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Rain Cloud from Washington State
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Meet Rain Cloud - He stopped by our CHamoru Roots Genealogy booth at the CHamoru Day Festival, June 21, 2025 in Tacoma, Washington and shared with a familiar story related to what I have been recently tracking. He is a Native American with CHamoru Roots.
His mother, a CHamoru, who became an orphaned child on Saipan during the tragedy of World War II. She had siblings, but thinks they too were unfortunately killed on Saipan during the war. She was adopted by an Okinawan family that eventually migrated to the United States. He does not know his mother’s original surname, but she was born in Garapan, Saipan. She recalls being on the island of Yap, but not much else is known about that.
Some historical background that is linked to Rain Cloud’s story…After World War II many of the Japanese, Okinawan and Korean people and their families that were brought in as laborers during the Japanese administration (post-World War I/Japan mandate under the United Nations), were repatriated back to their countries or origin. Granted, some of those Japanese, Okinawan and Korean families were allowed to stay. Also, we are reminded that the Ryuku Islands, which Okinawa was a part of, and the Ogasawara Islands (where you find descendants with CHamoru Roots, but that’s another story), were retained and governed by the U.S. Those islands remained under the administration of the U.S. and were not fully restored back to the the sovereignty of Japan (1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement) until 1972.
I present this story out here in hopes that more pieces of the puzzle will trickle in to help him find his mother’s long lost family and reconnect him to part of his heritage. Many children were orphaned throughout the entire Mariana Islands during World War II. They and their descendants feel their spirit calling them to learn more of their CHamoru heritage.
Crewman Jose Mendiola
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
The first instance we see the name Jose Mendiola, was by Joseph-Paul Gaimard, Surgeon Assistant for the Freycinet’s science expedition in 1819. Mendiola was one of the CHamoru people examined by Gaimard for the dynamometric experiment. Gaimard described Mendiola as a 14-year old, well built young man.
Eight years later, Gaimard is assigned to another French science expedition aboard the Astrolabe. In May 1827, as the Astrolabe was passing through the Lau Islands, south of Fiji, the ship was met by the canoe of a Tongan chief who had with him three "Spanish" castaways who part of the brig Concepcion that shipwrecked on the reefs of Vanua Levu Island, three years previously. Mendiola would have been 17 years old at the time of the shipwreck.
Gaimard immediately recognized one of the castaways as "le jeune Mediola" whom he had known on Guam. Mendiola, 21 years old, stayed on the Astrolabe as a member of the crew and interpreter for the French, for nearly a year until it reached Guam by May 2, 1828. He was honourably discharged. Gaimard settled Mendiola’s account and paid him about 30 piastres, which in those days was considered although small, still a fortune for the Mariana Islands.
Mendiola’s family was surprised and happy to see him alive. After all those years they thought him dead. Mendiola was one of the crew members that fell ill before landing on Guam. He recovered quickly and in appreciation, Mendiola brought Gaimard fruit and poultry. Gaimard only accept oranges and told him to keep the rest for himself. Gaimard was very pleased by Mendiola’s gratitude, and stated that his conduct had always been exemplary.
Bibliography:
Sylvie Brassard and John Milsom. 2025. A Scientific Voyage in the Southern Hemisphere and Around the World Executed Successively on Board the King’s Corvette Uranie and His Majesty’s Corvette La Physicienne During the Years 1817, 1818, 1819 and 1820 Narrative Journal of Joseph-Paul Gaimard Commissioned Surgeon of the Marine Royale Series III VOLUME 44. The Boydell Press. London, England
Rodrigue Levesque. 2003. History of Micronesia: History of Micronesia: Lutke Expedition and First D’Urville Expedition, Volume 22. Levesque Publications. Quebec, Canada
Two Gunners Injured by Cannon Salute Accident in 1819
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
As the Uraine expedition made their way to Guam the following day on March 18, 1819, the crew fired a 21-gun salute, which was immediately returned by the Spanish government. Unfortunately, two Gunners from Guam were injured during the return salute fire. They were Cecilo Pan Helina [Cecilio Pangelinan?] and Ramoun Biagoumes (Ramon Villagomez?).
Gaimard described Cecilio as “a man of colossal size and atheletic disposition, was badly burned on the chest, the stomach and the left wrist; the face, the right forearm and all the left upper arm were burned to a lesser degree. The outer layers of the skin had peeled away, with open sores in many places on the chest and lower back; where the heat had penetrated to the cellular tissue it had caused peeling around the left wrist. The thumb on the left hand was lacerated over its entire surface, which had resulted in quite severe bleeding.
Gaimard described Ramoun as, “also very tall but less muscular, had second-degree on the chest, stomach and both arms and third-dgree burns in a few places.”
1819 Dynomometrics Study: Freycinet Scientific Expedition
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
Joseph-Paul Gaimard, Surgeon Assistant for the Freycinet’s science expedition in 1819, conducted a dynamometric experiment at certain places throughout the journey.
On Guam he examined a total of 89 people on Guam: 76 mestisu CHamoru-Filipinos, seven (7) Hawaiians from Kauai who were left stranded on Tinian by a whaling ship; and six (6) Europeans and Filipinos living on Guam. Below is a transcription of the tables Gaimard recorded:
Read more: 1819 Dynomometrics Study: Freycinet Scientific Expedition
Uranie Crew Members Who Deserted Her on Guam 1819
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- Written by: Bernard Punzalan
These past few days have been quite intense reading Brassard & Milsom’s book on Gaimard and his diary of the 1819 Uranie French Expedition.
I have several other publications I have collected (some free, others I paid for) regarding the Urainie and her visit to Guam so I am bouncing back and forth between those publications and re-reading them to try and weave all those perspectives into one. And then all of sudden, I digress some and make a note of something related to the greater genealogy objective. lol.
Part of it stems from someone asking me if their ancestor was part of the Uranie crew. Unfortunately for that person, he (John Roberts/Roberto) was not from this ship. But that question continued to remain in the back of my mind as I continued my research. The crew list in Gamaird’s diary is not complete. However, in one of Jacques Arago’s publications (written in his French language), he has a more comprehensive list of the crew that includes their name, grade, place of birth, and movement (miscellaneous note).
Read more: Uranie Crew Members Who Deserted Her on Guam 1819
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