103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1944

AMENDMENT
In the Senate of the United States,

July 21 (legislative day, June 30), 1993.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1944) entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for additional

development at War in the Pacific National Historical Park,

and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and 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 United States forces captured the

6 Japanese islands of Saipan and Tinian and liberated

7 the United States Territory of Guam from Japan;

8 (2) an attack during this campaign by the Japa9 nese combined fleet, aimed at annihilating the United

10 States forces that had landed on Saipan, led to the

11 battle of the Philippine Sea, which resulted in a
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1 crushing defeat for the Japanese by United States

2 naval forces and the destruction of the effectiveness of

3 the Japanese carrier-based airpower;

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

5 few pieces of United States territory that was occu6 pied by the enemy during World War II and restored

7 United States Government to more than 20,000 na8 tive Guamanians;

9 (4) units of the United States Army, Navy, Ma10 rine Corps, and Coast Guard fought with great brav11 ery and sacrifice, suffering casualties of approxi12 mately 5,700 killed and missing and 21,900 wounded

13 in action;

14 (5) United States forces succeeded in destroying

15 all Japanese garrisons in Saipan, Tinian, and

16 Guam, which resulted in Japanese military casualties

17 of 54,000 dead and 21,900 taken prisoner;

18 (6) Guamanians, notably members of the Navy

19 Insular Force Guard and volunteer militia, bravely

20 resisted the invasion and occupation of their island,

21 and ultimately assisted in the expulsion of Japanese

22 forces from Guam;

23 (7) at the hands of the Japanese, the people of

24 Guam—

25 (A) were forcibly removed from their homes;
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1 (B) were relocated to remote sections of the

2 island;

3 (C) were required to perform forced labor

4 and faced other harsh treatment, injustices, and

5 death; and

6 (D) were eventually placed in concentration

7 camps and subjected to retribution when the lib8 eration of their island became apparent to the

9 Japanese;

10 (8) the seizure of the Mariana Islands severed

11 Japanese lines of communication between Japan

12 proper and those remaining Japanese bases and forces

13 in the Central Pacific south of the Mariana Islands

14 and in the South Pacific as well;

15 (9) the Mariana Islands provided large island

16 areas on which advance bases could be constructed to

17 support further operations against Japanese posses18 sions and conquered territories such as Iwo Jima and

19 Okinawa, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the south

20 China coast, and ultimately against the Japanese

21 home islands;

22 (10) the Mariana Islands provided, for the first

23 time during the war, island air bases from which

24 United States land-based airpower could reach Japan

25 itself; and
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1 (11) the air offensive staged from the Mariana

2 Islands against Japanese cities and economic infra3 structure helped shorten the war and vitiate the need

4 for the invasion and capture of the Japanese home is5 lands.

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

7 It is the sense of Congress that—

8 (1) an appropriate commemoration of the 50th

9 anniversary of the Mariana campaign should be

10 planned; and

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

12 necessary steps to ensure that two visitors centers to

13 provide appropriate facilities for the interpretation of

14 the events described in section 1 are completed, one at

15 the War in the Pacific National Historical Park and

16 one at the American Memorial Park, before June 15,

17 1994, the beginning of the 50th anniversary of the

18 campaign.

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

20 Section 6(k) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize

21 appropriations for certain insular areas of the United

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

23 (92 Stat. 493; 16 U.S.C. 410 dd(k)), is amended by striking

24 ‘‘$500,000’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘$8,000,000’’.
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1 SEC. 4. AMERICAN MEMORIAL PARK.

2 Section 5(g) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize

3 appropriations for certain insular areas of the United

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

5 (92 Stat. 492), is amended by striking ‘‘$3,000,000’’ and

6 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘$8,000,000’’.

Attest:

Secretary.