The ''Guam Insular Force Guard'' was a former military formation of

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 ce ...

. It was created in 1901.

History

After gaining control of Guam during the 1898

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

, the United States declared the entire island of Guam a naval installation that led to the US Navy governing the island. On 5 April 1901, President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

created the Insular Force of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to enlist up to 500 natives of Guam and the Philippines. Originally nine men strong at their formation, the force rose to 85 ratings by 1906 in order to protect U.S. Navy installations in Guam. The strength of the Guard was 110 men organised and uniformed in the manner of the U.S. Navy but received half the pay of the corresponding American naval ratings. Rather than being classed as members of the U.S. Navy, the Guardsmen were classified as "native seamen". With the situation in the Pacific growing more tense the Guard was increased in size to 234 men. The Guard was armed with the same weapons as the U.S. Navy,

M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first ...

rifles,

Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United S ...

s, and Lewis Guns, however with the increase to the size of the Guard there were not enough weapons to go around. During the Battle of Guam in December 1941, four members of the Guard were killed in action with 22 men wounded. Insular Force Guardsmen were held as prisoners of war on Guam instead of being shipped to Japan.

Legacy

The Guam Insular Force Memorial in Hagatna commemorates the history and bravery of the unit.

Notes

{{Reflist Military units and formations in Guam Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Military in Oceania Military units and formations established in 1901