Yanks gain on Saipan despite death stand by Japs
Blast enemy from caves on island
By William F. Tyree
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (UP) – (July 1)
Tired and dirty Marines and Army troops carrying on the bloody business of wiping out the stubborn Japanese defenders of Saipan Island, made new small gains Thursday and eliminated several pockets of resistance while carrier-based planes bombed Rota again, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz announced today.
U.S. planes, possibly flying from Isely Field on Saipan, and naval surface units meanwhile continued to pound Japanese gun positions on nearby Tinian Island as the bitter battle continued for control of the major Mariana Island.
Nimitz’s Pacific Fleet headquarters communiqué said that the Marines and soldiers, fighting in sultry tropical heat, made small gains in the central sector and consolidated their positions.
Several pockets of resistance bypassed in previous advances were wiped out.
But the matter-of-fact language of the communiqué failed to tell the story of the grim fighting in which front dispatches indicate that every Japanese must be personally accounted for. The enemy has dug into caves in the rugged Mount Tapochau area in a death stand against the advancing Americans, who must blast the Japs from each hole as they press forward.
Rembert James, representing the combined Allied press, reported from a flagship off Saipan today that the hardest battle of the Pacific War was moving toward its climax as the Americans pushed ahead to a new line on ridges above the enemy capital city of Garapan.
The grim struggle for Saipan has already cost the lives of 1,474 Americans and at least 4,951 Japanese.
The U.S. line now runs across the center of Saipan from Garapan Town and north of Mount Tapochau.