Prologue
Less than twenty-four hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese
invaded Guam, an American possession. The small Pacific island, virtually
defenseless, held out for only four days. For the next two and a half years, the
brave people of Guam endured a horrible occupation: they were starved, beaten,
and herded into concentration camps. Many of Guam's people were summarily shot
for crimes they did not commit. Some were beheaded. No other American civilians
suffered so much under so brutal a conqueror.
On July 21, 1944, the Americans struck back. The battle for Guam lasted only a
few weeks, until August 10, 1944, when the island was declared secured. In those
weeks, American Marine, Army, and Navy casualties exceeded 7,000. An estimated
18,500 Japanese were killed, and another 8,000 Japanese remained hidden in the
jungle refusing to surrender.
Among our dead were 25 dogs, specially trained by the U.S. Marines to search out
the enemy hiding in the bush, detect mines and booby traps, alert troops in
foxholes at night to approaching Japanese, and to carry messages, ammunition and
medical supplies. They were buried in a small section of the Ma ... read full excerpt from: Always Faithful ebook
