SAIPAN

Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. It lies just north of Guam, south of Japan, east of the Philippines and west of Hawaii. Our focus there was the importance Saipain played in ww2, with many of the battle's tanks and armory still scattered about the island and beneath the sea.


The Battle of Saipan, from 15 June to 9 July 1944, was one of the major campaigns of World War II. The United States Marine Corps and United States Army landed on the beaches of the south-western side of the island and, after more than three weeks in heavy fighting, captured the island from the Japanese. The battle cost the Americans 3,426 killed and 10,364 wounded. Of the estimated 30,000 Japanese defenders, only 921 were taken prisoner. The weapons used, and the tactics of close quarter fighting, also resulted in high civilian casualties. Some 20,000 Japanese civilians perished during the battle, including over 1,000 who jumped from "Suicide Cliff" ("Banzai Cliff") rather than be taken prisoner.

Banzai (Suicide) Cliff
Banzai (Suicide) Cliff

We were in Saipan for just a few days, part of an extended trip throughout the islands of Micronesia.


Banzai Cliff Memorial









Here's an invasion tank, still in the sea there.










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