OCCUPATION
World War II was a time of survival and resistance for the Chamorros of Guam when their home became enemy-occupied American soil. Just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces also attacked Guam and almost overnight the Chamorros saw their American freedoms and way-of-life evaporate. The 22,000 people of Guam endured more than two-and-a-half years of uncertainty and harsh conditions until the Americans returned. Their story is that of great courage and ingenuity in the face of sacrifice.
After a valiant effort by the small U.S. military contingent, members of the civilian Insular Force Guard and other Chamorros, the Naval Governor had been forced to surrender the American island to the Japanese on December 10, 1941. The 500 military and civilian Americans on Guam were incarcerated as prisoners of war and by mid January had been sent to Japanese POW camps.
Addressing the remaining local population of nearly 22,000, Japanese officials proclaimed that the seizure of Guam was for purposes of “restoring liberty and rescuing the whole Asiatic people and creating the permanent peace.” Officially, they assured the Chamorros that their lives and property were guaranteed from distress and plunder.
Guam was renamed Omiya Jima and overnight became a military encampment. A curfew was imposed from dusk-to-dawn. Every man, woman and child was ordered to be register and wear a small strip of cloth with their names in Japanese lettering at all times. The Chamorros were forced to bow to their captors at every encounter.
The Japanese seized government buildings and many private homes. Most of the homes in Agana and Sumay Villages were taken, and done so by simply walking in and forcing the residents out. The Japanese also confiscated cars, radios and cameras.
All two thousand residents of Sumay Village at Apra Harbor were forced to move because the village was chosen as a headquarters. The people of Sumay found housing with relatives or built temporary shelters in hopes they would someday be allowed to return. But they were never again to see Sumay Village or the possessions they had been forced to leave behind.
Soon some 14,000 Japanese military personnel were stationed on Guam.
During the first year of occupation, the schools were reopened. Classes were
taught in Japanese. Speaking English and Chamorro was forbidden. Some promising
teenagers were forced to become interpreters.
1942 passed fairly quietly. The difficult circumstances of Occupation drew
a close community even closer. Chamorros protected and cared for each other
as an island family. And they encouraged each other to pray during their
most trying and fearful moments and, they recall, “to trust in God.”
Many say that one song, “Uncle Sam, Won’t You Please Come Back To Guam,”
sung in defiance of the Japanese, was key to keeping their spirits up. Those
who were caught singing those lilting phrases could be beaten or even executed.
A few brave ones followed the progress of the War on radios hidden under floorboards or buried in gardens. Another means of keeping their hopes alive was to make little American flags out of scraps of cloth and natural dyes. These were sometimes secretly carried under their clothing or hidden in hemlines.
The Chamorros were expected to grow food to help feed the Japanese, as well as their own families. Their harvest first went to feed the occupiers, but still the soldiers plundered food from homes and stole livestock.
As the war dragged on and the Japanese supply ships became scarce, malnutrition became widespread. The Chamorros found ways to hide their limited food supplies, but eventually poor nutrition began to take its toll.
The new rulers forced hard labor on the able-bodied. With their bare hands and only a few tools, the Chamorros were forced to construct military fortifications. Their small rations of food and water were sometimes withheld for minor infractions adding to the harsh conditions of long hours and mistreament.
In March 1944, the situation grew more intense and more dangerous for the Chamorro people. A fighting force of 18,000 from the Japanese Imperial Army arrived to prepare to defend the island. Their additional numbers strained the already dwindling food resources. As they prepared for the inevitable engagement with the American military, pressure mounted and Japanese atrocities against Chamorro civilians increased.
One of pressure points was U.S. Navy Radioman George Tweed. When the Japanese had seized the island in 1941, six Navy men had hidden in the jungles rather than surrender. The Japanese caught and executed all but one. Tweed had managed to remain at large with the help of the Chamorros. At great risk to themselves, many local families were involved in concealing Tweed and keeping him alive throughout the long Occupation. Tweed had become their symbol of hope.
Now, in preparation for engagement with American forces, Radioman Tweed had also become a symbol to the Japanese. In their furious efforts to find him, they had beaten, tortured and threatened whole families. But the Chamorros protected Tweed to the end.
On July 12, 1944, the beloved priest Father Jesus Duenas and his nephew Edwardo Duenas were beheaded for refusing to reveal information about Tweed. Father Duenas was one of only two Chamorro priests who had been allowed to remain on Guam when the Japanese took over. Throughout Occupation he openly defied them, once even humming “God Bless America” during a propaganda meeting. Like many other Chamorros, Father Duenas’ loyalty to America cost him his life.
Ironically, two days before the executions Tweed had managed to signal the amassed American flotilla that was poised for battle just off island. Using a mirror and makeshift semaphores, the Radioman convinced the Americans of his identity and his authenticity. The destroyer USS McCall sent a small boat to his rescue at a deserted northern shore at Toguac on July 10.
As the American forces assembled to retake Guam, they had begun to signal their presence by shelling the western coastline of the island. The Japanese knew it would not be long before they faced their superior numbers and firepower.
Under this threat, the hardened Imperial Forces killed many Chamorros. Some were executed individually or in small groups such as those at Tai, Fonte and Agana. Many others are known to have been massacred at Tinta, Faha, Fena and Yigo.
Survivors of the massacres tell of hand grenades thrown into caves where people had been lured under the pretext of being safe from the American bombings. Others tell of beheadings in the jungle after having carried their executioners’ supplies and ammunition. Some were made to dig graves, then kneel next to them before being beheaded.
On about July 10, the Japanese began to gather the Chamorros at concentrated encampments in the interior of the island. At other Japanese occupied areas, this round-up of local civilians had signaled that mass executions were to follow.
On Guam, most people had only an hour’s warning before being herded on a treacherous forced-march to an unknown fate. Southern villagers were collected mostly at campsites inland from Malojloj and Merizo. The largest numbers traveled to the Manengon Valley located inland from Yona.
They trudged through the rain with Japanese guards beating and yelling at them. Families tried desperately to stay together, but it was nearly impossible with roads now trampled to muddy rivers. The march was particularly hard on the young children and the elders. One survivor characterizes it as ”utter misery.”
Finally, about 10,000 Chamorros were amassed in a camp along the Ylig River in the Manengon Valley. A few thousand others had been forced into camps at Asinan, Talofofo, and Inarajan.
The survival of the Chamorros was uncertain and would remain so for many days until the world events taking place on Guam were played out.
