$40.00 USD
California Superior Court Judge Johnny Cepeda Gogo, formerly of Sinajana, new book, “Hasso: WWII CHamoru Survivors & Liberators,” was launched on Guam in July in time to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Guam’s liberation from Japanese occupiers in World War II.
“Hasso” chronicles Gogo’s passion project honoring the CHamoru survivors of the war and U.S. military personnel who liberated Guam. In 2020, he began traveling the country with an old cloth Guam flag to have survivors — including three former governors of Guam — and liberators sign it. More than 100 — nearly a dozen liberators and more than 90 survivors — have added their signatures.
The 134-page book includes features by former Guam congressman Dr. Robert Underwood and an introduction by award-winning investigative reporter Rob Perez, formerly of Santa Rita.
“I try not to dwell on the stories that bring back those hardships and those memories and instead try to focus on celebrating them as survivors and heroes,” Gogo, who was recently nominated by President Joe Biden to be U.S. attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, said in the book. “I try to recognize them and honor them, continuing to share their stories and ultimately bringing this flag back home to Guam.”
In addition to Gogo’s photos of the signings, “Hasso” features photos by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Manny Crisostomo that were originally published as part of his own passion project, the “Sanlagu'' series of CHamorus living away from the Marianas. Crisostomo published and designed “Hasso” under his San Francisco Bay Area-based imprint, Sanlagu Publications.