American War Memorial

Saipan has a very important role in the history of World War II. After Pearl Harbor was attacked and devasted in December of 1941 the Japanese controlled all of the Pacific from China to Hawaii.  The U.S. gradually pushed west into the Pacific in an attempt to remove the Japanese from some of the islands they controlled. These islands were critical to the U.S. because they had landing fields that were necessary as bases that were needed to lodge war against the Japanese. Many of these islands became famous because of the bloody battles that were waged. Iwo Jima, Midway, Wake Island have become lasting resting places for many American soldiers. Saipan was one of these strategic islands. It was the westernmost island on the way to Japan. If the Americans could gain control of Saipan they would have a back door into Japan. In June of 1944 American troops and naval ships attacked the Japanese army on the western beaches of Saipan. Over 30,000 Japanese  lost their lives in these ferocious battles in Saipan. Many Japanese soldiers and civilians with children were pushed into the northern part of the islands and rather than surrender to the Americans they jumped off of steep cliffs into the waters of the Pacific. These cliffs are now named Bonzai and Suicide Cliffs. An American Memorial was built in Saipan to pay tribute to the heroic efforts of the U.S. soldiers and marines in defending our freedoms. If not for their efforts we could all be speaking Japanese.