16 USC 410 - Establishment

1 So in original. Probably should be “heroism”.

of the American forces that liberated Guam.

2 So in original. Probably should be “subsection”.

(

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (span). Puspan. L. 103–437, § 6(i)(1), substituted “Natural Resources” for “Interior and Insular Affairs” after “Committee on”.

Subsec. (h). Puspan. L. 103–437, § 6(i)(2), struck out subsec. (h) which directed Secretary, within two years from Aug. 18, 1978, to develop and transmit to Congressional committees, a general management plan for War in the Pacific National Historic Park, and to transmit within 5 years of Aug. 18, 1978, a study of additional sites associated with Pacific Campaign of World War II.

1993—Subsec. (k). Puspan. L. 103–197, § 3(a), substituted “$8,000,000” for “$500,000”.

Subsecs. (l) to (o). Puspan. L. 103–197, § 3(span), added subsecs. (l) to (o).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Congressional Findings

Puspan. L. 103–197, § 1, Dec. 17, 1993, 107 Stat. 2301, provided that: “Congress finds that—

“(1) June 15 through August 10, 1994, marks the 50th anniversary of the Mariana campaign of World War II in which American forces captured the islands of Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Marianas and liberated the United States Territory of Guam from Japanese occupation;

“(2) an attack during this campaign by the Japanese Imperial fleet, aimed at countering the American forces that had landed on Saipan, led to the battle of the Philippine Sea, which resulted in a crushing defeat for the Japanese by United States naval forces and the destruction of the effectiveness of the Japanese carrier-based airpower;

“(3) the recapture of Guam liberated one of the few pieces of United States territory that was occupied for two and one-half years by the enemy during World War II and restored freedom to the indigenous Chamorros on Guam who suffered as a result of the Japanese occupation;

“(4) Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard units distinguished themselves with their heroic bravery and sacrifice;

“(5) the Guam Insular Force Guard, the Guam militia, and the people of Guam earned the highest respect for their defense of the island during the Japanese invasion and their resistance during the occupation; their assistance to the American forces as scouts for the American invasion was invaluable; and their role, as members of the Guam Combat Patrol, was instrumental in seeking out the remaining Japanese forces and restoring peace to the island;

“(6) during the occupation, the people of Guam—

“(A) were forcibly removed from their homes;

“(B) were relocated to remote sections of the island;

“(C) were required to perform forced labor and faced other harsh treatment, injustices, and death; and

“(D) were placed in concentration camps when the American invasion became imminent and were brutalized by their occupiers when the liberation of Guam became apparent to the Japanese;

“(7) the liberation of the Mariana Islands marked a pivotal point in the Pacific war and led to the American victories at Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the south China coast, and ultimately against the Japanese home islands;

“(8) the Mariana Islands of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian provided, for the first time during the war, air bases which allowed land-based American bombers to reach strategic targets in Japan; and

“(9) the air offensive conducted from the Marianas against the Japanese war-making capability helped shorten the war and ultimately reduced the toll of lives to secure peace in the Pacific.”

Transfer of Excess Land to National Park Service

Puspan. L. 100–202, § 101(g) [title I], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–213, 1329–222, provided in part: “That any Federally-owned land in War in the Pacific National Historical Park that hereafter becomes excess to the needs of the administering agency shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, without reimbursement, for purposes of the park.”