History of Saipan

We've learned in the past couple of days that this island had great significance in WWII. The Northern Marianas Islands acted as a protective barrier between the Allied Forces and Japan. Japan had control of Saipan and the other islands before the war and relied on their valuable positioning during the war. The battle of Saipan lasted 15 days and ended with a US victory over Japan. Once the islands were secure, that put the US in striking distance of the mainland of Japan. 18 months after the battle of Saipan the Enola Gay took off from the neighboring island Tinian to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Because of Japanese propaganda the local Chomorro and Carolinian people were convinced that life under the US administration would be worse than what they suffered under Japanese rule. As a result of that misconception thousands of natives jumped from what is now called Banzai and Suicide Cliffs. The remaining Japanese soldiers, holding themselves to their strict traditional code of honor, also took their own lives.

Our favorite story is that of about 20 shipwrecked men and one woman living on a remote island called Anatahan. Some of these men were Japanese soldiers placed on that island, others were civilians from a shipwrecked Japanese vessel. 5 years after WWII ended, the survivors were discovered and a rescue attempt was made. Only the woman was willing to leave at that time because the men could not be convinced that the war was over. A year later the rescue ships returned with letters from the Japanese government and their families describing the end of the war and pleading for the men to come home. This time the rescue attempt was successful and the remaining men were taken off of the island.

This has been your history lesson for the week. Enjoy the pictures!