Tony Palomo

Antonio "Tony" Manibusan Palomo (June 13, 1931 – February 1, 2013) was a Guamanian politician, historian, journalist, columnist, and academic.^[1] Palomo served as a senator in the Legislature of Guam and the director of the Guam Museum from December 1995 to June 2007.^[1][2][3][4]

Palomo was born in Agana, Guam, (present-day Hagåtña) on June 13, 1931, the oldest of nine children of Vicente Gogo Palomo and Dolores "Lydia" Mendiola Manibusan.^[2][4] He attended both Padre Palomo and Agana Elementary Schools.^[4]

He was ten years old when Japanese forces attacked Guam on December 8, 1941, leading to the occupation of the island during World War II.^[1] Palomo graduated from Belmont Abbey College Prep School in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1950.^[3] He received a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the College of Journalism at Marquette University, a Jesuit university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1954.^[3] He began his journalism career as a Milwaukee Sentinel copy boy while attending Marquette.^[4]

Palomo returned to Guam following his graduation from Marquette.^[4] He married his wife, Margarita, in 1958 and the couple raised their ten children in Tamuning.^[1][3]

Palomo began his journalism career in Guam as a proofreader and general assignment reporter for the Guam Daily News.^[4] (The Guam Daily News is a predecessor to the modern-day Pacific Daily News newspaper).^[1] He served as the assistant managing editor and sports editor of the Guam Daily News from 1954 until 1963.^[1] In addition to his work for the Pacific Daily News, Palomo also worked as a Guam-based correspondent for the Associated Press and a reporter for the Pacific-edition of the Stars and Stripes,^[4] reporting on the Vietnam War during the era.^[1]

Palomo was also involved with other magazines and newspapers as well. He edited the weekly newspaper, Pacifican; served as both the publisher and editor of the monthly magazine, Pacific Profile; and worked as the editor of the daily newspaper, Pacific Journal.^[4]

In 1969, Palomo served as the President of the first Constitutional Convention of Guam.^[4] He was also a member of the first Commission on Self-Determination for Guam.^[4] He attended the South Pacific Conference, the predecessor of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, held in Noumea, New Caledonia, in 1969 as Guam's official delegate to the conference.^[4] Palomo advised the delegation of the United States to the South Pacific Commission.^[4] For a short time, Palomo was the general manager of the Guam Tourist Commission, the forerunner of the modern-day Guam Visitors Bureau.^[4]

Tony Palomo became the special assistant to the first elected Governor of Guam, Carlos Camacho.^[4] Palomo was also the records manager and administrative director of the 8th Guam Legislature prior to running for elected office.^[4]

Palomo was elected as a Senator during the 12th, 14th, and 15th Guam Legislatures during the 1970s and early 1980s.^[1] He served as the Chairman of the Committee on Rules and the Committee on Territorial and Federal Affairs during his tenure as a senator.^[4]

After leaving office, Palomo became a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Interior in 1982.^[4] From 1986 until 1994, Palomo was a Department of the Interior desk officer for American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as an Interior Department's Guam field representative.^[1][4][5] He held the position of acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Territorial and International Affairs for a time.^[4]

A historian who specialized in the history of Guam, Palomo taught history at the University of Guam and Guam Community College.^[1] In 1984, he published "An Island in Agony," a book documenting the Chamorro experience during World War II and the Japanese occupation of Guam.^[1]

Palomo served as the Director of the Guam Museum from December 1995 to June 2007.^[2][3] Palomo oversaw the opening of an exhibit of Guamanian history at the Micronesia Mall beginning in April 2004, which has attracted more than 200,000 visitors to date.^[3] Palomo was a strong advocate for the construction of a permanent building for the Guam Museum. He retired as the museum's director on June 13, 2007.^[4]

On February 5, 2013, just four days after Palomo's death, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new $27 million permanent museum, which was scheduled to open in 2014.^[6] The groundbreaking for the museum, which will be built at Skinner Plaza in Hagåtña, was attended by Palomo's widow, Margaret, and Governor Eddie Calvo.^[6] Gov. Eddie Calvo paid tribute to Palomo during the ceremony, as well as another prominent Guamanian historian, Dirk Ballendorf, who died on February 4, 2013.^[6]

Tony Palomo died at Guam Memorial Hospital in Tamuning, Guam, on February 1, 2013, at the age of 81.^[2] He was survived by his wife, Margarita, and nine of their ten children.^[2] A state funeral was held for Palomo at the Legislature of Guam on February 11, 2013.^[7] His eulogy was given by former Senator Eddie Duenas, while singers Jesse Bias and Ruby Aquiningoc Santos sang The Star-Spangled Banner and The Guam Hymn.^[7] Palomo, who was a member of St. Anthony/St. Victor Catholic Church, was buried at Pigo Cemetery.^[7]

• Library of Congress: Recognizing Antonio Manibusan Palmomo by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo Archived 2017-08-09 at the Wayback Machine