Flag of Guam
The flag of the United States territory of Guam was adopted on February 9, 1948. The territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all sides (border was a later addition). Narrow red border represents the blood that it ravaged in World War 2 and Spanish sovereignty. In the center of the flag is the coat of arms; an almond shaped emblem, which depicts a proa sailing in Agana Bay near Hagåtña, and "GUAM" colored in red letters. The shape of the emblem recalls the slingshot stones used by the islanders' ancestors. The landform at the back depicts the Punta Dos Amantes cliff on Guam. Charles Alan Pownall approved the flag's shape in 1948.
Battle of Guam (1944)
Guam, at 212 square miles (543 square kilometers), is the largest island of the Marianas, with a length of 32 miles (52 km) and a width ranging from 12 miles (19.31 km) to four miles (6.44 km) at different points of the island. It had been a United States possession since its capture from Spain in 1898 until it was captured by the Japanese on 10 December 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the Japanese occupation of Guam, it was not as heavily fortified as the other Mariana Islands such as Saipan that had been Japanese possessions since the end of World War I. But by 1944, Guam had a large Japanese garrison.