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SPOTLIGHT ON MARINE HEROES #7
VI. MARIANAS INTERLUDE The campaign for Saipan and Tinian left the entire 2nd Marine Division tired and heavily depleted of Marines and equipment. After completing its combat assignment on Tinian, the Regiment loaded LST's and made the short trip back to Saipan during the first week of August 1944. Saipan was the old story for the 2nd MarDiv. No facilities had been prepared for them, so all hands turned to in constructing base camps. Steady rain and wind throughout August and September made living under the sky a miserable experience. But slowly, through the sweat of Gyrene labor, tents, company streets and other facilities went up. But life in the "rear area" of Saipan was not exactly secure for the Sixth. There were still an unknown number of Japanese troops hiding out in the hills. Someone forgot to tell them the battle was over. So, Marines and Soldiers had to move out on seemingly endless mopping-up. On 22 August 1944 the 2nd MarDiv assumed command of combat operations on Saipan and Tinian. The 6th Marines was assigned to the sector around Mount Topotchau. Patrols went out constantly, working over the ridges and draws. The duty was every bit as dangerous as an assault mission. Marines sealed numerous cave mouth with demolition charges and killed hundreds of Japanese stay-behinds. By early October, resistance had dwindled to infrequent sniper fire. While the 2nd MarDiv was busy building its home and rooting out Japanese troops, Saipan was bursting at the seams. Huge B-29 bases were built. Hundreds of support installations sprang up all over the island. The Marianas became a critical logistical base as the battle fronts moved closer and closer to the Japanese home islands. A few of the comforts of home showed up. In October 1944, movie star Betty Hutton came to visit the 2nd MarDiv on a USO tour. Marines could take in open-air movies on sand bag seats. An ice cream plant opened near the ruins of Garapan. Thousands of Marines, many of them veterans of Guadalcanal and Tarawa, rotated back home. Replacements streamed into the Sixth, fresh from stateside.
Japanese bombers began showing up at night. "Condition Red" sent Marines tumbling out of their bunks into dug-outs. The fireworks show was always impressive as antiaircraft fire filled the sky with flak. The raids were only a nuisance to the Sixth, but they kept everyone on the island awake. For the Air Force however, they posed a significant threat to the bombers massed on Saipan's airfields. Enemy troops holding out in the hills became more of a problem. In November, the call went out for the Marines. The 2nd MarDiv took to the hills again. Sweeping across the central and northern areas of Saipan, they blasted and burned an endless series of caves. Marines said, "We don't even get a campaign star for this," but nonetheless, they got the job done. Dengue fever swept through the ranks. Thousands of Marines were confined to their bunks with intense fevers and the brutally harsh pain of "bone break fever," as the islanders called it. Buddies stayed up long hours nursing their sick friends. As always, unit corpsmen worked ceaselessly to provide what little aid they could. The 2nd MarDiv continued a rigorous training schedule. New Marines were integrated into their lash-ups. All hands practiced assault tactics, weapons qualification, and Marines humped across Saipan's rugged hills. Meanwhile, the war against Japan continued. On 29 November 1944 the first B-29 raid against Tokyo launched from Saipan. Marines watched in awe as the gigantic bombers took off from the island they had paid for in blood. The Sixth, along with all their brothers in the 2nd MarDiv, knew they would be needed soon for their next assignment.
SOURCES USED: Follow me! The Story of the 2nd Marine Division in World War II by Richard Johnston
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