Alfred San Nicolas Flores (June 20, 1916 – February 6, 2009)ALFRED SN FLORES (1916-2009), Social Security Death Index
/ref> was a

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

anian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, lancheru and survivor of the Japanese occupation of Guam during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was one of the original founders of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He served for six terms in the

Guam Legislature The Legislature of Guam ( ch, Liheslaturan Guåhan) is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature a ...

Early life

Flores, a '' lancheru'' as ranchers are known in Guam, began

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

approximately eight hundred head of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and carabao on several acres on his

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

in Inarajan early in his life. He also founded Flores Poultry Farm, which would later grow to include more than 75,000 chickens at a time. Flores also cultivated vegetables and fruit on his farm.

World War II

Flores was just 25 years old at the time of the Japanese invasion of Guam in 1941 during World War II. He began to cultivate

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, all of which was used to feed the Japanese troops during the occupation. His livestock was also confiscated at times during the war in order to feed Japanese forces on the island. During the war, Flores provided assistance to Father Jesus Baza Duenas, a

Chamorro Chamorro may refer to: * Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific * Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas * Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mari ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and an outspoken critic of the Japanese. Duenas would later be captured and executed by the

Japanese military The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, th ...

. Flores' wife, Ester Duenas Flores, was seven months pregnant with the couple's first child when Guam was liberated by the Americans in 1944.

Politics

Flores held many local political offices throughout his long career on Guam. He originally served as an Inarajan

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

, as well as an Inarajan

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

man. He also held posts on various boards and committees. Flores served six terms as a senator beginning in the fourth

. His often fiery, often passionate speeches earned him the nickname of "

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

" in Guamanian politics. Flores always ended his campaign speeches with the Chamorro language

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

, "Bai hu puno' i toro," which translates to "I will kill the bull" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, an allusion to his early life as a lancheru.

Death

Alfred Flores died in his sleep at his home in Malojloj, Guam, on February 6, 2009, at the age of 92. He was survived by his wife of 69 years, Ester Duenas Flores. The couple would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on February 18, 2009. Flores was also survived by his three children - Lucille, May and Fred - ten grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren. His viewing and funeral mass were held at the Saint Joseph Church in Inarajan. He was intermediate at Our Lady of Peace Memorial Gardens in Windward Hills, Yona.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Alfred 1916 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American legislators Chamorro people Guamanian Democrats Guamanian people of World War II Members of the Legislature of Guam