Guam (Japanese occupation on Guam)
Tom Park

The outbreak of the Pacific War began when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.On December 10, 1941 370 land combat members of the Japanese navy landed on Guam. The U.S. Navy had fought back, but after fighting for about a half hour they called it quits. U.S. Naval Captain George McMillin surrendered to the Japanese and signed a letter of surrender on that day at 6 A.M.

During the Japanese occupation, the Chamorro people were living a forceful and bitter life. For the first few months Guam was controlled by army troops, and during that time the Chamorros had to learn the Japanese language, customs, and currency. In March 1942 the Imperial Japanese navy controlled and ruled Guam.

The end of the Japanese occupation came when the Americans invaded Guam and the Japanese were exhausted from the counterattacks around the American beachheads. They were also running low on food supply, ammunition, and barely had any tanks left. The Japanese refused to surrender almost killing every single one of Japanese troops. On August 10, 1944 the last Japanese troops on Guam were defeated and therefore the end of the Japanese occupation came.