[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11493]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          H.R. 1595, GUAM WORLD WAR II LOYALTY RECOGNITION ACT

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise in recognition of the 
Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act.
  Twenty-two thousand American nationals were captured during World War 
II by the Japanese Imperial Forces. All 22,000 were detained on U.S. 
territory, the island of Guam. For nearly 31 months, these U.S. 
citizens were civilian prisoners of war. Many were executed and many 
atrocities were committed against them that included rape, physical 
torture, and other such efforts, all committed because of their loyalty 
to the United States. They refused to become a part of Imperial Japan. 
They would not bow to the occupiers.
  Two Federal commissions have now recommended to Congress that we have 
the moral obligation to make our fellow Americans whole from the 
suffering they endured because of their loyalty and patriotism to our 
country.
  I will vote in favor of H.R. 1595, the Guam World War II Loyalty Act 
carried by our colleague, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. This 
is an important measure. We must never forget.

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