| War in the Pacific: The First Year |
A Guide to
the War in the Pacific |
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War in the Pacific: Outbreak of the War The Insular Force Guard: Three Days in December During the early morning hours of December 8, 1941, United States Navy Captain George J. McMillin, Governor of Guam, received word that Pearl Harbor had been secretly attacked by the Japanese. Attempts to evacuate the civil population began in earnest. Orders were given to arrest and jail all Japanese nationalists. A few hours later, at 8:27 a.m., Saipan-based Japanese dive bombers appeared over Guam, dropping bombs on the Marine Barracks at Sumay. The Pan American Airways Hotel received a direct hit, killing several employees. The bombing and strafing continued. The USS Penguin was hit outside Apra Harbor. Although the crew put up a fight, she was soon scuttled. The Penguin had the largest guns on Guam. The USS Robert L. Barnes was also hit, opening several large holes in her hull. The next target, the radio station at Libugon, was struck and dismantled. At this time, Guam's only military defense consisted of 153 Marines, 271 U.S. Navy personnel, 134 civilian construction workers, and 247 members of the local militia and the Insular Forces. The Insular Force Guard unit, as it was referred to on Guam, was hastily resurrected by the U.S. Navy in April, 1941, to defend Guam. Guardsmen were neither well-trained nor properly armed. These men were under the command of Chief Petty Officer Robert Bruce Lane. They, along with a few members of the regular U.S. Navy, were ordered to meet in Agana to prepare for the defense of the Plaza de Espana, their main objective, which housed Governor McMillins' Palace and Marine Barracks.
While Japanese planes wreaked havoc upon the island, Chamorros were at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral in Agana, attending mass in honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Panic among the population followed the news of the first air raids over Sumay. Thousands of Chamorro civilians evacuated Agana, which they believed would next be bombed. In the early afternoon hours, the city had become a ghost town. By dawn's break on December 9, thunder could be heard as the Japanese planes returned. They continued to bombard and strafe the naval bases, as well as damaging the Marine Barracks, the Pan American Airways installation, and the Navy Yard at Piti. Meanwhile, at the northern end of the island, a patrol arrested a boat of three men who claimed to be natives of Saipan. During questioning, the men informed the Guam police that the Japanese had sent them to serve as interpreters when their landing forces were to arrive the next day near east Agana. The informers were then taken and confined in jail. On Orote Peninsula the Marines took up positions at the rifle range on the Marine Reservation. Between 80 and 100 Insular Force Guards men assembled at the Agana headquarters and prepared to defend the Plaza de Espana.* The garrison had no artillery, only a few .30-caliber Lewis machine guns and various small arms. A 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifle was the standard issue, yet these weapons were scarce.
When the Japanese landed early on December 10, they met head-on with fleeing Chamorro civilians at Apurguan. For reasons unknown, thirteen men, women, and children where fired upon and killed. Flares were reportedly seen at Dungca's Beach and Tumon Bay, indicating the invasion had begun. A special Japanese naval landing party of about 400 men from Saipan's 5th Defense Force began landing at Dungca's Beach in Agana Bay. Simultaneously, a 5,500-man Japanese Army unit of the South Seas Detachment landed on the beaches of Apurguan, Tumon, Togcha, Agat, and other areas throughout the island. The Insular Guard*
At 4:45 a.m., gunfire was heard east of the Plaza. Pedro Cruz used a Lewis machine gun and was assisted by Ben (Vicente) Chargualaf and Roman Camacho. The trio fired the first shots at the Japanese as they approached the Plaza in the early morning hours of December 10. Cruz gave a Colt .45-caliber pistol to Chargualaf to provide cover during the brief, but violent exchange of fire. Other Insular Force Guard members manned the other two machine guns and stood their ground as they opened fire. Ill-equipped and out-numbered, they made a valiant attempt to stop the Japanese advance at the Plaza but were quickly driven back. The battle was to last for nearly one hour. Governor McMillin realized that his tiny command was no match for the invasion force. Three blasts from an automobile horn signaled a cease fire. Shortly thereafter, Governor McMillin and his American troops were assembled at the Plaza and forced to line up facing a machine gun. Mr. Shinahara, one of the imprisoned Japanese nationalists, was brought forward and used as an interpreter. At 6:45 that morning the island government formerly surrendered. The Chamorros, caught in a conflict not of their making, suffered the brutality of war. Gone were the old ways, as a new era in history was begun.
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