A memorial mass in Guam was celebrated on December 8 to recall what happened seven decades ago, when mass to commemorate Santa Marian Kamalen was abruptly cut short. It was 70 years to the day since the Japanese began their invasion.
Carmen Artero Kasperbauer was just six years old at the time. She was one of the angels during the Santa Marian Kamalen mass holding a basket of petals. Like the many others who were at church at the time they heard the thunder of planes but thought it was just another Pan-Am flight – they were wrong. Instead, the Japanese were beginning their aerial assault bringing hell on earth to the thousands of Chamorros who suddenly found themselves in the middle of World War II. She said they “tried to leave Agana and everybody was panicking and it was pure chaos; it was terrible.”
Source
- Kuam News
- Image: Archdiocese of Agana