Guam
Where America's Day Begins
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, reckoned from the geographic center of the U.S. In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia. As of 2022, its population was 168,801. Chamorros are its largest ethnic group, but a minority on the multiethnic island.
- affiliation
- United States territory
- first_appears
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- role
- Strategic military hub and mission location
- terrain
- Jungle, hills, urban areas, coastal
Lore & Background
Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamorro, who settled Guam and the Mariana Islands approximately 3,500 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while in the service of Spain, was the first European to visit and claim the island on March 6, 1521. Guam was fully colonized by Spain in 1668. During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. effective April 11, 1899. On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, who occupied the island for two and a half years before American forces recaptured it on July 21, 1944, which is commemorated there as Liberation Day.
In Their Own Story
The rain hammers the jungle canopy as the Ghost team moves silently through the underbrush. Below, a coastal road winds toward a fortified compound. Sergeant Holt adjusts his optical camo, the shimmer barely visible in the gloom. 'Target acquired,' he whispers. 'Compound's got heavy AA. We take it out, the bombers have a clear path.' The team spreads out, each member a ghost in the storm.
Reader's Guide
Guam's economy has been supported primarily by tourism and the U.S. military, for which Guam is a major strategic asset. Its future political status has been a matter of significant discussion, with public opinion polls indicating a strong preference for American statehood. Guam is among the 17 non-self-governing territories listed by the United Nations, and has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983.
Did You Know?
- Guam's de facto motto is 'Where America's Day Begins', which refers to the island's proximity to the International Date Line.
- Guam is called 'Guåhan' by Chamorro speakers, from the word 'guaha', meaning 'to have'; its English gloss 'we have' references the island's providing everything needed to live.
- The Chamorro language is not classified as a Micronesian or Polynesian language; like Palauan, it possibly constitutes an independent branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family.
More in World & Locations
Elsewhere in the Ghost Recon universe
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