The Island of Guam was attacked by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, just hours before the better-known Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that triggered formal American involvement in World War II. During the next 30 months, Guamanians endured a brutal Japanese occupation. On July 21, 1944, the American Territory of Guam was finally liberated from Japanese forces. To this day, Liberation Day is a far more important event to my Guamanian friends than even the American Independence Day. I was privileged to live on Guam during the 1980s and I wish my Guamanian friends well at this time of celebration.
