Maria Cruz Quitugua still vividly remembers the Liberation of Guam 75 years ago. The World War II survivor was the special guest speaker at today's Guam Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Quitugua gave emotional testimony on how she and her family suffered during the Japanese occupation, and how happy they were when American forces came to liberate the island. She recalls that on the day they were rescued they scaled a cliff on Nimitz Hill to reach a line of trucks where the Marines were waiting to transfer them to safety.

"When I get up to the truck, imagine we cannot climb the truck. You know how children are, they are so anxious to climb. But we cannot climb the truck because we are very malnutrition. We had been hungry and weak, and so we cannot climb the truck, so the Marines had to carry us up and put us up on the truck," she recalled.

Quitugua also delivered a message of support for current U.S. troops, telling the crowd she welcomes the Marine relocation.

She added, "I get upset now when I heard people not being happy because the Marines are here to build places in Guam for them to stay. That bothers me, and sometimes I ask my husband, 'May I go and talk to this person and tell them one piece of my mind?'"

Now 83, Quitugua was just eight years old during the liberation of Guam.