Happy Independence Day from Guam! Where AMERICA's day begins!

I get questions like this from stateside relatives and friends from time to time, so I thought I'd share.

Does Guam celebrate July 4th, Independence Day? Of course Guam celebrates the 4th of July (and Halloween, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. (Presidents) Day, too). Guam is a United States Territory and has been since 1898 when Spain ceded control of Guam and the Philippines to the U.S. after the Spanish American War in the Treaty of Paris. For more on the Philippine's relations with the U.S. since the Spanish-American war see here.

Guam was attacked by the Japanese on December 8, 1941, within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor (it was the 7th in Hawaii, but the 8th here due to our location on the other side of the International Dateline), and was occupied by the Japanese during most of the war until July 21, 1944 when Guam was "liberated," and the U.S. regained control. In addition to July 4th, Guam celebrates its own "Liberation Day" on July 21, the anniversary of when the Americans recaptured it from the Japanese.

After WWII, practically the whole of Micronesia ~ all of what is now the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands (Kwajalein), Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan, Tinian and Rota) ~ came under U.S. control and became U.S. Trust Territories. Since the 1980's, the FSM, the Marshalls and Palau have become independent sovereign nations that enjoy special relationships with the U.S. through separate Compacts of Free Association. The CNMI opted during that time to become a U.S. Commonwealth, breaking away from Guam which remained a U.S. Territory. Having lived briefly in Saipan, I can tell you that although separated by less than 150 nautical miles, the peoples of the CNMI and Guam are very different, and view their relationships with the U.S. in very different ways.

The CNMI, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are possessions of the U.S. still. The CNMI and Puerto Rico, as commonwealths, are a little higher up the governmental food chain than the territories of the V.I., American Samoa and Guam ~ a commonwealth is more than a territory, but less than a State; it has its own constitution setting up its governmental structure which is ratified and can be amended by its citizens. Every state and commonwealth has its own constitution. Territories do not. What serve as Guam's, American Samoa's, and the V.I.'s constitutions are actually written by Congress, each has its own Organic Act," which gives real meaning to: "It takes an Act of Congress" to get certain things done around here with respect to governmental structure. Originally managed by the U.S. Navy since 1898, over time since the 50's Guam has increasingly been given more and more autonomy by Congress to choose its own governmental officials and pass laws affecting how its government is structured ~ first its own governor and legislature, then its own courts systems, then other public officers like Attorney General and Public Auditor.

Citizens of Guam are 100% U.S. citizens (thus, my son is a U.S. citizen by virtue not just because I am a U.S. citizen, but also because he was born here). (He was also "Made in the USA," but that's a different story.) Guam residents cannot vote in the presidential election because the U.S. Constitution provides that States, not individual citizens, elect the president through the electoral college. But we do send "superdelegates" to the Democratic Convention, and we have a non-voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives who can do everything, including introduce bills, she just can't vote. Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands also have non-voting members in Congress, as will the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan) soon as a result of a recent change in the CNMI's Organic Act by Congress.

So, yes. Guam definitely celebrates the 4th of July, Independence Day. It is absolutely American. Indeed, its unofficial motto, due to the fact that it is the westernmost American possession (we're west of the International Date line, 14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so we're the first to see the sun rise) is: "Guam. Where AMERICA's day begins."

Guam is an extremely patriotic place, and probably sends more sons and daughters into harm's way in military service in Iraq and Afghanistan per capita than any other comparably sized U.S. jurisdiction. Whatever your views on the war may be, please join me in wishing them all a very safe, happy and healthy Independence Day.