation, I extend a sincere thank you 
and thank you very much (Un Dangkolo na si Yu'os Ma'ase) to all of 
Guam's War Survivors.

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