Sunday marks 80 years since the outbreak of a bloody battle between the now defunct Imperial Japanese military and US forces on the Pacific island of Guam.
Ahead of the anniversary, around 90 people, including bereaved Japanese families and local Japanese residents, gathered last Sunday to commemorate those who died in the fighting.
The ceremony took place at a site where the Japanese military established its final headquarters inside trenches on the island.
During the Second World War, Japan deployed approximately 20,000 troops to Guam, which it deemed its last line of defense in the Pacific region. However, merely three weeks after US troops landed in July 1944, the Japanese forces were completely defeated, losing around 19,000 personnel.
After clearing the site, participants of the ceremony sang a well-known song from pre-war years called “Furusato,” or “My Hometown.” They remembered the war dead by observing a moment of silence and offering prayers.
A nine-year-old girl living in Guam says she feels war is wrong and she wants to create a peaceful country.
A Guam resident who lost her uncle in the war says where and how he perished remains unknown. She says she only prayed his soul will rest in peace.