“Guamanian-Chamorro by Birth but American Patriotic by Choice”: Subjectivity and Performance in the Life of Agueda Iglesias Johnston

Abstract

On July 3, 1945, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) aired a live fifteen-minute broadcast of events overseas in the United States territory of Guam where, as the proverbial adage goes, “ America's day begins.” July 4th festivities were already underway on the war-torn island that a year earlier had been the site of intense battles during World War II in the “Pacific Theater.” Following the flag-raising ceremony in the capital city of Hagatna and the “all-Guamanian” band's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, CBS then went “deep” into the native patriotic landscape and to the “heart of a great symbol.” That symbol, explained the reporter, was the demolished native school, George Washington High, “appropriately named” after the “father of our country.” Beloved Principal Agueda Johnston then proceeded to tell how in spite of having nothing in the aftermath of war, boys in General Issue (GI) uniforms and girls in homemade wooden clogs and dresses made from curtains went back to school, determined to tak...