| Amid dead Japanese soldiers, 2 “leathernecks” of the United States 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division raise rifles – 1 aims his 30 caliber M1 carbine, the other his 30 caliber M1 Garand – at the retiring Imperial Japanese Army on Saipan during the advance on Mount Marpi. Any Japanese “withdrawal” meant that some of their men were left behind in caves to fight to the death. This tactic produced again and again for the American troops the life-threatening question of whether there were civilians hidden inside who should be saved. There was a typical grim episode at this time for 1st Lieutenant Frederic A. “Fireball” Stott (August 21, 1917 – December 1, 2006), in the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division: “On this twenty-first day of the battle we trudged along a circuitous route to relieve the Twenty-Third Marines for an attack scheduled for 1300 Hours. A normal artillery preparation preceded it, followed by the morale-lifting rockets, but neither they nor mortar fire could eliminate many cave-dwelling Jap[anese]. And again the cost was heavy. Using civilian men, women, and children as decoys, the Jap[anese] soldiers managed to entice a volunteer patrol forward into the open to collect additional civilian prisoners. A dozen men from A Company were riddled as the ruse succeeded.” This kind of treacherous action by the Japanese was demonstrated in a different form on the following day (D+21). Lieutenant Colonel Justice M. Chambers (February 2, 1908 – July 29, 1982), 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, described how he dealt summarily with it — and, by contrast how his men treated genuine civilians who had been hiding: “…a few of the Jap[anese] had played possum by smearing blood of other Jap[anese] on themselves and lying still as the Marines came up. However, within the battalion my instructions were “if it didn’t stink, stick it.” [My officer] just laughed and said the Marines had bayoneted all the bodies. You had to do it!” “We also picked up several civilian prisoners, including some women and children. The thing that really got to me was watching these boys of mine; they’d take all kinds of risks; they’d go into a cave never knowing whether there would be soldiers in there, to bring out these civilians. The minute they got them out, they began to feed them, give them part of their rations, and offer their cigarettes to the men. It made you feel proud of the boys for doing this.” While attention centered on the bloody battle against the massive Banzai [(Japanese: Gyokusai – literally “shattered jewels”)] charge on the coast, the 23rd Regiment, 4th Marine Division was attacking a strong Japanese force well protected by caves in a cliff inland. The key to their elimination was an ingenious improvisation. In order to provide fire support, truck-mounted rocket launchers were lowered over the cliff by chains attached to tanks. Once down at the base, their fire, supplemented by that of rocket gunboats off shore, snuffed out the Japanese resistance. It was to be the final day of a long, grueling 24 day campaign. The 6th and 8th Regiments, 2nd Marine Division came down from the hills to the last western beaches, while the 4th Marine Division, with the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division attached, reached Marpi Point, the northern end of the island. There, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Japanese soldiers and civilians would commit suicide by throwing themselves off Laderan Banadero cliff, now known as “Suicide Cliff.” Amid dead Japanese soldiers, 2 “leathernecks” of the United States 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division raise rifles – 1 aims his 30 caliber M1 carbine, the other his 30 caliber M1 Garand – at the retiring Imperial Japanese Army on Saipan during the advance on Mount Marpi. Any Japanese “withdrawal” meant that some of their men were left behind in caves to fight to the death. This tactic produced again and again for the American troops the life-threatening question of whether there were civilians hidden inside who should be saved. There was a typical grim episode at this time for 1st Lieutenant Frederic A. “Fireball” Stott (August 21, 1917 – December 1, 2006), in the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division: “On this twenty-first day of the battle we trudged along a circuitous route to relieve the Twenty-Third Marines for an attack scheduled for 1300 Hours. A normal artillery preparation preceded it, followed by the morale-lifting rockets, but neither they nor mortar fire could eliminate many cave-dwelling Jap[anese]. And again the cost was heavy. Using civilian men, women, and children as decoys, the Jap[anese] soldiers managed to entice a volunteer patrol forward into the open to collect additional civilian prisoners. A dozen men from A Company were riddled as the ruse succeeded.” This kind of treacherous action by the Japanese was demonstrated in a different form on the following day (D+21). Lieutenant Colonel Justice M. Chambers (February 2, 1908 – July 29, 1982), 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, described how he dealt summarily with it — and, by contrast how his men treated genuine civilians who had been hiding: “…a few of the Jap[anese] had played possum by smearing blood of other Jap[anese] on themselves and lying still as the Marines came up. However, within the battalion my instructions were “if it didn’t stink, stick it.” [My officer] just laughed and said the Marines had bayoneted all the