Its people descended from the Chamorros, the Island’s oldest known inhabitants of the Marianas. They were of Mayo-Polynesian descent, originating in southeast Asia around 2,000 BC Cultural similarities of the ancient and present day Chamorros resemble the languages and cultures of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Phillippines. The first historical documents written by Pifigetta in 1521, described them as "being tall, big-boned, robust with tawny brown skin and long black hair."

Present day Chamorros are a mixture of various ethnic compositions consisting of many cultural groups originating from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In 1962, President Kennedy lifted the Naval Clearing Act which allowed other ethnic groups to make Guam their home. Since that time, many Filipinos, Caucasians, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indians, and Pacific Islanders have moved to Guam. The present population is a rich blend of many races which makes the island a cosmopolitan community of various customs and traditions.

Agana (or Hagatna) is the capitol of Guam. Areas on Guam are named to correspond to parts of the human body, following the legend of Fuuna, who was said to use parts of her dying brother's body to create the world. His eyes were the sun and the moon, his eyebrows were rainbows, his chest the sky and his back the earth. She then turned herself into a rock, from which all humans originated. Agana means blood. It is the life-blood of a larger body called Guahan or Guam.

Fort Santa Agueda {also known as Fort Apugan or Fort Kasamata} built in the 1800, affords a splendid view of Agana and its bay. Government House is the official residence of Guam's Governor and is adjacent to the fort's sprawling grounds. Guam's legislature of 15 elected senators is also situated in Agana.

Other sites include ruins of the Spanish Governor's Palace, Guam Museum with artifacts from various periods of Guam's history as well as specimens of natural history and island handicrafts, and the new Agana Farmers Market.

Despite the island's relatively small size - over 200 square miles - its strategic location in the Western Pacific has made it a desirable property for the world's superpowers. As such, Guam and its Chamorro inhabitants have experienced more than 400 years of rule under Spanish, Japanese and American Administration. Ferdinand Magellan's landing on Guam in 1521 began Spain's reign that lasted until 1898, when America claimed the island as part of the prizes in the Spanish-American War. When Japanese invasion forces stormed Guam in Dec 8, 1941, Guam became the only populated territory in the U.S. to endure foreign occupation. On July 21, 1944, American occupation forces recaptured Guam and reestablished the naval government. By the end of the 1940's President Harry Truman removed Guam from under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of Interior.

The Pacific Daily News on Oct 21, 1999 reported that a 332-page official Pentagon history released to Robert S. Norris (a private specialist on nuclear weapons) acknowledged that in 1951, President Truman authorized the shipment of nuclear capsules -the bomb's plutonium or uranium core- to the Pacific island of Guam during the Korea War. Starting in 1956, a wide variety of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems were sent to the Pacific as a first line of defense for America.

On Guam, for example, Regulus cruise missiles that would be launched from a ship and guided by an escort plane. There also were shipboard Talos anti-aircraft missiles and a variety of Army battlefield nuclear weapons. Today, the only full-time U.S. nuclear deployments (according to the Pentagon History) outside of the U.S. are in Europe.

In 1950, the U.S. Congress passed the Organic Act, giving Guamanians American citizenship and a civilian government. In 1962, President Kennedy lifted the Naval Clearing Act which opened Guam's ports to domestic and foreign visitors. In 1975 more than 100,000 evacuees from the fall of Vietnam were repatriated via Guam. In 1996, 6,600 Kurdish refugees who feared retaliation by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein were housed on Guam.

America’s First Defense

Many patriotic inhabitants of Guam, during the WWII occupation, were tortured and beheaded while protecting U.S. soldiers from capture and execution. During each major war -- WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, Guam endured the most military casualties of native sons per capita in the U.S. At this juncture in time, as Guam attempts to redefine its political status, the debates manifesting have been misconstrued by those who are not of the Island as not being patriotic. The central issues center around the fact that because of Guam's political status, any U.S. citizen who decides to take residence on Guam (U.S. soil) is not currently protected by the U.S. Constitution, can't vote for president, and can have all rights revoked by Congress. While questions of political status and discussions of postwar military land takings without due process are raised, the native people are resolved to defend the U.S. should the nation need them.

The receding military presence has in the past contributed to the island's economy as America's might is projected beyond CONUS {continental U.S.}. During the 1990's, the tourism industry overshadowed the military as the dominant economic juggernaut fueling the economies in the Marianas Islands of which Guam is the largest and Southernmost Island.

Hiding Out For Decades

Sgt Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier during WW2, managed to remain hidden in the Guamanian jungle until 1972, 28 years after Japan’s surrender. While MCB-10 Seabees served on Guam during the Korean War, there were frequent reports of sightings of WW2 Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender to American forces. Many of them believed they would be tortured or jailed if captured or if they surrendered, so they remained in the jungle for decades, often entering American troop areas to steal food, clothing or medical supplies.