George Ray Tweed (July 2, 1902 – January 16, 1989) was a decorated radioman in the United States Navy who served during World War II. He is most famous for evading Japanese capture for two years and seven months after the surrender of the U.S garrison on Guam in 1941.

Early life

Tweed enlisted in the United States Navy in 1922 and attended the basic training at

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit ...

. He also attended the Radioman School and served in Navy radio units until 1940, when he was transferred to the Naval Base Guam. At the time a 16-year veteran of the Navy with the rank of Radioman First Class, Tweed was serving in the Navy Communication Office when the Japanese invaded the island on December 8, 1941, in the First Battle of Guam. Tweed had arrived on Guam in August 1939; his family, along with other American women and children, were evacuated in October 1941. The Americans faced the Japanese invasion with 155 Marines, a 200-man native insular force, and 400 Navy personnel who were untrained for combat. He and five other men (Al Tyson, Yeoman First Class Yablonsky, Chief Aerographer Jones, Chief Machinist's Mate Krump, and Machinist's Mate First Class Johnston of the USS ''Penguin'') slipped into the Guam jungle rather than become prisoners of war.

In hiding

When the Japanese became aware of these men on the island, they began to hunt for them. The Americans captured during the initial invasion were taken to Japan, and those captured in the jungle were to be executed. The Japanese offered 100 yen for the capture of any American but 1000 yen for Tweed because of his radio expertise. He was able to get a Silvertone radio working by March 1942, allowing him and the locals to receive news broadcast by KGEI, San Francisco. When that battery ceased operating, he used a Zenith Electronics radio to pick up also the USAFFE, The Voice of Freedom, broadcasts from Corregidor Island. Based on the radio broadcasts, Tweed published an underground newspaper, the ''Guam Eagle'', for four months using a typewriter and carbon paper. None of the men wanted to surrender, and the Japanese eventually captured and executed all of them except Tweed. Krump, Jones and Yablonsky were surrounded after Felix Jota (?) disclosed their hiding place, and they were beheaded on September 12. Tyson and Johnston were shot when they were surrounded by 50 Japanese sailors on October 22 after Juan and Frank Perez disclosed their hiding place. The Japanese also tortured and executed local

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 ...

natives whom they suspected of helping the missing Americans. The locals did not want Tweed to surrender: "The people of Guam feel that as long as you hold out the Americans will come back." Tweed managed to hide in the middle portion of the island, aided by many locals in 11 different locations, until October 1942. Then, Tweed was sheltered on Antonio Artero's ranch on the northwest portion of the island. In total, Tweed managed to elude the Japanese for two years and seven months, until just before the start of the

Second Battle of Guam The Battle of Guam (21 July–10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during th ...

in 1944. During that time, he studied algebra and made shoes for the family watching over him. On July 10, 1944, he was able to signal two destroyers involved in preparations for the impending US invasion, with a mirror and

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

. Tweed conveyed information about Japanese defenses that he had gathered from his vantage point overlooking the west coast of the island. He was rescued by a whaleboat from the USS ''McCall''.

Later life

For his heroism, Tweed was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with

"V" Device A "V" device is a metal capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes an award for heroism or valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement. ...

and promoted to chief petty officer. He was later promoted to warrant officer. Tweed returned to Guam in September 1946 to thank those still alive who had helped him. He retired as a lieutenant in 1948. He was later also decorated with the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. According to a newspaper article (''Le Petit Journal'', Montreal) from August 25, 1946, Tweed had promised the native rancher, Antonio Artero, a new car if he evaded capture and returned to the United States. Tweed confirmed in a video interview in 1984 for a Guam Cable TV program that with the help of General Motors, in a promotional campaign to highlight the resumption of consumer motor vehicle production, he accompanied a new 1946 four-door Chevrolet automobile sent from San Francisco, California to Antonio Artero. Franklin Artero, the son of Antonio, confirmed that in guided tours he gave in 2010, which included a family scrap book of this return visit by Tweed in 1946. Tweed died in an automobile accident in 1989 at the age of 86. He is buried at

Eagle Point National Cemetery Eagle Point National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located just east of Eagle Point, Oregon, Eagle Point, Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson County, Oregon and about northeast of Medford, Oregon, Medford. Administered by the United ...

in Oregon.Station Hypo
/ref> Tweed's story is told in short in the official US Navy documentary on the Battle of Guam as well as in his 1945 book ''Robinson Crusoe, USN''. His story was also dramatized in the 1962 movie '' No Man Is an Island'', starring

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kin ...

as Tweed. He appeared on the television show '' To Tell the Truth'' on October 22, 1962, where two of the four panelists correctly identified him over the two imposters.

Decorations

George Ray Tweed´s ribbon bar:

References

External links