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Soldiers everywhere share a common
sentiment that goes along these lines: for those
who are willing to fight and die for freedom, life
has a special flavor the protected will never know.
In the case of Guam, however, the liberated, the
protected, did know.
Few
scenes during the liberation of Guam in 1944 tugged
the hearts of the liberators more than the sight of
young children carrying home-made American flags,
made clandestinely during the occupation. Some
flags were made of cloth, others of cardboard, and
there were some made of wood. All of them had the
distinctive stars and stripes of American flags,
although their numbers varied from flag to
flag.
When
the Marines recaptured Agana, they gathered in the
vicinity of the Plaza de Espana to raise the U. S.
colors. As local citizens approached with their
children to witness the ceremony, the Marines set
aside the official flag and raised in its stead a
small one carried by one of the children.
There
was enough material for only six stars on that
little boy's flag. At that very special moment
between the liberators and the liberated, however,
no one counted. No one cared.
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