Guam Liberation Day, July 21 2018

July 15, 2018

Before We Begin

BG Tours is offering all residents and military personnel a discount all summer long for 2 of our most popular activities, Ride the Ducks and the Sandcastle Magic show!

The Best Magic Show on Guam!

For SandCastle, we offer:
ADULT Admission normally $65 -> now only $35
CHILD Admission normally $20 -> now only $10

Includes admission to the best magic show on Guam (no drinks, transportation included. assigned to casual seating)

Ducks Are Modeled After Real WWII Landing Craft!

For Ride the Ducks, we offer:

ADULT Admission normally $45 -> now only $25
CHILD Admission normally $25 -> now only $15

Includes admission to Ride the Ducks.
Admission includes a souvenir duck quacker.

To book your reservation, call us at 671-646-8000 or email [email protected]

We accept all types of valid local (Guam) ID and Military personnel ID. Adult IDs are verified upon check-in.

And now… Liberation Day!

A Brief History of Guam

First flag on Guam on boat hook mast. Two U.S. officers plant the American flag on Guam eight minutes after U.S. Marines and Army assault troops landed on the Central Pacific island on July 20, 1944

Guam was originally settled around the year 2000 BC by the Chamorro people who traveled over the sea from Southeast Asia.

Europeans first discovered Guam in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan stopped there for provisions on his historic circumnavigation of the globe.

It was officially “claimed” by Spain in 1565, and colonized in the 1600s. Jesuit missionaries converted the Chamorros to Catholicism and forever influenced Chamorro language, food, and culture.

It wasn’t until June 21, 1898, during the Spanish-American war, that Guam was captured by the United States. With its excellent harbor,
it became a common stopping point for Americans headed for the Philippines and beyond, and served as a naval station, albeit not a large one.

Then in World War II, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese invaded Guam and occupied it for two and a half years.

On July 21, 1944, after days of heavy bombing, American troops landed on the western side of the island. A bloody 3-week battle ensued before Japan finally surrendered the island on August 10.

Modern Guam

Aerial View of Apra Harbor, Naval Base, Guam.

Today Guam is a key military base for the USA, perhaps the most strategically important in the Western Pacific.

Naval Base Guam and Anderson Air Force Base control about a third of the island’s land. Some 7,000 of Guam’s 160,000 residents are military personnel, plus another 5,000 spouses and children, for a total of 12,000 people, or about 7.5% of Guam’s population.

US Military spending is the main driver of Guam’s economy, followed closely by tourism. (At least, according to the CIA.) In fact, military spending has served as a stabilizing influence during the ups and downs of the tourism industry.

Every year there is a parade in Hagatna on Liberation Day, July 21, to celebrate the anniversary of the United State’s return to Guam.

After this year’s parade, head over to the Globe Nightclub for our Electronic Dance Music night!