December 1941

Retellings of Guam history focus heavily on the end of the World War II on the island, and de-emphasize the start of the war. It is like this for some obvious and some less-obvious reasons. As I've written about before, where you place the narrative locus for these 32 months of Chamoru history will heavily affect what type of lessons or ideas emerge. If you focus on the end, the triumphant American return, where the Japanese are defeated and Chamorus are liberated from tyranny, the lessons seem pretty clear. American power and benevolence and propensity for liberation and democracy spreading. Chamorus become attached to the US and its history through that ending, as an object of their grandeur or their exceptional excellence and virtue.

But if we switch the story's focus to the beginning things get much more complicated. We see at the beginning of war, an island where Chamorus trust the US to tell them the truth, to keep them safe, but they also understand in an important way that the distance between them and America is not solely measured in miles on a map. It is deeper than that, they understood more clearly their status in relation to the US as being a colonial one. The beginning of the war, with the racist and diminutive ways that the US treated Chamorus carries important reminders about our status then and our status today. Retellings focus primarily on the shock and surprise of the war arriving on Guam's shores, but narrowly citing this element helps to build up the dramatic effect for the American return. While focusing on Chamorus being shocked and being victimized, but not the American role in keeping them in the dark or not preparing the island for an attack, you have a way of using the trauma to increase the power of the US in the story, while not staining them with any of their problematic actions.

Here is an account from one war survivor, Antonia Castro, who worked for many years in GDOE writing curriculum for the Chamoru Studies Program there. She wrote for the Fino' Chamoru corner in the Pacific Daily News some short vignettes about her wartime experiences. Here are some of them.

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“Estoria-hu Siha put Duranten i Gera”

Antonia Castro

Kuatro años idåt-hu anai un diha eståba ham yan si nanå-hu gi lancho, in na’boboka i mannok. Parehu ham achamahngang anai in hingok i dangkolo’ yan a’gagang na BOOM! Put i mahngang-hu hu tugong si nanå-hu ya hu balutan yu’ gi lipes-ña. Umågang hulo’, “Jesus, Maria, Jose! Jesus, Maria, Jose!”

In alulåyi muna’funhåyan muna’boka i mannok ya umesinahyao ham na dos guatu gi gima’. Humånao ya ha rikohi i magågu gi tali. Ayu nai in li’e’ i dangkolon button åsu gi bottaderu giya Sumay. Lu’han mampos si nanå-hu ya kulang boksion i matå-ña. Malågu ham guatu gi gima’. 

Mampos lu’han si nanå-hu sa’ i lugat anai in li’e’ i dangkolon na button åsu, gaige guihi si tatå-hu na macho’cho’cho’. Este na lugåt iya Sumay. 

Duru i mañe’lu-hu manadulalak yan mane’kulo’ gi gua’ot yan gi trongkon lemmai para u ma atan ginen månu i asu mågi. Sigi ha’ ham manlu’han sa’ ti in tingo’ kao håfa guaha put ayu na ridu yan åsu. Todu ham manmamanman anai in nanangga si tatan-måmi para u fåtto sa’ ti in tingo’ kao håfa i chetnot-ña. Sigi ha’ lokkue’ i ridon a’gang in hingok. 

Anai måtto tåtte si tatan-måmi gi esta para pupuengi, ha sangåni ham na ma bomba i bottaderu. I batkonaire mayute’ bomba ya para in fanhånao mana’attok. 

Mås manlu’han ham todu ya sigi in arekla i trastes-måmi. Si tatå-hu lokkue’ mana’tungo’ yan i pumalu siha na familia kao håfa para u ma cho’gue. 

Ti apmam na tiempo maloffan anai manmåtto i Chapones gi gima’-måmi. Sigi manmamaisen kuestion siha. Sigi lokkue’ ni’ manmasangåni ham håfa para in che’gue sa’ siha esta ma’gas-måmi, esta ti i Amerikånu. 

Mampos bula atborotu yan yaoyao gi taotao yan i familia siha. Sigi manmachule’ I guinahan i taotao todu yan mamåmanda håfa siha para u ma cho’gue. Sigi magobietna i taotao yan todu i guinahan-ñiha.