[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 441] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov][[Page 441]] CONGRESSIONAL RECORD United States of America February 1, 2000 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS RECOGNIZING THE DUTY OF THE MARIANAS SCOUTS ______ HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD of guam in the house of representatives Monday, January 31, 2000 Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, on January 31, 2000, a ceremony will take place in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands honoring and recognizing the service of a small group of civilian men who, during WWII on the island of Saipan, willingly put themselves in harm's way to ensure that American soldiers could defeat the occupying Japanese military forces. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Resident Representative, the Honorable Juan Babauta, has been key in making sure the sacrifice and service of these men are recognized by the United States. I commend Mr. Babauta for his persistence and wish to submit his statement honoring the ``Marianas Scouts'' for the Record. At Last America Remembers Marianas Scouts They helped American Marines find their way on unfamiliar ground during one of World War II's fiercest battles. And once the Japanese-held island of Saipan was ``secure'' they continued to help: rooting out the hundreds of enemy soldiers who remained a menace, lurking in the dense jungle and hidden deep in limestone caves. But when the fighting was finally over, the fifty Chamorro and Carolinian men who had volunteered to join the US military after the invasion of Saipan were forgotten by the US. They received no discharges, no campaign ribbons, none of the benefits accorded other US veterans. Only their families and friends remembered the valor of these ``Marine Scouts.'' On Monday, January 31, at least America will remember. In a ceremony to be attended by Brigadier General R.E. Parker, Commanding General of the US Marine Corps Base in Hawaii and personal representative of Marine Corps Commandant General James L. Jones, the twenty-one surviving Scouts and the memory of those who have already passed on will finally receive the recognition they deserve. General Parker will present the Scouts or their survivors with the ribbons and medals acknowledging service in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign and commemorating Victory in the World War II. The men will also receive their official discharges at the rank of corporal. The Marianas Campaign of 1944 was critical to the outcome of World War II. The fall of the Marianas led directly to the fall of the government in Tokyo, because now America was within bomber range of the Japanese home islands. That strategic significance was reflected in the ferocity of the fighting here and the tenacity of the Japanese defenders. Even after the battle of Saipan was official over and the Japanese military command had surrendered, still there were hundreds of Japanese soldiers hidden in the dense jungle, squeezed into pockets of limestone in the hillsides. At night they materialized to harass; by day their sniper shots struck without warning. Americans continued to die. The US Commander of the Military Government decided that local men, who best knew the local terrain and spoke Japanese, could best track down these holdouts. Fifty Chamorros and Carolinians were selected and put under the command of the 6th Provisional Military Police Battalion. They were issued Marine Corps uniforms, trained to use rifles and grenades, and instructed in hand-to-hand fighting. Once on duty, platoons of these local Marine Scouts, as they were known, combed Mt. Tapotchau, the hills of Laulau and Kagman, and the ridges of Marpi, exposing and capturing Japanese. The Scouts also took part in the American expeditions to round up the hundreds of Japanese troops on the islands of Pagan and Maug. The service of these men of the Marianas saved American lives. But their service was never fully acknowledged. It took six years of work, beginning with exhaustive research in military archives at the National Archives, the Marine Corps Historical Center, and the Naval Archives, through some 50,000 pages of war records and diaries, to uncover the few sentences attesting to the Scouts' service. For the men themselves had no paper record, only their memories. Then, the materials had to be presented to the Department of Defense Civilian/Military Service Review Board for its scrutiny. On September 30, 1999, two years after the original submission, the decision came down: ``In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 95-202 and upon the recommendation of the Department of Defense Civilian/Military Service Review Board, the Secretary of the Air Force, acting as the Executive Agent of the Secretary of Defense, determines . . . the service of . . . three scouts/ guides, Miguel Tenorio, Benedicto Taisacan, and Cristino Dela Cruz, who assisted the U.S. Marines in the offensive operations against the Japanese on the Northern Mariana Islands from `June 19, 1994, through September 2, 1945,' shall be considered `active duty' for purposes of all laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. ``Additionally, the service of a group described as `the approximately 50 Chamorro and Carolinian former, native policemen who received military training in the Donnay area of central Saipan and were placed under the command of Lt. Casino of the 6th Provisional Military Police Battalion to accompany United States Marines on active, combat-patrol activity from August 19, 1945, to September 2, 1945,' shall be considered `active duty' for purposes of all laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs.'' Now, on Janaury 31, the Scouts will receive their discharges, medals, and ribbons. Among those who should be recognized for their efforts to make this day possible are: Mr. Joseph C. Reyes, President of the US Armed Forces Veterans Association in the Northern Marianas, who was tireless in pursuit of this goal; former members of the Northern Marianas Legislature Crispin I. Deleon Guerrero and Vicente C. Guerrero, who would not let our men be forgotten; both Joseph Palacios, the former Director of the CNMI Veterans Office, and Jesus C. Muna, the present Director, who have been most supportive; Mr. Pete Callahan, Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3457, who helped mobilize national recognition; Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, a vet himself, who weighed in with the Pentagon when we needed him; and the Northern Marianas Legislature, under the leadership of Speaker Diego T. Benavente and President Paul A. Manglona, which passed two resolutions on behalf of our World War II veterans, spurred to act by Representatives Frank G. Cepeda and David M. Apatang. Major Harry Blanco, should also be recognized; he extended PX privileges to the Scouts, even before they were declared to be vets; a much appreciated act of faith. The Roster of Scouts Ignacio Reyes Ada, Antonio M. Aguon, Antonio Angailen, Pedro SN. Attao, Santiago Miyasaki Babauta, Antonio Manahane Benavente, Juan V. Benavente, Daniel T. Borja, Gregorio Flores Borja, Gregorio Camacho Cabrera, Juan Camacho Cabrera, Albert S. Camacho, Lorenzo Tudela Camacho, Cristino S. Dela Cruz, Joaquin Duenas Dela Cruz, Bernardo C. Deleon Guerrero, Joaquin C. Deleon Guerrero, Jose S. Deleon Guerrero, Lorenzo Diaz Deleon Guerrero, Serafin Borja Kaipat, Juan Limes, Rafael C. Mafnas, Jose Blas Magofna, Miguel Blaz Magofna, Pedro Mettao, Nicolas Quidachai Muna, Francisco Nekai, Juan Quitugua Norita, Isidro Limes Ogarto, Francisco C. Palacios, Joaquin B. Pangelian, Juan San Nicolas Pangelian, Edward M. Peter, Jose Roberto Quitano, Benigno A. Rabauliman, Antonio T. Rogolofoi, Isidro R. Rogopes, Vicente T. Rosario, Ignacio Mangarero Sablan, Segundo Tudela Sablan, Herberto San Nicolas, Pedro F. Sakisat, Felipe Agulto Salas, Gofredo Aguon Sanchez, Juan A. Sanchez, Guillermo P. Saures, Felipe Mazinnis Seman, Juan Malus Tagabuel, Benedicto Satur Taisacan, Antonio Camacho Tenorio, Antonio P. Tenorio, Vicente Olaitiman Taman, Miguel Pangelinan Tenorio, Pedro Peter Teregeyo, and Manuel Seman Villagomez. ____________________