Onward to Guam: June to July 1944: Training, Guadalcanal
- Nez and his buddies are back on the island of Guadalcanal. It's familiar, of course, but quiet.
- The island is now a jungle training base for the American troops. American generals are together on the island, strategizing for the war.
- The code talkers are informed of the generals' plans, and they forward strategic information to military leaders who aren't at the meetings on the island.
- Even though the Americans are making progress, the bulk of the Pacific islands are still under Japanese control.
- The troops on Guadalcanal, including Chester and his buddies, prepare for an assault on Guam, another Pacific island that's part of the Mariana Islands.
- The Americans want to take the island as a stepping-stone for an attack on Japan. This is part of "Operation Forager," which is designed to capture a number of the Mariana Islands from the Japanese, including Saipan, Tinian, and Guam.
July to August 1944: Guam
- Chester gives us a bit of a history lesson here: he tells us that Guam had been a territory of the U.S. from 1900 to 1941, when it was captured by the Japanese.
- The Americans, of course, want it back. And Chester's going to take part in the battle.
- On July 21, 1944, the Marines and infantry invade Guam. The 3rd Marine Division (which Nez and his buddies are attached to now), land north of Apra Harbor, a harbor on Guam's western coast.
- The goal is to capture the Japanese naval yard there. Another set of troops lands south of the harbor with the aim of capturing the Orote Peninsula with its airfield.
- Francis and Chester wade to the island's shore in the middle of flying bullets. Shrapnel hits Chester's left foot, but Chester and Francis manage to make it to the beach.
- Luckily, the shrapnel wound isn't so bad (and hey, a little war scar isn't such a bad memento, is it?)
- Before dawn on the sixth day, Chester and Francis receive a message about a Banzai (Japanese suicide) attack on U.S. positions.
- The Americans counter-attack, and Chester and Francis are busy delivering messages all night.
- By morning, 3,500 Japanese troops lay dead. Thanks to the Navajo code, the American troops had been warned just in time about the Banzai attack, and they manage to hold the beach.
- One morning, Nez and his squad are huddled in a bomb crater with their commanding lieutenant, a guy from New York.
- The squad doesn't like the lieutenant: he's mean and dangerous. While running back and forth on the crater's lip, he gets shot in the butt (We know that must hurt).
- The lieutenant is shipped out for treatment, and he's replaced by a much nicer guy from Philadelphia, who treats his squad much better.
- The Marines assault Sugar Ridge—an area sheltering Japanese troops on Guam—and capture it on July 31, 1944.
- The Marines bombard Agana, Guam's largest city. But when they move into the city they realize it's been abandoned by the Japanese.
- On August 7, 1944, news arrives that the Japanese have abandoned their fortifications on Tumon Bay, just northeast of Agana Bay. The Marines move in and secure Tiyan Airfield.
- During the assault, a unit of code talkers (not Chester's, thankfully) is attacked.
- One of the code talkers—Charlie Begay—has his throat sliced. He must be superman, or superhuman or something, because he survives. He's taken to hospital on board a military ship.
- After beating back the Japanese, a few code talkers—Chester among them—crawl into an empty Japanese bunker. It's creepy in there, and smelly.
- Only three weeks after the Marines land on Guam, on August 10, 1944, the Japanese are beaten on the island.
- The Navajo Marines have been doing such a good job with the code that a Signal Corps command officer praises their work.
- One day, after Guam is taken, Chester heads over to look at some of the Japanese prisoners who have been captured. He and a boy—a young Japanese soldier—stare at each other across the prison bars. It's an eerie moment: Chester is getting a direct look at the enemy.
- Now that Guam's been taken by the Americans, the code talkers can relax a little.
- One day, they make fry bread, a traditional Navajo bread. Hey, if they can't go chill on a beach in Australia, the least they can do is enjoy a little bit of fry bread.
- Finally, the Navajo Marines leave Guam to head back to Guadalcanal. This time they're leaving via transport plane.
- It's the first time that Chester (or any of the code talkers), has been on a plane. On the plane, a general commends the code talkers for their work.