In 1917 the United States declared war on Germany, and just by chance, a German cruiser, the SMS Cormoran II, was docked at Apra Harbor.
Guam’s Role in World War I Read Post »
United States Naval Captain Willis W. Bradley (1884 – 1954), governor of Guam from 1929 to 1931, attempted to make a series of changes in the way the island was governed. Upon arriving in Guam he used the 1929 Annual Report from the previous Naval governor to recommend to US Congress that CHamorus be granted US citizenship.
Governor Willis W. Bradley Read Post »
Francisco B. Leon Guerrero (1897 – 1974), also known as “Mr. Organic Act,” was known for his groundbreaking role in advancing the cause of American citizenship for the people of Guam. If there is one person responsible for the attainment of US citizenship by the people of Guam, it is FB Leon Guerrero.
Francisco B. Leon Guerrero Read Post »
The Young Men’s League of Guam (YMLG) was formed in 1917 so that CHamorus and Guam Filipinos would have an organization that they could call their own. Its formation, however, came under some heavy opposition
Young Men’s League of Guam (YMLG) Read Post »
The first Protestant missionaries in Guam were two Chamorro brothers, Jose and Luis Custino, who came to the island from` in 1899. The Custino brothers’ surname was actually Castro, of the “Kaban” branch of that family.
Origin of the CHamoru Protestant Congregation in Guam Read Post »
Although their tenure was but a brief one, the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart have the distinction of being the first community of Catholic religious women sent to Guam as well as being the first Catholic sisters in the Marianas and Micronesia.
Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart Read Post »
Pioneer promoter of the CHamoru language. Father Roman Maria de Vera (1878 – 1959), a Catholic missionary on Guam from 1915 until 1941, was one of the first important writers in the CHamoru language.
Father Roman de Vera Read Post »
First American spy in Micronesia. Earl Hancock “Pete” Ellis, was a US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and was the first American spy to penetrate Japanese-held Micronesia in 1923.
Earl Hancock “Pete” Ellis Read Post »
Father Marcian Pellet (1909 – 1996), OFM Cap. was a Capuchin missionary, artist, sculptor, and amateur archaeologist. He spent 57 years dedicated to the Catholic Church in the Mariana Islands, almost four of those years in a civilian Prisoner of War camp in Japan during World War II. His artistic works grace several locations in Guam.
The people of the Mariana Islands archipelago, collectively known as CHamorus, call as their homeland an area in the Pacific comprising 15 islands with a total land area of less than 400 square miles. The history of the CHamoru people dates back 3,000 to 3,500 years, when seafaring peoples migrated from Island Southeast Asia and settled in the Marianas.
CHamorus: A People Divided Read Post »
