In The Months After The War
WWII Survivors. Photo from the US National Archives
On August 10, 1944, twenty days after the initial invasion on July 21, American forces declared that the island of Guam was officially secured and back under the administration of the United States. Despite this reversion back to US administration, the people of Guam could not go back to how life was before the war. In the months that followed this recapture, the island and its people underwent a number of changes that would ultimately reshape the physical and cultural landscapes of Guam forever. Upon the liberation from the concentration camps around the island, many CHamorus were discovered to be severely malnourished and sickly. Military c-rations were shared with the local population and field medics tended to the sickly and injured. Due to the devastation of much of the island, many CHamorus were transported to refugee camps to stay in quonset huts and makeshift homes for the time being. During this time, large tracts of land were taken to support the larger US military presence. Sumay was absorbed as part of Naval Station and its residents were placed in the newly established village of Santa Rita. Many families
Refugee camp in Orote. Photo from the US National Archives
with the mission to comb through who had to give up their land were not adequately compensated by the the jungles on foot to either US military, with some even refusing capture or kill those in hiding. This postwar era is among to accept the payment in protest. the least documented in Guam’s The retaking of Guam by history. In response to this, the US and the push to end the Guampedia recently completed war in the Pacific allowed for an an initiative to gather resources unprecedented boom in population. from written documents, More than 200,000 US military photographs, and survivor stories personnel were now stationed on the island, in addition to the recently to create a series of entries focused on the decades following liberated CHamorus and Japanese the liberation of Guam. If you prisoners of war. This boom in know of any additional resources population brought numerous and would like to help us in this business opportunities to work new endeavor, please email with the naval government as well. Workers to rebuild the infrastructure guampedia@gmail.com. of the island were brought in from the Philippines and lived in large camps, with the Munga Maleffa (Don’t Forget) largest being Camp Roxas Click the poster below to register in Agat. for our third Zoom session Although Japan had officially surrendered to the US forces, efforts continued to search for remaining Japanese troops lasted until 1948. These soldiers chose not to turn themselves in but instead took to the caves, jungles, and swamps of Guam. A Guam Combat Patrol was established
Page 2 | Guampedia Newsletter, August 2020
Collaborations Are Key!! Get your stories added to Guampedia
A few months ago Jenevieve Sablan Ooka and her father James Sablan, members of the Sablan family of Agat (Familian FrankTai), reached out to Guampedia to inquire if a biography of their saina, Rita Guevara Sablan could be added to our “Women in Guam History.” They had already written her biography for a family book made for a big reunion. Rita Sablan passed away in 2003. Our editors agreed to look at what they had written and consider it for this special section documenting the contributions that women have made in Guam’s history. Sablan, a mother of 10, owned and operated Sablan’s Store, the largest general store in Agat, for 54 years. She was also a pillar of the community, helping families in need, and leading drives for community improvement. Guampedia editors reviewed the bio, spoke with people from Agat to verify that the bio was accurate and then made minor edits. We went back and forth with the Sablan family on these edits until everyone was satisfied. Next our archivist worked with the family to collect photos of Rita Sablan. Everything was checked, verified and formatted for the website.Then the entry was added
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to Guampedia. You can find it here 2 along with the biographies of 28 other impactful women of Guam. There are two sections in Guampedia where people in our community can be added to Guampedia: “Women in Guam History” and “Fanhasso: War for Guam’s survivor stories.” Do you know of someone in your familia or circle of friends whose story deserves to be told? We’d like to help you share them, as these personal stories, all woven together, bring Guam’s history alive and helps us make sense of our own histories. 3 If you’d like to do this and need help getting started please contact us at guampedia@gmail.com. Si Yu’os ma’ase! We’d love to hear from you.
A few things to know about our Women in Guam History This section does not include people who are alive. Personal names reflect the fullest formal version of the names available or how the individual was best known in Guam. Information about the individual women are gathered from previously published resources, personal interviews with family or friends, and other unpublished resources when available. The text and images presented in each entry are for educational purposes.
1. Rita Sablan (far right), husband, Frank (standing far right), and family. 2. Sablan Store in the village of Agat 3. Rita and Frank Sablan (Photos courtesy of the Sablan family)
