As part of Guam’s 81st Liberation commemoration, families, local officials, and community members gathered Tuesday to honor victims of the Tinta and Faha massacres, two tragic events that occurred during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II.
The annual memorial hike and prayer service took participants deep into the southern village of Malesso’, where they visited the sites of both atrocities. At each location, attendees prayed the rosary, a CHamoru practice that symbolizes remembrance, respect, and religious offering to the deceased.
Leading the rosary at the Tinta Cave site was Jacqueline Hale, who has participated in the pilgrimage since childhood. For her, this act of remembrance is not just tradition but a deeply personal and religious responsibility.
“We have to try to be at peace with one another, and saying the rosary is just one thing to pray for them,” Hale said. “It’s the highest thing we could do for the dead, and I was honored.”
The Tinta and Faha massacres occurred on July 15th (Tinta Cave) and then July 16th (Faha site) in 1944, just days before American forces came to Guam after Japan fled the island. In Tinta, 30 men and women were gathered, and only 14 survived. At Faha, 30 more of the strongest men of Merizo were gathered, and there were no survivors of the massacre.
The ceremony is one of several memorial events leading up to Guam’s Liberation Day on July 21st. Throughout the week, additional services and commemorations are being held to honor the island’s resilience and the lives lost during wartime occupation.
