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Greetings from Guam 'In Remembrance of all who sacrificed for liberty. May peace and understanding prevail so that no future generation will ever be compelled to repeat these sacrifices.' - Inscription on the Asan Bay Overlook World War II Memorial I met thirteen special people today (July 20, 1999). They don't look special, in fact, they look like your typical run-of-the-mill ordinary citizens. If any of us passed them on the streets of our home towns, we may not even notice them, they don't stand out in any particular way. I was also introduced to two heroes by a couple of these special people. I can honestly say that I have never met any real life heroes before. I know that I will never forget these two heroes and the rest of the persons I met today. I am going to tell you about the people I met today, in the hopes that all of you will never forget them either. William Spires Jr. and Thomas Manning are heroes, though I am relatively sure that most of you have never heard of either of them. William was from Massachusetts. He played baseball with Ed McCarthy. Ed, who is originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, is the man who introduced me to William. I have never met anyone who looked more Irish than Ed McCarthy - flushed red face, thick eyebrows, that leprechaun twinkle in his eyes, and his 'life is wonderful' demeanor. Ed was a pitcher and William the shortstop when they played together in Hastings, Nebraska. William, according to his good friend Ed, was a 'damn good American kid, the nicest kid you could ever meet.' I'm grateful that I was able to meet William. Ki Evans from Rock Island, Illinois introduced me to the other hero, Thomas Manning. They, too, were good friends. Thomas was from Youngstown, Ohio. Ki and Tom lived together for four months and, in that short span, forged as tight a friendship as any two people could have. They shared a tent, foxholes, and food. They laughed, cried, and prayed together. On Guam, they almost died together...fortunately for Ki Evans, he survived. I did not physically meet William Spires Jr. and Thomas Manning, I met them spiritually. They are but two names out of 2,124 names that are inscribed on bronze panels at the Asan Bay Overlook Memorial. But they are not just names. For each name there is a face, a smile, a life, and a past that goes with it. They had mothers, fathers, little sisters, older brothers, wives, girlfriends, home towns, and family pets. They played baseball, football, hockey, tennis, and golf. They loved steak, pizza, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh strawberries, and hot fudge sundaes. They were funny, jovial, silly, moody, obnoxious, ornery, solemn, and clumsy. They were tall, short, skinny, stocky, far-sighted and near-sighted. There were people they loved and people who loved them. They were no different from any of us - and like each of us, they were unique. William Spires Jr. and Thomas Manning are just two of 2,124 heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, the people of Guam, and their buddies - buddies like Ed McCarthy and Ki Evans. Here are the rest of the veterans I had the honor to meet and spend some time with - truly great men. From the 3rd Marine Division, Engineering Battalion, 25th Seabees: Dan Cannon, Alfred Don (Pensacola, FL), Charles Godwin, Larry Fairbairn, and Leroy Mathews; Elmer Maps (Bettendorf, IA) and Robert Myer (Cadiz, OH) from the 3rd Marine Division, 4th Regiment, 2nd Battalion; Richard Osborne (Natrona, WY) of the 21st Marine Air Group; and Loran 'Pee Wee' Day (Davenport, IA) of the 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I Company. A couple points of interest regarding these last two men. First, they both look as though they could still kick some serious butt. Second, Pee Wee Day is no Pee Wee - he stands about 6' 5' tall. When I met him, he introduced himself as Pee Wee Day. I asked if I could get his real first name and he replied in his booming voice, 'Ill tell you, but you will call me Pee Wee, is that understood?' (God, I love the Marines - Oooh Rah!) 'Yes, Sir,' I responded. I also met Darrell Doss (Davenport, IA) from the 3rd Marine Division, Head Quarters, G-3 Section, and Joe Benak (Michigan) of the Army's 77th Infantry Division, 307th Regimental Combat Team. And as previously mentioned, Ki Evans (Rock Island, IL) from the 3rd Marine Division, 22nd Regiment and Ed McCarthy (Denver, CO) of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, Antiaircraft Group, 9th Defense Battalion. The mere words that fill this article cannot come close to expressing the heartfelt thanks and admiration that I, and thousands of Guamanians and millions of Americans, have for these men and the other men and women (such as my father, Tom, and my uncle, Bob) who served and died during the titanic struggle of WWII. At approximately 8:30 a.m. on July 21, 1944, thousands of young men from the 3rd Marine Division and the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade with the Army's 77th Infantry Division in reserve, began to storm the shores of Guam as Operation STEVEDORE began. (Operation FORAGER was the larger overall plan for the capture the Southern Mariana Islands of Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam.) Their task: liberate the island and recapture the only populated American soil to be occupied by an Axis power during WWII. The young Marines came ashore on chunks of beach they referred to as Red 1, Red 2, Green, Blue, White 1, White 2, Yellow 1, and Yellow 2, which we now know as Asan and Agat. Twenty days and 1,769 American lives later, on August 10, the island was declared secure. (1,769 is the official figure for the Battle of Guam - July 21-Aug. 10.) The 2,124 total counts deaths from mopping up operations and subsequent air operations from pilots stationed on Guam after its liberation. Of those 2,124 soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, eighty-seven percent were Marines. The wounded totaled 6,053 - again, mostly Marines. Approximately 20,000 Japanese soldiers were killed and 1,350 were taken prisoner. The number of Chamorros and other civilians killed is not precisely known, but estimates place the number at about 400. There were numerous atrocities - rapes, bayoneting, beheadings, tortures and large scale massacres of Chamorros that occurred at the hands of the Japanese soldiers just prior to and during the recapture of the island, namely the Tinta and Fena cave massacres. Liberation Day is the Island's biggest celebration and most important holiday (in my opinion). Spectators have been camping out along the parade route - down Marine Drive, Ooo Rah - since Friday. July 16! Two hundred eighty floats will be in the parade, which is expected to last close to five hours and attract between 25 to 30 thousand spectators. They will honor and pay tribute to the American and Chamorro veterans, both dead and living, and Chamorro people who endured 31 months of brutal Japanese rule. I too will be there... sitting with the spirits of Thomas Manning and William Spires Jr. Hafa Adai and Semper Fidelis Copyright © 1999 |
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