In particular, I am looking for videos and/or documentaries about Guam from the mid 70’s to the early 80’s.
Permission to move this to Cafe Society if need be is granted.
I asked Microsoft’s AI, Co-Pilot. It gave a handful of leads that may or may not be useful, but also this video that is titled Guam 1979 -80 Super 8 Footage.
This is the sort of thing AI can be pretty helpful with - it can give you threads to pull on. I didn’t check through the other answers, and other AIs may come up with their own options. But hopefully that first youtube link helps, and the rest gives you something to try.
I agree. A super-charged Google search really. (it will be a rare person who can answer this without looking things up)
Here is what my AI came up with:
“Yokoi and His Twenty-Eight Years of Secret Life on Guam” (1977) Directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima, this documentary covers the story of Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi, who was discovered hiding in Guam’s jungle in January 1972 after 28 years — one of the most remarkable stories of that period. It’s confirmed to exist on IMDB but I could not locate it as a stream anywhere: "Dokyumento: Jinsei no gekijô" Yokoi Shôichi: Guamu-tô 28 nen no nazo o ou (TV Episode 1977) - IMDb
“World Safari” (1977) — Alby Mangels Australian filmmaker Alby Mangels documented a six-year voyage through 56 countries, sailing through the Pacific aboard the Klaraborg and stopping at Guam in the late 1970s. The full film is referenced on IMDB, and the Internet Archive has related Mangels material, but the Guam segment specifically isn’t isolated online: World Safari (1977) - IMDb Alby Mangels World Safari visits the Palmyra Atoll : Alby Mangels : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Archival Footage You Can Actually View
CriticalPast — Operation New Life, Guam 1975 This is the best single find for the era. CriticalPast has actual HD footage of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Guam aboard the SS Transcolorado in 1975 during Operation New Life — a massive humanitarian operation where Guam temporarily housed over 111,000 Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon. The clip shows refugees on deck, families disembarking, Marines assisting, and the makeshift reception center. Free screeners are available to view: https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675043922_Operation-New-Life_Vietnamese-refugees_Trans-Colorado_Baby-Center
More 1975 Guam clips on CriticalPast: https://www.criticalpast.com/stock-footage-video/Guam+1975
Modern Documentaries That Include Archival Footage from the Era
“War for Guam” (2015) — PBS/ITVS Made with “rarely seen archival footage” collected over 15 years, this covers the WWII occupation and its long aftermath, including interviews with Chamorro elders recorded in the 1990s who lived through the wartime period and the postwar years. A strong documentary that will give you a feel for the island in those transitional decades. War for Guam - ITVS
“Timeless Patriotism: Guam and World War II” — PBS Watchable free on the PBS website, this includes archival footage and elder testimonies: Timeless Patriotism: Guam and World War II | PBS
“Guam’s Liberation” — Amazon Prime Uses archival film and interviews with elders: Watch Guam's Liberation | Prime Video
Additional Archival Resources
Internet Archive — Guam footage (WWII era and some postwar): While most of what’s there is 1940s material, these are authentic period films shot on the island:
Andersen AFB — Operation New Life historical piece: https://www.andersen.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3871742/remembering-operation-new-life-100k-refugees-housed-on-guam/
Wikimedia Commons — Guam in the 1970s and 1980s (photos): Category:Guam in the 1970s - Wikimedia Commons Category:Guam in the 1980s - Wikimedia Commons
What Probably Exists But Isn’t Online
KUAM-TV archives — Guam’s TV station was active through this whole period and almost certainly filmed local news, the Liberation Day parades, and significant events like Typhoon Pamela (1976). Their archives aren’t publicly digitized. You’d need to contact them directly.
Guampedia / Micronesian Area Research Center — The MARC at the University of Guam holds the most serious local historical archives, including film and video from the era. They’d be your best bet for finding footage of this specific period: https://www.guampedia.com/
The scarcity isn’t surprising — Guam is a small market, the era predates consumer video, and local TV archives from that period have largely not been digitized for public access.