Remember the "Day of Infamy"

Tora! Tora! was the Japanese code-word made famous when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 propelling the United States into World War II.  The term means “tiger” but in this case it was an acronym meaning “lightning attack.” On December 11, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on Japan; in return, on the same day Germany and Italy, Japanese allies, declared war on the United States.

Visiting Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is a profound experience and visitors should plan to spend the better part of the day there because there is a lot to see and do.  The main attraction is the USS Arizona Memorial with an informative 23-minute movie followed by a boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial which is built atop the ship that is the final resting place for 1,177 of the USS Arizona’s crewmen. It was the greatest loss of life on any US warship in American history. The names and ranks of the crewmen are listed on the memorial wall. There were 37 sets of brothers on

board that fateful day. Nearby in the water are memorials to the other ships destroyed on that Day of Infamy. When the USS Arizona sank there were more than a million gallons of fuel on board. Some of it still surfaces. Survivors have called the oil droplets “Black Tears.” It helps to get USS Arizona tour tickets on line; however, the National Park Service gives out over 2000 free walk-up tickets each day on a first come basis. The tour of the USS Arizona take about two hours but there is much more to see there.

For Americans the Pearl Harbor attack was the beginning of World War II but the war had already started in Europe with the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and in Asia the fighting started when the Japanese invaded China in 1937. The formal end of the WW II took place on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 and was broadcast

throughout the world.  Gen. MacArthur said, “Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are closed.”  Today the USS Missouri is at anchor in Pearl Harbor. Nearby on Historic Ford Island is the Pacific Aviation Museum with two hangers of exhibits.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with the Japanese plan to take over other areas in the Pacific.  Many people do not realize that the attack on Pearl Harbor was part of a greater offensive. On the same day (it was December 8 in Asia) they were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the US-held Philippines, Wake Island, and Midway Island; plus, there were assaults on Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The Japanese did not occupy the island

of Oahu like they did the other places they attacked which led to the people in those areas suffering from Japanese occupation much the same as those in China. Interestingly, Hawaii and the Philippines, prior to December 1941, were considered great places to be stationed. We learned more at the US National Parks in Guam and Saipan, plus the WW II museum in Singapore. At the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas they have a realistic battle reenactment several times a week.

December 7 attack on Guam

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941 became the “Day of Infamy” but other American territories were also attacked that day. They tend to get lost in the annuals of history because Pearl Harbor became a historic event leading America into World War II. Also confusing the issue when it was December 7 in Hawaii it was December 8 in Guam due to the island’s location to the west of the International Dateline,

On the same day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they also attacked Guam, Wake Island, and the Commonwealth of the Philippines, which at the time was under control of the United States. The Japanese also, on the same day, invaded the British crown colony of Hong Kong resulting in its occupation, and Thailand where the Japanese continued on down the peninsula to Malaysia.

I always like to “learn the rest of the story” and we did when John and I visited the T. Stell Newman Visitor Center of the War in the Pacific National Park in Guam. Only hours after Pearl Harbor was attacked, the Japanese began aerial bombings on Guam. After two days of strafing, the Japanese came ashore and hours later the naval governor surrendered the American territory. The Japanese invasion of Guam resulted in 21 deaths (fourteen Americans and seven Chamorros). Some 483 prisoners of war that included 368 military personnel and 115 civilians were interned on Guam before being sent to a POW camp in Japan. The island remained under Japanese control for 31 months until July 21, 1944.

The Japanese thought all the Americans had been captured and were upset to learn that six American military personnel managed to escape to a safe place on the island. This became a very serious issue for the Japanese military because it meant that they had not totally secured the island as they had reported to the Japanese head command in Tokyo. After an intensive search, three escapees were found and executed in September 1942 and two others were found and shot in October of that same year. Only U.S. Navy radioman first class George Tweed eluded capture and was finally rescued by a U.S. Navy ship ten days before the July 21, 1944 American landing and liberation on Guam. Tweed’s status, as an U.S. military holdout, was a most serious matter for the Japanese Navy during the entire occupation period of thirty one months. Tweed was never captured due to the efforts of one family who kept his hideout in a cave a secret and took him food and supplies. During the American assault to recapture the island in 1944 Tweed was able to signal the offshore boats giving them the location of gun placements on the island.

On July 21, 1944, now known as Liberation Day, American forces landed on Guam and after almost three weeks of bitter fighting that claimed 1,600 American servicemen and almost the entire 18,000 Japanese Army the island was declared ‘secure’ and Guam was again in American hands. But the last Japanese holdout on Guam did not surrender until 1972. Shoichi Yokoi survived hiding in an underground cave in a remote section of the island of Guam for 28 years.

Today Guam has an American military base on the island. Interestingly, Guam is a popular tropical tourist destination for the Japanese.

Return to Guam: America's Pacific Island

We visited Guam, an American territory in the Western Pacific, for the second time and meet up with Cindy Hanson, a friend we made during our previous trip. Cindy wears many hats but is always trying to promote Guam and tourism. On Saturday mornings she has a two-hour radio show and asked us to be her guests. During the broadcast we mentioned we had not seen any latte stones which are huge stones used as building supports by the Chamorros, the native people of the Marianas. Franklin Arturo called into the show and invited us to his country place in the northern part of the island to see the many latte stones on his property. It was an incredible experience. His stones are some of the largest on the Island.

Even more amazing was the story of George Tweed, the Robinson Crusoe of the USN. Tweed was the radioman who escaped capture by the Japanese during WW II by hiding on Guam for nearly three years. He was the only American to survive the Japanese occupation of Guam. The Japanese searched for him every day the entire time he was in hiding until his rescue on July 10, 1944. During most of that time the Arturos brought him supplies and kept the fact that they were hiding him a tight secret. When the Marines landed in Guam, Tweed signaled the American destroyers with flags he had made and a pocket mirror. He warned the military about the Japanese gun placements and asked to be rescued. Within five minutes of receiving his message rescue was on the way. While in hiding Tweed computed what he thought the government owed him in back pay. It amounted to about $6000, a tidy sum in those days. Tweed asked Arturo what he would do with all that money. He said he’d buy a four-door Chevy. Tweed returned to Guam in 1945, bringing a Chevrolet sedan to Mr. Arturo as a gift from the president of General Motors. Franklin Arturo shared his Tweed scrapbook with us. He invited us to share his barbecue lunch. Truly an amazing day.

With Cindy and her son Ezequle we visited the War in the Pacific Museum and the site of the concentration camp where the Japanese kept the Chamorros. We stopped for lunch at Jeff’s Pirate Cove and learned another amazing story. The restaurant is located where the last WW II Japanese soldier on Guam, Shoichi Yokoi, surrendered in 1972. He had lived in a cave in a remote part of the island for 28 years. He said he knew the war was over because he heard American music but remained hiding because he was afraid the Americans would kill him. The story along with news articles are posted on the wall of the restaurant.

Not only did we enjoy exploring Guam again but spent time relaxing around the pool. The Guam Hyatt has one of the nicest pools we have encountered. It has several levels with areas connect by waterfalls. After spending two months in Asia where we love the food we were craving for a hamburger. Each day when we were at the pool we lunched on an incredibly wonderful hamburger. So very good! We also visited the amazing tunnel aquarium next to the hotel. Duty free Guam is a heaven for shoppers with everything from K-Mart to Gucci.