65 years ago in the pacific

[jon_norstog]

To the list;

this is a little late but what the hell …


June 5-6, 1944: the landings at Normandy were the big show that day, 65 years ago. June 5 in the Pacific, the invasion fleet slipped out of port for the Marianas. The destination was Saipan, a 15 mile- long high island with a big airfield at its south end. Saipan and neighboring Tinian were 1500 miles from Tokyo, easy range for the new B-29s that were starting to roll out of the plants.

June 15th, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions landed on beaches along the west side of the island, opposite the Japanese airfield. Seven fast battleships dropped 2,400 16” rounds on Japanese positions. Naval bombardment from the BBs and the cruisers totaled 165,000 shells. By nightfall the marines had secured a beachhead 6 miles long and a half mile deep. The naval shelling hadn't done much to soften up the Japanese positions.

The 16th, the Army came in, first the 27th division, later the 105th. It was tough. By the 18th of June, 65 years ago today, the Japanese had let the airfield go and moved north into dug-in positions in the mountainous interior. The Japanese, desperate fighters they were, should have known what the Americans had in mind for Saipan. Look at a map of the Pacific and you'll see: a 1500-mile circle centered at Saipan goes through Tokyo and Osaka, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The first bomber attacks on Tokyo were 111 planes on November 24, 1944. The B-29s flew higher and faster than Japanese fighters, and out of range of most of their AA. It was all downhill from there.

June 15th, Admira Ozawa in command, the japanese Navy sent in a huge task force: 5 fleet carriers, 4 CVEs, 5 battleships, to attack the American landing force. They had 450 carrier-based planes, plus another 300 land-based planes flying from bases like Guam and Rota. They were coming up against Admiral Spruance's 5th fleet: 7 fleet carriers, 8 CVEs, 7 battleships, 950+ aircraft. Spruance had 28 subs along with him.

The submarines out on picket and sent word on June 15 that company was coming. Spruance and his task force commanders set up positions near Saipan and waited. The Japanese moved in on June 19th, the Americans moved out and the fight took place about 150 miles west of the Marianas. They called it the “Marianas Turkey Shoot.” The Japanese lost 3 carriers and almost all their carrier planes and pilots. From that time on, the Japanese Navy relied on its BBs and cruisers for fighting and used its empty carriers as bait to lure U.S. Ships away from the battle fleet.

It wasn't until July 9 that the fighting on Saipan was over.

Who was there? Lee Marvin took a bullet in the a** at Saipan, led to his being sent home. He was the real article. George HW Bush was a 19-year-old pilot flying Avenger torpedo bombers off the U.S.San Jacinto. He later got the Navy Cross after being shot down over Chichijima. Marine PFC Guy Gabaldon, who had been partly raised by Japanese Americans in LA, knew enough street Japanese he was able to talk about 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians into surrendering. He is gone, but is being considered for the CMH. The U.S. forces took 13,000 casualties out of 71,000. 3,000 KIA. The Japanese had 950 survivors out of a force of 31,000.

65 years ago.

jn

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[Critch]

Back in the 60s, I remember a TV show, I think it was named Biography and they featured a story on Gabaldon (or at least that's who I think it was). He watched his Japanese friends shipped off to internment camps then joined the Corps...

[jon_norstog]

Yeah, Critch.

You're calling it right. Gabaldon was a street kid, a shoeshine boy who ran away from home and was rescued by Japanese-Americans. It's a hell of a story. People get the shaft from the dominant society and then they knock themselves out for America. Human beings are magnificent and mysterious creatures, that's all I can say.

jn

[Ken C.]

Thanks for the great post. The 27th (NY) Division and the 105th infantry regiment (Co.I, if I remember correctly) was my Dads outfit in WW1.

[Dave]

There was amovie made about Gabaldon. May have stared Jeffery Hunter?

[KarlKW]

There was amovie made about Gabaldon. May have stared Jeffery Hunter?

For those that are interested, here is the Wikipedia link:

Guy Gabaldon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

KarlKW