Historical films show Hagatna after World War II Pacific Daily News



Despite the atrocities of war many of the island's faithful continued to have faith in God and in the Catholic church and in turn helped grow the church with local priests and nuns. 

War survivor and 1988 Olympian Lou Klitzkie, 79, only has a few memories of the war, but her family told her stories about the atrocities they faced during the war. 

The family was at the cathedral for Mass when the bombs hit on Dec. 8, 1941 and they ran back to their ranch in Barrigada and endured the Japanese occupation there.

In Barrigada, Klitzkie's father raised chickens and crops to sustain the family, but the Japanese would come to steal all their chickens.

Her sister, who was eight at the time, would spend hours picking up rocks for the airfield in Tiyan and she would be very thirsty and the Japanese gave very little to drink.

Klitzkie's other sister had to wash the clothes for the imperial army and her other siblings would help the Japanese do other chores.

The long march down to Manengon was hard for Klitzkie's family. The days were long and hot, and the journey was made barefoot, she said. The Japanese soldiers had also taken all their belongings.

Also, her brother had to carry a dead Japanese soldier on his back and if he let the body down, he would be hit, she said.

More: WWII survivors share some of their experiences during Japanese occupation

Klitzkie's baby sister and niece both died in Manengon from malnutrition because there wasn't any food or milk to feed them. 

Klitzkie said her most vivid memory from the war was when the United States Marines arrived at Manengon. They were tall, ruddy and very kind; rations, which had biscuits and some candy, were given out, she said.

They also gave out ice tea which she couldn't forget.

"We were very happy to get that," she said. 

Klitzkie said her family members don't like talking about the war and it would bring tears to their eyes.

"It was really horrific," she said.

Despite all the atrocities that her family faced they held fast to their faith in God and in the church.

She said the CHamoru people experienced terrible and traumatic things during the war.

Family passes on faith

Klitzkie said in those days many families were devout Catholics, parents and grandparents would pass down the faith.

Even after facing terrible experiences during the war, many CHamoru families never lost faith in God and in the church.

She said her grandmother, Felomena Untalan Mendiola, was a strong believer in the Catholic faith and passed it down to her mother and to her siblings.

Klitzkie said every morning her grandma would wake them up at 5 a.m. to pray. Her grandma's life revolved around the church and she would go twice a day.

She said her grandmother and her mother told her that her faith is something no one can take way.

"My family had a staunch belief in the Catholic faith and very devoted to the church," she said. 

This passing on the faith inspired many young CHamoru women and men to think about a religious vocation, she said.

Her younger brother and nephew joined the seminary in Mangilao because the faith was passed down to them. Klitzkie's younger brother would go to Mass with their grandma, she said. 

Klitzkie herself thought about becoming a nun in her younger years.

She said her grandmother, who was a widow at 24, would often say how if the religious orders would take in a widow she would have become a nun.

"That's how devoted she was," she said.

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Church rebounds

After the war the church was able to rebound quickly.

The Barrigada church was rebuilt by the time Klitzkie was going to eskuelan pale', or Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), in the late 40s.

According to Guampedia, the Barrigada church was built in 1947. 

The church was located in the area the current Barrigada church is located and was made out of wood, Klitzkie said.

She remembers it was on top of a hill and it was a very beautiful place. 

Many nuns from off island came to Guam after the war and thought CCD classes to the students, she said.

Today its mostly lay people who are teaching the CCD classes, she said. 

There were also priests from off-island who came to Guam to man the newly built churches.

She remembers several American priests at the Barrigada church after the war. 

Later on there would be CHamoru priests like Fr. Juan Camacho and Fr. Zolilo Camacho, she said.

After the war there were many young CHamoru men and women who joined the seminary and the convent, Klitzkie said.

She knew many people around her age who joined the seminary or joined a religious order to become a nun.

Some of those people she still sees today and have been nuns for 50 to 60 years, she said.

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She said at the time many CHamoru families were proud of any of their children who wanted to become nuns or priests.

It was encouraged by families to pursue a life as a priest or a nun. 

There was a huge growth of local priests and nuns after the war as young men and women joined. 

Nuns from religious orders came from off-island and provided young women on Guam a chance to join them.

The Father Duenas School in Mangilao had a school for boys and a separate minor seminary where young men who wanted to become priests could study.

Klitzkie said times have changed since then as there aren't many young men or women wanting to become priests or nuns.

But during her time it was normal to see a family with a priest or a nun in their families.

Her peers would talk about the church and how much they wanted to join the convent, she said.

She said it's sad that today there aren't many young CHamoru men or women entering the religious life.

Church changes over the years

Klitzkie said there have been many changes in the church since she was a young girl in the 1940s.

She remembers a time when the Mass was said in Latin and the priest faced the altar instead of the people.

The church also didn't have a band or choir just an organ so it was very silent and solemn during the Mass, she said. 

People who wear their Sunday best to church, and no one would wear shorts, jeans or zoris.

Her grandmother would wear beautiful mestizas and a Spanish mantilla, a long veil, to church and the girls would dress up in their Sunday dresses and their hair had to be covered either by a hat, a veil or a bandana, she said.

Now people will go to church without any veils and wearing clothes that wouldn't ever be worn in the those days.

When the people received communion they had to kneel down and receive the Eucharist on their tongue, but now people receive in the hand.



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