Sunday marks the 80th anniversary of the start of a bloody war between the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army and U. S. forces on the Pacific island of Guam.
Ahead of the anniversary, about 90 people, including grieving Japanese families and local Japanese residents, gathered last Sunday to commemorate those killed in the fighting.
The ceremony took place at the site where the Japanese army established its final headquarters within the island’s trenches.
During World War II, Japan deployed approximately 20,000 troops to Guam, its last line of defense in the Pacific region. However, just three weeks after the landing of American troops in July 1944, the Japanese forces were absolutely defeated, wasting approximately 19,000 men.
After cleaning the place, the participants of the rite sang a well-known song from the pre-war years called “Furusato” or “My Hometown”. They remembered those killed in the war by observing a minute of silence and offering prayers.
A nine-year-old woman living in Guam says she believes war is and needs to create a nonviolent country.
A Guam resident who lost her uncle in the war says it’s unknown where or how he died. She says she only prayed that her soul would rest in peace.