Skip to main content
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation (Sticky)

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
  • Current Issue
  • Subscribe to Naval History
    • Naval History Digital Subscription
    • Renew Your Subscription
  • Naval History Blog
  • Submisison Guidelines
  • Contact Naval History
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues
Battle of Guam 1941
A Japanese illustration of the main landing on Guam by the 144th Infantry Regiment, South Seas Detachment. Painting by Kohei Ezaki.
(U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
  • Current Issue
  • Subscribe to Naval History
    • Naval History Digital Subscription
    • Renew Your Subscription
  • Naval History Blog
  • Submisison Guidelines
  • Contact Naval History
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues

War Comes to Paradise

Numerous firsthand accounts provide a gripping, you-are-there narrative of the attack on Guam, December 1941.
By Colonel Richard D. Camp, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
April 2022
Naval History Magazine
Article
View Issue
Comments

Guam was an important fueling station for naval vessels making the long run to and from the Far East, a relay point for the trans-Pacific cable, the site of a naval radio station, and a stop for Pan American clippers. A force of 147 Marines, an 80-man Insular Force Guard, and a 246-man, volunteer, ill-armed, ill-trained native militia protected Guam’s 20,000 Chamorros. The island's government departments and naval station activities were manned by 271 regular Navy personnel, under the command of Captain George J. McMillin, who was both island governor and garrison commander. 

8 December 1941 

At 0545 on 8 December 1941 (7 December in Hawaii because of the International Date Line), Captain George McMillin was in his quarters when he received the riveting news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Reacting quickly, he immediately ordered the island on a war footing in accordance with the contingency plan he had prepared with LtCol William K. McNulty, commanding officer Marine Barracks, Sumay.

Premium
Subscriber-Only Content

Don't miss out.
Subscribe to
Naval History today.

Subscribe Today

Already subscribed?
Sign in to continue reading.

A salute to Roger Mansell (Mansell.com), author of Captured: The Forgotten Men of Guam, and Wes Injerd for allowing me to use excerpts from the book.

Colonel Richard D. Camp, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

Colonel Camp served 26 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before retiring in 1988. He is the author of numerous books on Marine history, including Last Man Standing: The 1st Marine Regiment on Peleliu (2009) and Devil Dogs at Belleau Wood: U.S. Marines in World War I (2008), both published by Zenith Press. 

More Stories From This Author View Biography

Related Articles

P Article

Guam - Before December, 1941

By Captain Lucius W. Johnson (M.G.), U. S. Navy
July 1942
“My father, she say you having too many good-morning flowers on your house.” The words might have been taken as implying criticism, but the smiling face of the plump, brown-skinned ...
P Article

Guam - Our Western Outpost

By Lieutenant Commander Frederick J. Nelson, U. S. Navy
January 1940
The island of Guam, until recently a remote dot in the western Pacific to most Americans, is now front page news. The 250 square miles of tropi­cal island with its ...
Jim Laurier Aviation Art (Www.jimlaurier.com)
NH Article

Redemption at the Hand of the Enemy

By J. Michael Wenger
December 2011
With his checkered past and poor health, the lieutenant was hanging on to a Navy career by his fingernails. That all changed, however, when the Japanese attacked the Pacific Fleet.

Quicklinks

Footer menu

  • About the Naval Institute
  • Books & Press
  • Naval History Magazine
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Oral Histories
  • Events
  • Naval Institute Foundation
  • Photos & Historical Prints
  • Naval Institute Archives

Receive the Newsletter

Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations.

Sign Up Now
Example NewsletterPrivacy Policy
USNI Logo White
Copyright © 2022 U.S. Naval Institute Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContact UsAdvertise With UsFAQContent LicenseMedia Inquiries
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
Powered by Unleashed Technologies