Wartime Impacts Everyday People

By Jillette Leon-Guererro

“When is the truck coming? Her son asked. “I don’t know,” Nana said, “you should thank God that we are safe, and your father and Juan are safe at the ranch.”

She had been carrying the baby all day. Dolores, her eldest daughter, took baby Jose to give her a rest. Nana sat on a log and looked up at the sky. Suddenly she got up and walked to the center of the road looking at the sun. She stopped and then looked at her shadow. She did this again, three times.

‘It’s about 1:30 p.m.,” she announced. We should be walking. We might make the ranch before dark. Let’s get going!”

They walked five miles before someone picked them up. Her calm, matter-of-fact way of handling the situation would see her through the war. It didn’t matter that she had seven children to care for; she didn’t complain and just got on with what was needed. The war would test her time and time again and yet she rose to every occasion. She nursed her eldest son, Juan after he had been tortured for helping an American pilot after his plane crash-landed near their property.

Before he was fully healed, he was taken to work repairing the runway that was constantly being bombed by the Americans. It wasn’t long before they received word that he was very ill. It was then that his father, Ignacio came up with a plan to rescue him from the Japanese work camp. With his best cow, Ignacio moved through the jungle unseen from Machananao to Tiyan where the airstrip was. With the help of a Chamorro in the camp, he was able to time the rescue when the sentry guards were taking a break. They loaded Juan onto the cow and made their way back to the ranch. Nana nursed him back to health using medicinal herbs.

Realizing that he wouldn’t be safe, they kept him hidden for the rest of the war.

So many wartime stories are about great heroism, combat, and tragedy, most often told by those in civic life. But what of the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary times? Their stories also have significant value. I am one of a grateful line of descendants that recognize the sacrifices my grandparents made in ensuring our family survived. Through dad’s stories, I recognize that their faith in God, love of family, strength, character, and courage saw them through the dark days of World War II.*

While learning about the stories of my father’s experiences during World War II, I realized that many of the “ordinary” people he described exhibited exceptional strength, courage, and fortitude yet many of their stories are unknown.

On December 8th, 1941, my grandmother [Nana], Vicenta Ada Torre Leon-Guerrero, was at home preparing for a feast celebrating Santa Marian Kamalen, the patron saint of Guam.

After the Japanese started bombing, Nana had to gather her seven children – the youngest just a few months old – to prepare to leave their home in Agana [Hagåtña].

Ignacio Fejerang Leon Guerro

Vicenta Ada Torre Leon Guerrero *Funding has been provided to Pacific Historic Parks from Humanities Guåhan and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the federal ARP Act of 2021.*