Liberation Day on the U.S. territory of Guam is an annual commemoration of the invasion by U.S. military forces on July 21, 1944, which ended the Japanese occupation that had begun in 1941.

Festivities include a queen contest, summer carnival, fireworks display, and mile-long parade on Marine Corps Drive in Hagåtña from Adelup to Paseo de Susana, as well as solemn memorials and visits to massacre sites.

[1] With tensions rising after the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria starting the Second Sino-Japanese War, a committee formed in 1938 by U.S. Rear Admiral Arthur Japy Hepburn recommended a massive buildup of Guam as an air and submarine base.

[4] Renamed Omiya Jima, Japanese for "Great Shrine Island," the island was administered as part of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere[4] by the Imperial Japanese Navy,[5] with the ultimate intent to make it part of the Saipan Branch of the South Seas Bureau.

[7] Most of the male population was forced to build infrastructure and defenses, including the two airfields that became Orote Field and Naval Air Station Agana, which is now Antonio B.

Together with the U.S. Army's 77th Infantry Division, and the support of U.S. Navy Seabees, American forces captured the Orote Peninsula by July 29 and pushed north.

[8] Johnston had influence with the Army and Navy commands, but had a harder time convincing civilian leaders that a celebration was needed.

[1][11] The Liberation Queen contest, parade, carnival, and religious and memorial services have been constant features of an often multi-day event.

[1] In 1950, the Liberation Day program called for a morning Mass, the decoration of graves and war markers, and then an informal dance.

The parade route begins at Adelup and typically runs to Paseo de Susana, but in 1976 it went to Camp Asan and in 1983 it went to Hagåtña Pool.

While the carnival is typically at Paseo, it has been held at the former Yigo Amusement Park, the Harmon Cliff line, and Tiyan in the past.

Gen. Louis H. Wilson Jr., who had been awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Guam and would later become the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

[...] Military marching units included the Marines, the Navy, the Army, and the Guam National Guard, dressed out as jungle fighters.

There were also fearsome aborigine warriors from Fiji and the Southern Philippines, dragon dancers from Taiwan and Hong Kong, and a contingent of Native Americans.

"[15] In 2008, tragedy struck when a B-52 from Andersen Air Force Base that was preparing for a flyover of the parade crashed into the ocean, with the loss of all six crewmembers.

Related events included a march to the Manengon Valley Concentration Camp and many memorial services and musical performances, including by local pop star Pia Mia, the Navy's Pacific Fleet Band, the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band, and traditional Chamorro musicians.

Joshua Tenorio, who headed the liberation committee, stated, "Many of the wartime survivors have passed away; it's up to us to carry on their legacy.

Mayors' Council of Guam Executive Director Angel Sablan commented, "We already lost a lot of people during our real liberation.

[24] The centerpiece of Liberation Day celebrations is the parade, which includes both civic and commercial floats that are typically related to a declared theme for the year.