The entire United States was stunned by the nearly simultaneous bombing of Pearl Harbor and the successful invasion of Guam. But for the average person in the states, Guam was very far away and their immediate focus was the effect the immediate declaration of war would have on their personal lives.
In Washington however, insiders were tuned into the longstanding debate over whether Guam should have been further fortified, given that Japan had been busy doing just that in Micronesia. The American military response to secret knowledge of the Japanese invasion plans was to quietly evacuate its personnel, leaving the people of Guam to their fate.
Senator Alben W. Barkley, was then majority leader of the U.S. Senate. Congressman Sam Rayburn was then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
A Japanese depiction of the Guam invasion