On the western side of the central lawn of the complex.

The monument includes statues of five figures representing Chamorro Scouts and police combat patrol, who bravely fought and vanquished the enemy on the bloody shores and jungles of Guam, alongside U.S. Marine and Army units at the end of World War II. Figures stand on a mound and are partially hidden in trees.

In July 1944, the U.S. 3rd Marine Division and 1st Provisional Marine Brigade invaded Guam to retake it from Japanese occupation forces. Main Marine landings were supported by naval landing craft, naval gunfire, and airstrikes, as well as Coast Guard cutters. The Armys 77th Infantry Division also conducted a landing and participated in operations.

Around 59,000 U.S. service members and a large number of native Chamorros faced about 18,000 Japanese. Fighting in the thick jungle and steep terrain was difficult for both sides. The only practical way to ferret out Japanese locations was to scour the area on foot and rely on intelligence from local Chamorro scouts.

Although organized Japanese resistance ended on 10 August 1944, about 7,500 Japanese soldiers remained in the jungle for some time, and some continued the fight. Chamorro scouts and combat patrols played key roles by supporting Marine and Army units in tracking and killing or capturing remaining Japanese. About 3,000 U.S. troops were killed and more than 18,000 Japanese were dead when it was over, although the last Japanese holdout evaded capture until 1972.

A few months following liberation, Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Commander of the Pacific Ocean Areas, established the island as his headquarters for the remainder of the war. The strategic location of Guam and the rest of the Mariana Islands, of which Guam is part, allowed American land-based bomber crews, for the first time, to make round-trip strikes directly at the Japanese home islands.

Today, Guam remains a strategic U.S. territory, with the location of Joint Region Marianas, a joint military command that combines the bases formerly known as Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam. Coast Guard cutters are also stationed there.

Source of information: prologue.blogs.archives.gov, en.wikipedia.org, www.war.gov, www.guampedia.com, www.chamoruamerican.org

LIBERATION

IN REMEMBRANCE OF AMERICAS VALIANT SOLDIERS,

SAILORS AND AIRMEN, JOINED BY GUAMS CHAMORRO

SCOUTS AND COMBAT PATROL, WHO BRAVELY FOUGHT

AND VANQUISHED THE ENEMY ON THE BLOODY SHORES

AND JUNGLES OF GUAM. WE ARE ETERNALLY IN DEBT

TO THE THOUSANDS WHO PERISHED, HAVING MADE THE

SUPREME SACRIFICE SO THAT WE, THE SURVIVORS, MAY

LIVE IN ENDURING PEACE.

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PRESENTED BY

JOSEPH F. ADA, GOVERNOR & THE GOLDEN SALUTE

FOUNDATION

JULY, 1994

SCULPTOR: CHARLES T. BERGREN

CAST BY ARTWORKS FOUNDRY, BERKLEY, CA