July 21 – Liberation Day in Guam

nPostednon July 21, 2014

Oncenupon a time, there was a beautiful island occupied by the Chamorronpeople. A faraway nation called Spain colonized this island and builtnforts there, but later Spain lost control of the island after losingna war.

nThe island was ceded to the United States, and it began to be used as anconvenient port to and from the Philippines.

Later on, a hugenWorld War swept over the beautiful island as Japanese troops tooknover. This was a dark time for the island’s inhabitants. Forced labornand torture and even beheadings occurred as the islanders were forcednto adopt the Japanese culture.

nFinally,non this date in 1944, U.S. troops landed on the island and fought thenJapanese soldiers. The battle was intense and bloody, but by the endnof the day the United States held the island.

nThenisland is Guam, and it is this liberation from the Japanese that Guamncelebrates today. n

Liberation Day parade

nThenU.S. still has a special relationship with Guam, which is considerednan organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Citizensnof Guam have most of the same rights as other American citizens,nalthough their votes in the presidential election are “straw votes”nthat don’t count toward electoral votes. The official languages arenEnglish and Chamorro, but the culture of Guamanians is a mixture ofnAmerican, Spanish, Filipino, Micronesian Islander, and Mexicanntraditions. There are few customs remaining from the originalnChamorro culture.

nThenLatte Stones were built by ancient Chamorro people, and are believednto have supported the houses of the wealthy.

Guamnhas some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and they attractna lot of tourists.

nMostnpeople define sand as the grains left over from a mixture of manyndifferent sorts of eroded rocks. Using that definition, Guam doesn’tnhave sand! Instead, the beautiful white beaches are made up ofnground-up coral bits.

nThenbougainvillea is Guam’s national flower, and the motto is “WherenAmerica’s day begins” because of Guam’s location east of thenInternational Date Line. (I guess Alaska gets to be “wherenAmerica’s day ends,” with Hawaii being nearly as far west.

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