WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will visit the U.S. Territory of Guam on Monday, July 6, to further the United States’ commitment to insular areas and Guam’s importance to the region. Accompanied by Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kia’aina, Secretary Jewell will meet with Governor Eddie Calvo, address Guam business and community leaders and lay a wreath at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park.
The trip will be Secretary Jewell’s first official visit to the Western Pacific island, which serves as the regional transportation, communication and educational hub of Micronesia and hosts U.S. naval and air bases that are being upgraded as part of the Obama Administration’s rebalance of U.S. forward deployed forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
The War in the Pacific National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park Service, honors the bravery and sacrifices of all those who participated in the Pacific Theater of World War II, including the indigenous Chamorro people of Guam, many of whom suffered starvation, torture and death during the Japanese occupation of the island from December 1941 to July 1944.
With a population of about 165,000 people, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands chain, which is about 3,850 miles southwest of Hawaii and 1,200 miles southeast of Japan. The Marianas also include the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Who
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Esther Kia’aina, Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas
What
Official visit to the U.S. Territory of Guam
When
Monday, July 6, 2015
10:00 a.m. – Press conference
10:40 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Visit to War in the Pacific National Historical Park (Overlook Memorial and Beach), Photo/b-roll opportunity only
12:30 p.m. – Remarks to Chambers of Commerce, Guam Contractors Association
Where
Press Conference:
Governor’s Conference Room
Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor’s Complex
Adelup, Guam 96910
Address to Guam Business Leaders:
Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort
Grand Ballroom
470 Farenholt Avenue
Tamuning, Guam 96913
Media
Credentialed members of the media are encouraged to RSVP here no later than Sunday, July 3.
Source: Department of Interior
