Posted
on July 21, 2014
Once
upon a time, there was a beautiful island occupied by the Chamorro
people. A faraway nation called Spain colonized this island and built
forts there, but later Spain lost control of the island after losing
a war.
The island was ceded to the United States, and it began to be used as a
convenient port to and from the Philippines.
Later on, a huge World War swept over the beautiful island as Japanese troops took over. This was a dark time for the island's inhabitants. Forced labor and torture and even beheadings occurred as the islanders were forced to adopt the Japanese culture.
Later on, a huge World War swept over the beautiful island as Japanese troops took over. This was a dark time for the island's inhabitants. Forced labor and torture and even beheadings occurred as the islanders were forced to adopt the Japanese culture.
Finally,
on this date in 1944, U.S. troops landed on the island and fought the
Japanese soldiers. The battle was intense and bloody, but by the end
of the day the United States held the island.
The
island is Guam, and it is this liberation from the Japanese that Guam
celebrates today.
 |
| Liberation Day parade |
The
U.S. still has a special relationship with Guam, which is considered
an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Citizens
of Guam have most of the same rights as other American citizens,
although their votes in the presidential election are “straw votes”
that don't count toward electoral votes. The official languages are
English and Chamorro, but the culture of Guamanians is a mixture of
American, Spanish, Filipino, Micronesian Islander, and Mexican
traditions. There are few customs remaining from the original
Chamorro culture.
The
Latte Stones were built by ancient Chamorro people, and are believed
to have supported the houses of the wealthy.
Guam
has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and they attract
a lot of tourists.
Most
people define sand as the grains left over from a mixture of many
different sorts of eroded rocks. Using that definition, Guam doesn't
have sand! Instead, the beautiful white beaches are made up of
ground-up coral bits.
The
bougainvillea is Guam's national flower, and the motto is “Where
America's day begins” because of Guam's location east of the
International Date Line. (I guess Alaska gets to be “where
America's day ends,” with Hawaii being nearly as far west.
Also
on this date:
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