"I have always considered Saipan the
decisive battle of the Pacific
offensive...[It was] the naval and military heart and brain of the
Japanese defense and strategy."
-Lieutenant General Holland Smith
Marines pose as they hold captured Japanese flag (credit : Life Picture collection)
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Initial landings and night position
(credit: Marine Corps History Division)
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Japanese troops lie dead in a ditch in Saipan
(credit : National Archives)
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