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Perez, Juan Namaulea_Z36_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_public.mp3
Juan Manuel Perez was 71 years old at the time of this interview. On December 8th, 1941, he was chief boatman for Pan American Airways. The upper manager told the maintenance crew that Pearl Harbor had been bombed and briefly told them what to do if a bomb was dropped, to lie down flat. Shortly after that shrapnel from a bomb hit Perez. He went home to pick up his family and went to the cave behind the church in Sumay with about half the residents in the area. After the planes left that afternoon he returned to work and found that the boat he operated was not hit. That night they heard the Japanese were ready to invade the island. Perez was picked up by the Japanese and held in Sumay for three days to train some of the crew on how to operate the boat. He tried to sabotage the boat and learned a week or two later that the transmission was not working. Perez made some trips to steal dynamite and distributed it to friends and family to use it to fish. The last trip he made with two friends to steal dynamite, they got caught and threw sticks of dynamite in front of the guards, then jumped over a cliff and swam across the channel to escape. They successfully hid from the Japanese that day but were arrested the next day and taken to the barracks in Sumay, where they were interrogated and tortured. That night they were fed and watched a movie with the Japanese. The next day they were taken to Agana and watched a firing squad in the cemetery, but still would not confess. They were taken to court; Perez was sentenced to five years, one of his friends was sentenced to ten years, and the other friend was sentenced to ten years to life. The prison where they were held was damaged and they would usually escape at night and return by morning. They had small rations but got some help from civilians in the area. This continuation of Juan Perez’s interview starts with him talking about how he wants his children to learn to forgive and not to forget. Juan talks about being brought to Agat, to a camp where the local people were stationed. The following day, he went the 59 Battalion and spoke to Lieutenant Commander Jenkin and told him he knew where the Japanese Army are concentrating – where they are now. He was interviewed at Island Command in Apra and they filmed him as he spoke. He pointed to the area where he knew the Japanese were moving. Up in Yigo, by Dededo, going to the northwest field. Juan explains how he was never able to return to his town, Sumay. When the Americans invaded the island, they were told that they made an arrangement for the people of Sumay to move to Ypan, but people of Sumay rejected that. They ended up in Santa Rita. Juan describes the beauty of Sumay before the war and tells about how the people in the town worked together and helped each other.
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U.S. National Park Service, War in the Pacific National Historical Park
This digital asset is in the public domain. This digital version was made possible through the National Park Service by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support from the Mellon Foundation. When using this asset for any purpose, including online, credit 'Courtesy U.S. National Parks'.
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War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Code: WAPA
Guam , Guam
War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam , Guam
Latitude: 13.3905000686646, Longitude: 144.654006958008

ICMS (Interior Collection Managment System) : WAPA-00246
NPS Museum Number Catalog : WAPA 4184
War in the Pacific Oral Histories
2023/12/14
Sourced File: Video File (S:/WAPA_OralHist_0001_master.wav, 361,768 KB)
T. Stell Newman Visitor Center, Collections room, Safe and Shelf SLF D-01
Public Can View
Rose Manibusan, Jennifer Craig
Organization: American Memorial Park
Role: Chief Interpretation
Address: Micro Beach Road, Garapan, Mp 96950
Email: wapa_interpretation@nps.gov

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 12:34:23 PM
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 12:34:23 PM
Perez, Juan Namaulea_Z36_WAPA-246_WAPA 4170_OralHist_Audio_public.mp3
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71.0 MB
Historic
War In The Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park
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