10,000 Jap civilians warned to surrender to Yanks on Saipan
Enemy remnants bottled up by Americans on northern tip of Marianas Island
By Rembert James, representing combined Allied press
Aboard joint expeditionary force flagship off Saipan (UP) –
U.S. military commanders today designated a road to surrender for the 10,000 to 15,00 civilians still hiding out on Saipan Island, while the victorious Yanks surged forward to deliver the death blow to the battered Jap garrison bottled up at the northern tip of the island.
A single highway was designated as the road to surrender for civilians, almost 7,000 of whom have already been interned.
The rest, including Saipan business owners, insular government officials and white-collar workers with their families, have cowered in hiding places in the hills and canebrakes on northern Saipan.
Pamphlets dropped
By word of mouth, and by pamphlets dropped from airplanes and shot from mortars, the Americans offered water, food and complete safety to those who accept.
Meanwhile, Marines and Army forces pushed in to destroy the remnants of the defending forces under circumstances in which no one could doubt that the end of military operations was in sight.
The Japs were penned into a space extending roughly two miles in each direction except for a slim area from Marpi Point at the northern end down the western coast toward Tanapag Harbor.
Hold only airfield
The Japs had already lost everything of value on Saipan except the Marpi Point airfield, where most of their troops have apparently chosen to die at the base of a sheer cliff 600 feet high.
They still held an entrenched pocket on the west coast, but were under heavy attack by the Army’s 27th Infantry Division troops there, while Marines pushed on northward.
The Americans on the other hand held approximately nine-tenths of the island, including the important Isely Airport (formerly Aslito), the town of Garapan and the harbor of Tanapag, as well as the island’s highest peak – Mt. Tapochau.
‘Gung Ho’ Raider chief wounded in Saipan battle
Col. Carlson hit while aiding Marine
By Mac R. Johnson, United Press staff writer
With U.S. Marines, Saipan, Mariana Islands – (July 23, delayed)
Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson, 48-year-old founder and leader of the famed “Gung Ho” Marine Raiders, was wounded in one leg and one arm by Jap machine-gun bullets on the eighth day of the Saipan campaign and has been evacuated by transport plane.
Col. Carlson’s wounds, received while he tried to help a wounded private to safety, were not serious.
The Marine leader, plans officer for the 4th Marine Division, went to a forward observation post as a frontline observer June 22 while the Marines were assaulting the important Hill 500 on the southeastern slope of Mt. Tapochau, west of Magicienne Bay.
With him were Lt. Col. Justice M. Chambers of Washington, and Pvt. Vito A. Cassaro of Brooklyn, a radio operator.
Hit while aiding private
Japs spotted their observation post and sprayed the area with hundreds of rounds of machine-gun bullets, one of which hit Pvt. Cassaro in the leg.
Col. Carlson picked up the wounded radio operator and attempted to remove him from the area of fire but was hit himself in the leg and arm.
Meanwhile, Marines turned rifles, Browning automatic rifles and machine guns against the enemy positions and Col. Chambers, under cover or the protective fire, removed Col. Carlson.
Spurns help
When stretcher-bearers appeared on the scene, they attempted to get Col. Carlson out first, but the Raider chief turned down the offer on his prerogative as the ranking officer and refused to be removed, saying: “Vic Cassaro was wounded first. Take him back first.”
Col. Carlson organized his “Gung Ho” Raiders in San Diego, California, living up to the slogan which means work in harmony. Officers and men exchanged ideas at weekly meetings in which enlisted men had as much right of expression as their officers.
He led the Makin raid in August 1942, with then Lt. Col. Jimmy Roosevelt as second in command. His raiders killed all but two of Makin’s Japs in a 36-hour fight.
Fought on Guam
Another achievement of the hardened Marine leader was 20 days spent behind Jap lines on Guadalcanal, living off the land and captured stores while the raiders killed 500 of the enemy and gained valuable information.
An inspiration leader, Col. Carlson never took cover when he led his men through Jap snipers, defensive positions and machine-gun nests. He can be called the most beloved officer by the enlisted men of the Marine Corps.
Col. Carlson wears three Navy Crosses, a Purple Heart from a previous wound and two Presidential Unit Citation ribbons.