103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1944

AMENDMENT

TO

SENATE AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

November 21, 1993.

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of

the Senate to the bill (H.R. 1944) entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for additional development at War in the Pacific National Historical Park, and for other purposes’’, with the following

AMENDMENT:

In lieu of the matter inserted by said amendment, insert:

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) June 15 through August 10, 1994, marks the

4 50th anniversary of the Mariana campaign of World

5 War II in which American forces captured the islands

6 of Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Marianas and

7 liberated the United States Territory of Guam from

8 Japanese occupation;

9 (2) an attack during this campaign by the Japa10 nese Imperial fleet, aimed at countering the American

11 forces that had landed on Saipan, led to the battle of

12 the Philippine Sea, which resulted in a crushing de13 feat for the Japanese by United States naval forces
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1 and the destruction of the effectiveness of the Japanese

2 carrier-based airpower;

3 (3) the recapture of Guam liberated one of the

4 few pieces of United States territory that was occu5 pied for two and one-half years by the enemy during

6 World War II and restored freedom to the indigenous

7 Chamorros on Guam who suffered as a result of the

8 Japanese occupation;

9 (4) Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast

10 Guard units distinguished themselves with their he11 roic bravery and sacrifice;

12 (5) the Guam Insular Force Guard, the Guam

13 militia, and the people of Guam earned the highest

14 respect for their defense of the island during the Jap15 anese invasion and their resistance during the occu16 pation; their assistance to the American forces as

17 scouts for the American invasion was invaluable; and

18 their role, as members of the Guam Combat Patrol,

19 was instrumental in seeking out the remaining Japa20 nese forces and restoring peace to the island;

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

22 (A) were forcibly removed from their homes;

23 (B) were relocated to remote sections of the

24 island;
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1 (C) were required to perform forced labor

2 and faced other harsh treatment, injustices, and

3 death; and

4 (D) were placed in concentration camps

5 when the American invasion became imminent

6 and were brutalized by their occupiers when the

7 liberation of Guam became apparent to the Jap8 anese;

9 (7) the liberation of the Mariana Islands marked

10 a pivotal point in the Pacific war and led to the

11 American victories at Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Phil12 ippines, Taiwan, and the south China coast, and ulti13 mately against the Japanese home islands;

14 (8) the Mariana Islands of Guam, Saipan, and

15 Tinian provided, for the first time during the war,

16 air bases which allowed land-based American bombers

17 to reach strategic targets in Japan; and

18 (9) the air offensive conducted from the Mari19 anas against the Japanese war-making capability

20 helped shorten the war and ultimately reduced the toll

21 of lives to secure peace in the Pacific.

22 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

23 It is the sense of Congress that—

24 (1) an appropriate commemoration of the 50th

25 anniversary of the Mariana campaign should be
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1 planned by the United States in conjunction with the

2 Government of Guam and the Government of the

3 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;

4 (2) the Secretary of the Interior should take all

5 necessary steps to ensure that appropriate visitor fa6 cilities at War in the Pacific National Historical

7 Park on Guam are expeditiously developed and con8 structed; and

9 (3) the Secretary of the Interior should take all

10 necessary steps to ensure that the monument ref11 erenced in section 3(b) is completed before July 21,

12 1994, for the 50th anniversary commemoration, to

13 provide adequate historical interpretation of the

14 events described in section 1.

15 SEC. 3. WAR IN THE PACIFIC NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub17 section (k) of section 6 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to author18 ize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United

19 States, and for other purposes’’, approved August 18, 1978

20 (92 Stat. 493; 16 U.S.C. 410dd) is amended by striking

21 ‘‘$500,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$8,000,000’’.

22 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—Section 6 is further amended by

23 adding at the end the following subsections:

24 ‘‘(l) Within the boundaries of the park, the Secretary

25 is authorized to construct a monument which shall com-
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1 memorate the loyalty of the people of Guam and the herosim

2 of the American forces that liberated Guam.

3 ‘‘(m) Within the boundaries of the park, the Secretary

4 is authorized to implement programs to interpret experi5 ences of the people of Guam during World War II, includ6 ing, but not limited to, oral histories of those people of

7 Guam who experienced the occupation.

8 ‘‘(n) Within six months after the date of enactment of

9 this subsection, the Secretary, through the Director of the

10 National Park Service, shall develop and transmit to the

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate

12 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of

13 Representatives a report containing updated cost estimates

14 for the development of the park. Further, this report shall

15 contain a general plan to implement subsections (l) and

16 (m), including, at a minimum, cost estimates for the design

17 and construction of the monument authorized in section (l).

18 ‘‘(o) The Secretary may take such steps as may be nec19 essary to preserve and protect various World War II vintage

20 weapons and fortifications which exist within the bound21 aries of the park.’’.

Attest:

Clerk.