H. R. 1944

One Hundred Third Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three

An Act

To provide for additional development at War in the Pacific National Historical

Park, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

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 onehalf 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;

19:06 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1944.ENR bend06
H. R. 1944—2

(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.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) an appropriate commemoration of the 50th anniversary

of the Mariana campaign should be planned by the United

States in conjunction with the Government of Guam and the

Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands;

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

steps to ensure that appropriate visitor facilities at War in

the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam are expeditiously

developed and constructed; and

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

steps to ensure that the monument referenced in section 3(b)

is completed before July 21, 1994, for the 50th anniversary

commemoration, to provide adequate historical interpretation

of the events described in section 1.

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

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subsection (k) of section 6 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize appropriations

for certain insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes’’, approved August 18, 1978 (92 Stat. 493; 16 U.S.C. 410dd)

is amended by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$8,000,000’’.

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

at the end the following subsections:

‘‘(l) Within the boundaries of the park, the Secretary is authorized to construct a monument which shall commemorate the loyalty

of the people of Guam and the herosim of the American forces

that liberated Guam.

‘‘(m) Within the boundaries of the park, the Secretary is authorized to implement programs to interpret experiences of the people

of Guam during World War II, including, but not limited to, oral

histories of those people of Guam who experienced the occupation.

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

subsection, the Secretary, through the Director of the National

Park Service, shall develop and transmit to the Committee on

Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee

on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report

containing updated cost estimates for the development of the park.

Further, this report shall contain a general plan to implement

subsections (l) and (m), including, at a minimum, cost estimates

for the design and construction of the monument authorized in

section (l).

19:06 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1944.ENR bend06
H. R. 1944—3

‘‘(o) The Secretary may take such steps as may be necessary

to preserve and protect various World War II vintage weapons

and fortifications which exist within the boundaries of the park.’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

19:06 Nov 30, 1993 VerDate 16-NOV-93 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6655 Sfmt 6501 E:\BILLS\H1944.ENR bend06