With the 80th anniversary of Guam liberation on the horizon, a historical reunion of two families took place on Guam’s northern plateau on June 24.
The descendants of the Artero and Tweed families hiked to “Tweed’s Cave” where Antonio Artero’s family hid George Tweed during Imperial Japan’s occupation of Guam.
George Tweed’s daughter, Lolly, son-in-law, Bradley Mulvihill, and two grandsons Brian and Casey Mulvihill, hiked alongside U.S. Army retired Maj. Gen. Roderick Leon Guerrero the grandson of Antonio Artero and a small group from Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.
For Leon Guerrero, the hike and visit were important steps to “pass the baton” to the next generations of the Tweed and Artero families.
“My mother and her siblings, my uncles and aunts developed a relationship with Tweed,” said Leon Guerrero. “[Tweed’s grandsons] are out here, and we’re developing that relationship that our parents and our grandparents had.”
The group followed an overgrown and unrecognizable WWII-era road that descended into a lush fern-covered valley. From there the trail ascended a steep hill, and the solid ground disappeared under sharp, limestone rocks. The final pitch to the cave is a vertical, 20-foot climb.
Lolly Tweed together with the Arteros visited the cave 17 years ago. She and her family were meant to visit last year, but Typhoon Mawar delayed the trip.
“Bringing my sons here meant a tremendous amount,” said Lolly Tweed. “Coming back was a great gift, and I’m so grateful for all the support that we had to do this wonderful hike.”
Then Radioman First Class, George Tweed was the only American servicemember to survive the occupation. At great risk to their own lives, CHamoru families assisted Tweed in evading capture from Dec. 8, 1941 to July 10, 1944.
“War is a terrible thing, but sometimes with war comes a pearl of something special, and that’s what the pearl was – it was their friendship,” said Lolly Tweed. “It’s important to honor that [friendship], and I want to keep it alive and keep the generations connected.”
In December 2023, the Artero family mounted two signs, one at the foot of the hill and one inside the cave. The sign inside the cave states, “Tweed hid here from the Japanese… from October 21, 1942 to July 10, 1944. Antonio and Josefa provided this hiding place and food at great risk to themselves and their children, resulting in a lifelong friendship.”
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