George McMillin George Johnson McMillin ( November 25 , 1889 – 1983 ) was a United States Navy Rear Admiral who served as the 38th and final Naval Governor of Guam . He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1911 and served as an officer during four separate conflicts : World War I , the occupation of the Dominican Republic , the United States occupation of Veracruz , and World War II . He served on the staff of both the Naval Academy and the Naval War College as well . He is most remembered as the commander who surrendered Guamanian forces to a much larger Japanese force during the First Battle of Guam , only the second battle of World War II involving the United States . He had previously evacuated all but one civilian American citizen from the island and attempted to rebuild defenses after a strong typhoon devastated the island the year before . On December 8 , 1941 , Japanese forces invaded Guam and McMillin surrendered two days later . He spent the rest of the war at various Japanese prisoner of war camps . Life . McMillin was born in Ohio on November 25 , 1889 to Chas and Addie McMillin . He lived in Youngstown , Ohio and had two brothers . He was left - handed . Naval service . He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1907 , graduating in 1911 . He transferred to the as an ensign the year of his graduation . From March 1919 to October of the same year , he served aboard the as an assistant engineer officer . Following this assignment , he headed the Electrical School at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard . From August 1924 to September 1926 he served within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations . Afterward , he became first lieutenant of the for three years . In the May 1930 to May 1933 , he served as assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy while a commander . In 1933 , he was attached to the United States Asiatic Fleet . He attended the Naval War College in 1936 and served on staff there for two years following his graduation . From May 1938 to April 1939 , he was executive officer aboard the , and then took command of the . Governorship . McMillin served as the Naval Governor of Guam from April 20 , 1940 to December 10 , 1941 . On November 3 , 1940 , the worst typhoon since 1918 hit Guam . The storm destroyed a majority of the island ' s crops , caused extensive damage to many military structures , and destroyed thousands of residential homes . McMillin requested $ 50 , 000 in aid from the American Red Cross . He oversaw a major evacuation of all United States citizens on the island during his term as the political situation with Japan grew more tense . In the summer of 1941 , the evacuation began and was completed on October 17 , 1941 with only one , the pregnant wife of the chief commissary steward , remaining . Battle of Guam . The Department of the Navy informed McMillin of the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8 . Upon receiving this news and the beginning of United States involvement in World War II , McMillin ordered the evacuation of various civilian populations , the jailing of all Japanese nationals on the island , and churches , banks , and schools closed . A few hours later , the Japanese attacked Guam . At 8 : 27 p . m . on December 8 , the battle began . Japanese planes first began bombing the Marine barracks and then other key targets . The also sank in the initial attack . The was set ablaze and captured by Japanese forces . On December 10 , over 5000 Japanese troops landed on the island in numerous locations , compared to American troops numbering less than 1000 . A group of Marines , sailors , and members of the Insular Force Guard defended the Plaza de España but met a much larger Japanese force . McMillin soon ordered all documents of military value be destroyed as a Japanese victory became more apparent . By 5 : 45 a . m . , it became apparent that further resistance by American Marines would do no good , and McMillin ordered the sounding of a car horn three times , which both sides recognized as a sign to cease fire . McMillin surrendered the island at 6 a . m . on December 10 when Japanese troops captured him in the reception room of his living quarters , though some small fighting continued until 7 : 00 a . m . Twenty - one American military personnels and civilians died during the attack . He was one of the first American prisoners of war held by the Japanese and was held until August 20 , 1945 when Soviet forces freed him . Prisoner of war . After his capture on Guam , McMillin spent the rest of World War II as a prisoner of war at various Japanese POW camps . He was initially brought to a prison camp on Taiwan . On a few occasions there he was allowed to write to his wife , Annabel , who later sponsored and christened the cruiser in 1944 . Soon after his interment began , Dōmei Tsushin interviewed McMillin in a camp located on Shikoku . They reported that he supposedly seemed " chipper " and expressed his wish that President Franklin Roosevelt know that Guam had been " valiantly " defended . Eventually the Japanese transferred him to the Zentsūji camp , where he was the oldest prisoner at fifty - four . Later life . McMillin retired from the Navy as a rear admiral in June 1949 . He served afloat during four conflicts : World War I , the occupation of the Dominican Republic , the United States occupation of Veracruz , and World War II .