The People We Will Meet

After a second long day of painting, hanging chair rails and unpacking Phil’s office we were finally headed home. It was nearly 7pm and dinner hadn’t been cooked so we decided to stop at a Thai place in Hagatna that we had spotted for dinner. Much to our dismay it was closed so we back tracked to another place we wanted to try. Unfortunately it too was closed. We are now thinking that Guam rolled up the carpets after 5 and we weren't going to eat tonight. Then we remembered a Mexican Cantina in the downtown area that we haven’t been to and decided to give dinner out one last try before we headed for home. Luck at last! The lights were on and cars were parked out front. Now were talkin, and so were our stomachs. We headed inside and as we entered the door a guy that Phil knew stood up and said “Hi, nice to see you but the place is closed to the public tonight as this is a private party for the newly elected Senator”. We talked to the gentleman for a few minutes and were introduced to a few people when he finally said “Hey, they have plenty of food outside, why don’t you stay and eat here. I’ll introduce you to the Senator”. So we headed outside and were introduced to the Senator Chris Duenas along with the elderly gentleman he was talking to named Bert. The Senator welcomed us with open arms and showed us to the tables of food and asked us to stay.
 
We filled our plates and found a table along with a bottle of champagne when “Bert” came over and asked if he could join us. Of course he could!! We always love the chance to meet someone new and a local is even better. We had no idea that we were we in for such a treat! Bert explained to us right off that he is known to all on Guam as “Mr. Tourism”. I must explain here that since we have been here we have only found one map of Guam. It’s not your typical map with towns and roads but also has little points of interest with history, places to scuba or snorkel and all the tropical fish found along the reefs. It’s pretty much a history book, guide and map all in one. And here before us was its creator!

Bert stood and excused himself to get something to drink when he noticed the Seabee logo on Phil’s shirt. He asked if Phil was a Seabee and gave him a Big Salute. “I want to talk to you” he said as he walked away to get his drink. When he returned he quickly got back to his story of the Seabee’s. "I love them to death" he said with a most sincere look on his face. "You see I was 10 during WWII and lost my parents during the invasion of Guam." He told us that he was orphaned and had no one to look out for him until one day he happened to wonder into the Marine’s camp looking for friends and food. “Friends I found indeed, an entire family in a group of Seabees all from the southern states, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.” He explained how during WWII Seabees were grouped by the location they were from so they would have something in common while away from family. “This group of Seabees welcomed me, found me a permanent cot in their tent and clothed me using thier uniforms re-sewn to fit my young body. They essentially gave me a home and a family.” Bert’s eyes twinkled as he recounted his memories. “They called me Joe” he said with a smile that stretched across his face “and that was fine by me”.

He then explained how his interest in the States grew from the stories his new family told and he soon made himself 3 goals in life. He wanted to go to the U.S., get a college education and to come back to Guam to do something good for his people. Long story short, Bert did get to the states and made Alabama his home for more than 20 years. He went to college there, met Martin Luther King, joined the Air Force for a time and eventually drove through every state. It was on this road trip around the U.S. that he began understand how advertising and tourism would draw people and income to an area and he knew what he would do when he returned to Guam. For more than 20 years Bert was the Tourism Director and essentially put Guam on the map as we know it today.


Our new friend Bert

The evening was fun and educational, we met a most fascinating person who coincidentally loves the Seabees and taught us a little bit of our own history from that perspective. It never would have happened if the chain of events that brought us to the Mexican restaurant hadn’t occurred. I've always believed that “Everything happens for a reason”.