On July 21, 2024, Guam celebrated the 80th anniversary of Guam’s Liberation Day from Japanese occupation during World War II. The event is the largest celebration in Guam and features diverse entertainment, community, and traditional events.
On July 21, 1944, US forces began the Guam campaign that eventually liberated the island from a three-year-long Japanese occupation. Since the end of World War II, July 21 has been designated as Liberation Day and is considered Guam’s largest event. In addition to remembrance activities, Liberation Day also features parades, traditional pageant queen contests, agricultural fairs, bicycle races, greased pig-catching competitions, and music.
This year’s Liberation Day theme is “Todu i Tiempo i Pås Para Hita” or “Peace for Us Always,” inspired by the Guam Hymn composed by Dr. Ramon Manalisay Sablan in 1919. Sablan was the first native CHamoru (or Chamorro) medical doctor, influential educator, politician, activist, and musician. Alongside local nurses, Sablan was also credited with aiding 22,000 Guamanians during the Japanese occupation, and his Guam Hymn is the territory’s anthem that plays at local celebrations and international sports competitions. When the theme “Todu i Tiempo i Pås Para Hita” was announced in April 2024, Governor of Guam Lou Leon Guerrero commented that it “serves not as a theme but as a fervent prayer—a prayer for enduring peace, boundless prosperity, and unbreakable unity for all who call Guam home.”
Traditional Liberation Day events include religious services honoring WWII victims and survivors as well as a parade in Guam’s capital, Hagåtña. This year, the parade featured colorful floats of various civic society organizations, government entities, and businesses alongside US Armed Forces personnel. Another tradition is the Liberation Day Queen contest, which dates from 1948 and is currently hosted by the Mayors' Council of Guam. Young women aged 18 to 25 take part in the contest by selling tickets, while Guam’s villages, government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations can sponsor a queen candidate. The candidate who sells the most tickets is crowned Liberation Queen, while the runner-up becomes the Princess Royal. This year, Layla Espinal of Mangilao was crowned Liberation Queen after raising more than $52,000 while Aaliya Monique Benin of Sånta Rita-Sumai became the Princess Royal after raising about $50,000.
The US military in Guam commemorates Liberation Day due to their historic ties with the Guam campaign and their long presence on the island. In early July, Andersen Air Force Base’s 554th RED HORSE Squadron worked with the Sinajaña Mayor’s Office to plant over 3,000 flower luminaries into a static display of the shape of Guam to represent the number of lives lost during liberation. On July 15, 2024, personnel of the US Air Force, Marines, and Navy accompanied Gov. Guerrero to a wreath-laying ceremony at the Assan Memorial Beach Park, where one of the first battles of the Guam campaign was fought, killing 105 and wounding 536 American troops.
Liberation Day is also an important event for the Guamanian and CHamoru diasporas. Since May 2024, United Airlines (UA) and the Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) have offered discount airfare for tourists and returning CHamorus diaspora for Liberation Day. While Guam does not have direct flights with the continental United States, travelers can connect flights via Honolulu International Airport. The promotion targets the 150,000 Guamanians and Micronesians residing in the US, and the partnership expects 2.5% of this population, or about 4,000 people, to travel to Guam. On July 11, 2024, Delegate James Moylan, Guam’s sole member in the US Congress, hosted the 80th Guam Liberation Day Wreath Laying Ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington DC alongside Guam’s Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio. Del. Moylan also introduced House Resolution 1335 - “Supporting the designation of July 21, 2024, as “Guam Liberation Day” and obtained 16 co-sponsors in the US House of Representatives, including members representing the US territories of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. CHamorus in San Diego, CA, Vine Grove, KY, Noblesville, IN, and Hawaiʻi also celebrated the event.
Guam sits close to East Asian countries such as the Philippines and Japan and boasts itself as “Where America's Day Begins.” While the territory is often noted for its military strategic value, it is also home to vibrant culture and a patriotic community. The 80th Liberation Day, by honoring the past, highlights Guam’s strong connection with America.
Sam Tran is a Summer 2024 Young Professional at the East-West Center in Washington. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a B.A. in Political Science in May 2024.