Senator Jesse Lujan, GVB honor Guam’s living World War II survivors

Project Today is an initiative to honor living World War II survivors. It's a joint effort between the office of Senator Jesse Lujan and the Guam Visitors Bureau. And Friday morning, some from the Greatest Generation were recognized in a certificate presentation in Agana Heights.

Project Today aims to collect the information of all living war survivors who endured the Japanese occupation on Guam between December 8, 1941 to August 10, 1944, which is the same timeframe as the war claims, so they may be recognized for their courage, strength, and resilience. Sen. Lujan explains how the collaboration and between his office and the Guam Visitors Bureau came about during last year's Liberation Day.

"Sitting with former Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez in their tent with the Guam Visitors Bureau in that one-day event, he was talking about the war times and the former first lady was there and we were all talking about that...I shared some of the stories I heard from my parents, and we wondered how more survivors are there on Guam and who may have re-located," he recalled.

They agreed that the survivors needed to be honored and recognized. The conversation went about for a couple of months with the senator reaching out to the 19 municipalities for assistance.

"The village mayors know their residents more than anybody else," added the senator.

And the names started to come in. In fact, more than 700 living survivors have been registered to date. Friday morning, some of the living survivors were presented certificates and a pin during a ceremony at the Agana Heights Senior Citizens Center.

Lujan encourages families and friends of Guam’s living World War II survivors that are either on island or off-island to check the survivor’s respective village mayor’s office to see if they are on the current list. If the survivor is not on the list, visit guamvisitorsbureau.com/projecttoday and fill out the form.

For more information, you can contact Lujan's office at (671)969-6525 or email at [email protected]