History
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The Japanese Imperial Army invaded Guam in 1941 as World War II was just beginning. Their occupation of Guam and oppressive rule over the indigenous Chamorro people lasted until 1944. The Japanese invaders renamed the island Omiya Jima, which means Great Shrine Island in Japanese. The harsh Japanese Occupation lasted 36 months. During the Japanese Occupation, the Chamorros were not allowed to speak English and Chamorro, but they were allowed to speak Japanese. Adults and children were taught reading, writing, math, and Japanese games and songs. After years of hard combat, American Forces were able to return to Guam and fight a brave battle to liberate and free the Chamorro from the Japanese once and for all. On 10 August 1944, the American forces defeated the last Japanese troops on Guam, ending the occupation. After the occupation ended, Guam was in ruins and the Chamorro and returning Americans needed help with reconstruction. That's when they started to formulate plans of recruiting laborers from the Philippines. In the year of 1946 the military brought their plans to life by having an estimate of 10,000 laborers migrate to Guam. The contractor is known as Marianas Stevedoring and Development Community. There were three camps stationed on Guam: Marbo, Camp Quezon, and Camp Roxas. Camp Roxas was the largest camp out of all the camps. Most of the workers at Camp Roxas were from the Visayas. Visayas is the second division out of three (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao). People from the Philippines were hired to come to Guam and help rebuild the villages and infrastructure. Several camps were built to house the workers. It took decades to rebuild the beautiful island of Guam. The Filipino workers deserve much credit with the hard work, dedication, and hope they provided.