Governor Willis Bradley Issues Proclamation. US Naval Governor Willis Bradley created a Bill of Rights for Guam on 4 December 1930 modeled after the first 10 Amendments to the US Constitution. The bill also included the right of writ of habeas corpus and the privilege of voting in local elections regardless of race or sex.
Young CHamorus recruited by the Navy to defend Guam. The Japanese forces who invaded Guam 10 December 1941 were fully prepared for the undertaking. Since mid-October, the Japanese 18th Air Unit, a small force of reconnaissance seaplanes, had conducted survey flights over and near Guam. By November, the unit was flying secret photo reconnaissance missions of the island at altitudes of 3,000 meters or higher.
Simon Sanchez (1895 – 1975) was a pioneer in education and a key player in the establishment and formalization of Guam’s public school system during the turbulent pre-war and post-war eras. In addition to his roles as a public school educator and administrator, Sanchez served as a member and secretary of the First and Second Guam Congress. As a Congressman, Sanchez was responsible for introducing a resolution that formally recognized the Territorial Flag of Guam, which is currently in use today.
Petition calls for a permanent government for Guam. The pursuit of self-government and protected civil rights through United States citizenship became a priority among many CHamorus in the first half of the 20th century. Guam leaders sought citizenship and self-government through formal democratic processes common in the US, but relatively new to CHamorus of the early 20th century who had just become subjects of the American empire in 1898.
The American Legion is a federally chartered veterans organization that supports veterans’ issues and engages in other community projects. The American Legion Mid-Pacific Post No. 1 was founded in Guam in 1930 under Naval Governor Willis Bradley. When the Guam Museum was first established in 1932, Governor Edmund S. Root authorized the use of a small building adjacent to the Plaza de España’s historic grounds fronting and surrounding the Governor’s Palace. The newly formed American Legion offered to manage it. Hiram W. Elliot, post commander, and Naval Chaplain Francis Lee Albert. Elliot hired Joaquin T. Aguon to help with the collections.
US Navy Corpsman Hiram W. Elliott (1880 – 1949) came to Guam in the early 1900s to work at the Maria Schroeder Naval Hospital. He married Concepcion Martinez of Hagåtña, and the couple had 12 children. He was also a teacher at the public night school in Hagåtña. After Elliott retired from the Navy he used his pharmacy training to open Elliott’s Drug Store, near where the Hagåtña precinct/police station is now located.
In 2007, Guam commemorated the 90th anniversary of the scuttling of the SMS Cormoran II. The festivities included wreath-laying ceremonies at Apra Harbor and the US Naval Cemetery in Hagåtña, and a series of lectures and an exhibit. Surviving descendants of the original crew and other German representatives were invited to participate. Hosted by the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the week-long celebration was just one way to remember and celebrate the Cormoran and its crew.
Executive General Orders issued by Naval Governor William John Maxwell (28 March 1914 – 29 April 1916). To learn more read his entry, Governor Maxwell. To go back to the list of General Orders click here.
Executive General Order issued in 1916. To go back to the list of General Orders click here. Note: there are more Executive General Orders from this time available at the University of Guam’s Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC).
Executive General Order No. 191. It is hereby ordered and decreed that: –
1. Executive General Orders No. 69 and 89 shall not be so construed as to prevent the agents of the Government from appealing in any case, civil or criminal, to which it may be a party; and such right shall not be denied to the Government.
