Today in U.S. military history: Marines land on Saipan and the first Blue Angels performance

Unto the Breach ^ | June 15, 2017 | Chris Carter

[fugazi]

1775: John Adams of the Second Congressional Congress nominates George Washington, a fellow congressional delegate and veteran of the French and Indian Wars, to lead the newly formed Continental Army. Washington is unanimously elected.

1864: Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signs an order setting aside 200 acres of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s estate as a cemetery for fallen Civil War soldiers. Today, Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place to over 400,000 fallen military members.

1877: Former slave Henry O. Flipper is the first black cadet to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 2nd Lt. Flipper will lead the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry during the Apache Wars.

1944: Following a three-hour Naval and air bombardment, 8,000 Marines under the command of Maj. Gen. Holland M. “Howlin’ Mad” Smith (a recipient of France’s Croix de Guerre for his actions during the battle of Belleau Wood in World War I), hit the beaches of Saipan. The Japanese war planners are caught by surprise, and by nightfall the Marines have reached six miles inland. Japanese propaganda leads its people to believe that unspeakable acts await anyone unlucky enough to be captured bythe U.S. military, and thousands of Japanese civilians will leap to their deaths from the cliffs of Saipan. On July 7, some 3,000 Japanese troops charge forward in the largest banzai charge of the war, nearly wiping out two battalions of soldiers from the 27th Infantry Division. Although resistance will continue for weeks, Saipan is secured on July 9.

1946: Three specially modified blue and gold Grumman F6F-5 “Hellcat” fighters perform

[fugazi]

Japanese propagandists told their people outrageous lies such as to become a U.S. Marine, one must first eat their own parents. Knowing that so many people literally threw their lives away must have been hard to swallow by the Japanese that are rescued by the U.S. Navy after surviving their leaps from Saipan's cliffs.

[awelliott]

Dad was about 50 yards behind the line manning a 37mm anti-tank gun when the banzai attack occurred. Somehow he survived....

[Vermont Lt]

I cannot imagine being able to come up with the words for how scary that must have been.

These rest of his life was a breeze compared to that night.

[wbill]

I may have read about him, recently. It's a small world.

"Semper Fi, Mac" has a number of Marine accounts from all the actions in the war. One of the Marines who survived a banzai charge - pretty sure it was at Saipan - mentions the 37mm cannons firing canister shot as what saved his bacon. They ran out of ammo about the same time that they ran out of Japanese.

I don't think that I'd want to be downrange from a 37mm shotgun.

[DFG]

Lee Marvin landed with the 4th Marine Division on Saipan

http://pointblankbook.com/battle-saipan-70th-anniversary/

[awelliott]

Yeah, Dad never had an easy life, but I suspect that night was the worst; at least I hope it was. I was 6 when he was killed in an auto accident, so we never discussed it.

It was a typical wartime cluster. They were about one day from mopping up and were told to stand down and resume the next morning. Intel estimated about 200 poorly-armed enemy remained, so they pulled personnel to support other efforts, leaving Dad’s unit significantly reduced. Then, the 200 turned out to be 2,000 - 3,000.

[awelliott]

I may have read about him, recently. It's a small world. "Semper Fi, Mac" has a number of Marine accounts from all the actions in the war. One of the Marines who survived a banzai charge - pretty sure it was at Saipan - mentions the 37mm cannons firing canister shot as what saved his bacon. They ran out of ammo about the same time that they ran out of Japanese.

Dad was actually in the 105th (a regiment of the 27th Division). They were on the point of the attack, on the beach level of the NW side of the island, though there was a small USMC detachment just south of them who were annihilated in the battle. The main USMC forces were on higher ground more inland. At some point in the action, they supposedly rained some artillery down on the beach, but it was of questionable value, given that it was a disorganized melee.

I don't think that I'd want to be downrange from a 37mm shotgun.

Funny you should mention that. I did meet Dad's squad leader about 15 years ago and became good friends with him. He told me that their company commander sought to have the 37mm placed on the front line (supposedly because he hated the enemy as he lost a brother in the Philippines, but it was also a solid tactical move). Anyway permission was granted/withdrawn several times - when it was finally approved, they didn't have time to position the gun at the front line - they were slightly to the rear. I've often wondered about it and don't know for sure, but I would think that he didn't even have the opportunity to fire the 37, given that friendlies were directly in front of the muzzle.

[wbill]

It's also possible that my memory is faulty...when I swing by the library again, I'll look it up. I'm sure that Saipan was not the only place where events like this occurred. Or, it's possible that the Marines' account was a victim of a faulty memory. That happens too. :-)

If you enjoy that sort of thing, I'd really recommend the book. Good oral history of the war. The author was also a Marine in the Pacific, so he went to great lengths to get the stories recorded.

It was interesting, to me at least, to read the stories. Also, to listen to people talk about legends like Chesty Puller and Lou Diamond first hand...they'd fought alongside them.

[awelliott]

It's also possible that my memory is faulty...when I swing by the library again, I'll look it up. I'm sure that Saipan was not the only place where events like this occurred. Or, it's possible that the Marines' account was a victim of a faulty memory. That happens too. :-) If you enjoy that sort of thing, I'd really recommend the book. Good oral history of the war. The author was also a Marine in the Pacific, so he went to great lengths to get the stories recorded. It was interesting, to me at least, to read the stories. Also, to listen to people talk about legends like Chesty Puller and Lou Diamond first hand...they'd fought alongside them.

And you may be correct as well - I'm drawing conclusions from what I know, and those conclusions could be faulty. You're right - there were a number of Banzai attacks in WWII. Saipan is the most well-known as it was the largest and most lethal. But they also made significant such attacks at Guadalcanal, Peleliu, and Tarawa, and I'm sure that there are other places.

Thanks for the recommendation; I've read many books on the Pacific War, but Semper Fi, Mac is new to me. I'll have to add it to the queue...