bodies. You had to do it!” “We also picked up several civilian prisoners, including some women and children. The thing that really got to me was watching these boys of mine; they’d take all kinds of risks; they’d go into a cave never knowing whether there would be soldiers in there, to bring out these civilians. The minute they got them out, they began to feed them, give them part of their rations, and offer their cigarettes to the men. It made you feel proud of the boys for doing this.” While attention centered on the bloody battle against the massive Banzai [(Japanese: Gyokusai – literally “shattered jewels”)] charge on the coast, the 23rd Regiment, 4th Marine Division was attacking a strong Japanese force well protected by caves in a cliff inland. The key to their elimination was an ingenious improvisation. In order to provide fire support, truck-mounted rocket launchers were lowered over the cliff by chains attached to tanks. Once down at the base, their fire, supplemented by that of rocket gunboats off shore, snuffed out the Japanese resistance. It was to be the final day of a long, grueling 24 day campaign. The 6th and 8th Regiments, 2nd Marine Division came down from the hills to the last western beaches, while the 4th Marine Division, with the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division attached, reached Marpi Point, the northern end of the island. There, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Japanese soldiers and civilians would commit suicide by throwing themselves off Laderan Banadero cliff, now known as “Suicide Cliff.” Amid dead Japanese soldiers, 2 “leathernecks” of the United States 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division raise rifles – 1 aims his 30 caliber M1 carbine, the other his 30 caliber M1 Garand – at the retiring Imperial Japanese Army on Saipan during the advance on Mount Marpi. Any Japanese “withdrawal” meant that some of their men were left behind in caves to fight to the death. This tactic produced again and again for the American troops the life-threatening question of whether there were civilians hidden inside who should be saved. There was a typical grim episode at this time for 1st Lieutenant Frederic A. “Fireball” Stott (August 21, 1917 – December 1, 2006), in the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment, 4th Marine Division: “On this twenty-first day of the battle we trudged along a circuitous route to relieve the Twenty-Third Marines for an attack scheduled for 1300 Hours. A normal artillery preparation preceded it, followed by the morale-lifting rockets, but neither they nor mortar fire could eliminate many cave-dwelling Jap[anese]. And again the cost was heavy. Using civilian men, women, and children as decoys, the Jap[anese] soldiers managed to entice a volunteer patrol forward into the open to collect additional civilian prisoners. A dozen men from A Company were riddled as the ruse succeeded.” This kind of treacherous action by the Japanese was demonstrated in a different form on the following day (D+21). Lieutenant Colonel Justice M. Chambers (February 2, 1908 – July 29, 1982), 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, described how he dealt summarily with it — and, by contrast how his men treated genuine civilians who had been hiding: “…a few of the Jap[anese] had played possum by smearing blood of other Jap[anese] on themselves and lying still as the Marines came up. However, within the battalion my instructions were “if it didn’t stink, stick it.” [My officer] just laughed and said the Marines had bayoneted all the bodies. You had to do it!” “We also picked up several civilian prisoners, including some women and children. The thing that really got to me was watching these boys of mine; they’d take all kinds of risks; they’d go into a cave never knowing whether there would be soldiers in there, to bring out these civilians. The minute they got them out, they began to feed them, give them part of their rations, and offer their cigarettes to the men. It made you feel proud of the boys for doing this.” While attention centered on the bloody battle against the massive Banzai [(Japanese: Gyokusai – literally “shattered jewels”)] charge on the coast, the 23rd Regiment, 4th Marine Division was attacking a strong Japanese force well protected by caves in a cliff inland. The key to their elimination was an ingenious improvisation. In order to provide fire support, truck-mounted rocket launchers were lowered over the cliff by chains attached to tanks. Once down at the base, their fire, supplemented by that of rocket gunboats off shore, snuffed out the Japanese resistance. It was to be the final day of a long, grueling 24 day campaign. The 6th and 8th Regiments, 2nd Marine Division came down from the hills to the last western beaches, while the 4th Marine Division, with the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division attached, reached Marpi Point, the northern end of the island. There, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Japanese soldiers and civilians would commit suicide by throwing themselves off Laderan Banadero cliff, now known as “Suicide Cliff.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii1846.jpg |
| Image Size | 430.42 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1800 x 1508 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 8, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Saipan |
| Country | Marianas |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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