Today In History: The Battle For Guam

During World War II, on August 10, 1944, U.S. forces overcame Japanese resistance on Guam.

In December 1941, two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan issued a statement claiming the occupation of Guam. The United States had acquired Guam from Spain as a result of the Spanish American War in 1898, and had used it as a naval station.

On July 21, 1944, after two weeks of naval bombardment, 55,000 U.S. forces went ashore.

The battle for the island lasted from July 21 until August 10, 1944, and claimed the lives of over 2,000 U.S. Marine and Army soldiers and an estimated 18,500 Japanese.

After Guam was secured, there were still Japanese soldiers who held out in the hills for months. One soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, was captured in the jungle in 1972, claiming he was unaware that the war had ended.