Poem by LJ Castro
The ocean hushed its voice tonight,
The reef waves rolled in soft and slow,
As if the sea itself now grieved
For those who left these shores long ago.
Beneath the glow of island skies,
Where trade winds bend the coconut trees,
The church bells ring through jungle hills
And drift like prayers upon the breeze.
From Guam’s proud shores to Saipan’s lights,
From Palau’s tides to Chuuk’s blue sea,
The islands gathered hand in hand
To honor those who kept us free.
For freedom here was dearly bought
By sons and daughters brave and strong,
Who carried island hearts to war
Though home had called them all along.
They left behind warm village roads,
Fiesta songs and chapel choirs,
And marched beneath foreign skies
Through smoke and fear and burning fire.
Yet courage lives where islands stand,
In humble souls and quiet grace,
In every young Micronesian heart
Prepared to serve in any place.
The names still echo through the tides,
Still whispered low at close of day—
SGT Eddie Chen remembered still
When sunsets fade and palms still sway.
SSG Wilgene Lieto’s strength
Still moves within the ocean air,
While Derence Jack lives on
In every island mother’s prayer.
SGT Jesse Castro’s memory
Still rises with the morning tide,
And Marine Adam Emul’s name
Lives where the reef and heavens collide.
Saipan’s Leeroy Camacho rests
Where stars now crown the endless skies,
While PFC John Flores lives
In every tear a village cries.
Tinian’s Victor Fontanilla,
Luta’s Joe Charfauros too,
Their sacrifice became the roots
From which our island freedoms grew.
And Navy Seaman Anamarie Camacho,
Whose courage still the trade winds tell,
Beside Guardsman Brian Leon Guerrero,
Whose spirit near these islands dwell.
Julian Manglona’s name
Still travels where the seabirds roam,
While the Air Force’s Audra Winkfield’s light
Still guides the hearts that wait at home.
CPL Dave Santos marches still
Through memories time cannot erase,
And “Keoki” Sablan’s noble soul
Still shines through every island face.
SPC Hanson Mendiola,
SPC Joselyn Tara Sablan too,
SPC Christopher Del Rosario —
The islands speak your names with truth.
LCPL Stephen Litulumar,
SPC Franco Taimanao’s eternal flame,
SGT Nathan Teregeyo,
The ocean still recalls your names.
SPC Dennis Urdaneta stands
Within the pride these islands keep,
And SGT Thyse Tutiy rests
Where the Angels softly sleep.
For here no loss is borne alone,
No fallen soul is left apart,
Each name becomes the village song
Still beating in the islands’ heart.
“All have some, and some gave all,”
Those old words drift across the sea,
And these small islands gave their best
So future generations could be free.
Tonight the candles gently glow
Beside the shore at setting sun,
While folded flags and silent tears
Remind us what these heroes done.
And when tomorrow’s dawn arrives
Across the reefs and emerald shore,
The Pacific winds will speak their names
Forever…evermore.
