Editing History of Guam (section)

===Contemporary Guam===
[[File:US Navy 110821-N-AZ907-015 The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) enters Apra Harbor for a scheduled port visit.jpg|thumb|left|The aircraft carrier {{USS|Ronald Reagan}} sailing into [[Apra Harbor]], 2011]]
Guam's [[U.S. military]] installations remain among the most strategically vital in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. When the United States closed [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay]] and [[Clark Air Base]] bases in the [[Philippines]] after the expiration of their leases in the early 1990s, many of the forces stationed there were relocated to Guam.

The removal of Guam's security clearance by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 allowed for the development of a [[tourism]] industry. The island's rapid economic development was fueled both by rapid growth in this industry as well as increased U.S. Federal Government spending during the 1980s and 1990s.{{Citation needed|reason=reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=July 2012}}

Since 1974, about [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Guam|124 historic sites in Guam]] have been recognized under the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Guam temporarily hosted 100,000 Vietnamese refugees in 1975's [[Operation New Life]], and 6,600 [[Kurds|Kurdish]] refugees in 1996.<ref name=Rottman />{{rp|17}}

On August 6, 1997, Guam was the site of the [[Korean Air Flight 801]] aircraft accident. The [[Boeing 747|Boeing 747–300]] jetliner was preparing to land when it crashed into a hill, killing 228 of the 254 people on board.<ref name="ntsb.gov 2015">{{cite web | title=AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT | website=ntsb.gov | date=August 6, 1997 | url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR0001.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220062413/https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR0001.pdf | archive-date=February 20, 2023 | url-status=dead|publisher=NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

The [[1997 Asian financial crisis]], which hit Japan particularly hard, severely affected Guam's tourism industry. Military cutbacks in the 1990s also disrupted the island's economy. Economic recovery was further hampered by devastation from Supertyphoons [[Typhoon Paka|Paka]] in 1997 and [[Typhoon Pongsona|Pongsona]] in 2002, as well as the effects of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11 terrorist attacks]] on tourism.

The recovery of the Japanese and Korean tourist markets reflected those countries' economic recoveries, as well as Guam's continued appeal as a weekend tropical retreat. U.S. military spending also dramatically increased as part of the [[War on Terrorism]].

The late 2000s saw proposals to strengthen U.S. military facilities, including negotiations to transfer 8,000 [[U.S. Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] from [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]. American forces were originally scheduled to relocate from Okinawa to Guam beginning in 2012 or 2013. However, that was set back due to budget constrains and local resistance to the additional military presence; [[Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz]] was activated in 2020 but the relocation is scheduled to start no later than by the first half of the 2020s.

In August 2017, [[North Korea]] warned that it might launch mid-range ballistic missiles into waters within {{convert|18|to|24|mi|km}} of Guam, following an [[North Korea–United States relations#Trump administration (2017–2021)|exchange of threats]] between the governments of North Korea and the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Horton|first=Alex|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/09/why-north-korea-threatened-guam-the-tiny-u-s-territory-with-big-military-power/|title=Why North Korea threatened Guam, the tiny U.S. territory with big military power|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 9, 2017|access-date=August 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810115153/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/09/why-north-korea-threatened-guam-the-tiny-u-s-territory-with-big-military-power/|archive-date=August 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=cnbc-20170810>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/10/north-koreas-missile-threat-to-guam-crafted-for-maximum-drama.html|title=North Korea's missile threat to Guam crafted for 'maximum drama,' says former CIA analyst|last=Daniels|first=Jeff|publisher=CNBC News|date=August 10, 2017|access-date=August 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811182837/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/10/north-koreas-missile-threat-to-guam-crafted-for-maximum-drama.html|archive-date=August 11, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, a [[Government Accountability Office]] report stated that [[Agent Orange]] was used as a commercial herbicide in Guam during the Vietnam and Korean Wars.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=John |title=GAO: Agent Orange components used on Guam |url=https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gao-agent-orange-components-used-on-guam/article_32ca7eb2-e94e-11e8-9584-a7d41fe5c50e.html |access-date=November 1, 2019 |newspaper=The Guam Daily Post |date=November 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101161926/https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gao-agent-orange-components-used-on-guam/article_32ca7eb2-e94e-11e8-9584-a7d41fe5c50e.html |archive-date=November 1, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Jon |title=Poisons in the Pacific: Guam, Okinawa and Agent Orange |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2012/08/07/issues/poisons-in-the-pacific-guam-okinawa-and-agent-orange/ |access-date=November 1, 2019 |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=August 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101161925/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2012/08/07/issues/poisons-in-the-pacific-guam-okinawa-and-agent-orange/ |archive-date=November 1, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> An analysis of chemicals present in the island's soil, together with resolutions passed by [[Legislature of Guam|Guam's legislature]], suggest that Agent Orange was among the herbicides routinely used on and around military bases [[Anderson Air Force Base]], [[Naval Air Station Agana]], Guam. Despite the evidence, the Department of Defense continues to deny that Agent Orange was ever stored or used on Guam. Several Guam veterans have collected an enormous amount of evidence to assist in their disability claims for direct exposure to dioxin containing herbicides such as 2,4,5-T which are similar to the illness associations and disability coverage that has become standard for those who were harmed by the same chemical contaminant of Agent Orange used in Vietnam.<ref name="Dimond2013">{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-hero-project/articles/2013/09/25/were-vets-who-served-in-guam-exposed-to-agent-orange-and-denied-benefits.html |title=Were Vets Who Served in Guam Exposed to Agent Orange and Denied Benefits? |last1=Dimond |first1=Diane |date=September 25, 2013 |website=The Hero Project |publisher=The Daily Beast |access-date=September 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928223244/http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-hero-project/articles/2013/09/25/were-vets-who-served-in-guam-exposed-to-agent-orange-and-denied-benefits.html |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Eugenio |first1=Haidee V |title=US bill seeks help for 52,000 exposed to herbicides like Agent Orange on Guam, other islands |url=https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2019/03/13/us-bill-seeks-help-52-000-exposed-herbicides-like-agent-orange-guam/3101702002/ |access-date=November 1, 2019 |newspaper=[[Pacific Daily News]] |date=March 13, 2019 |archive-date=March 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190314041004/https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2019/03/13/us-bill-seeks-help-52-000-exposed-herbicides-like-agent-orange-guam/3101702002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

"Cosmopolitan" Guam poses particular challenges for Chamorus struggling to preserve their culture and identity in the face of [[acculturation]]. The increasing numbers of Chamorus, especially Chamoru youth, relocating to the U.S. Mainland has further complicated both the definition and preservation of Chamoru identity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Maressa |title="Oceania is Us:" An Intimate Portrait of Chamoru Identity and Transpacific Solidarity in from unincorporated territory: [lukao] |journal=The Criterion |date=18 June 2020 |volume=2020 |issue=1 |url=https://crossworks.holycross.edu/criterion/vol2020/iss1/8/}}</ref>