Another change in direction greeted us as a pre-dawn surprise.... Since the troops along the western coast had been slowed down by the counterattack and subsequent opposition, we were directed to cut westward again and seal off the pocket of resistance.
- Captain Frederic Stott, 1/24, "Saipan Under Fire."
General Schmidt, commanding the 4th Marine Division, decided to hold his right flank (the 25th Marines and 2/24) stationary, while the remainder swept towards the sea.
With the support of rocket-firing LCI's the 23rd Marines finished demolishing their cliff and hit the shoreline by midafternoon. The 2nd and 24th kept pace, all the while contending with difficult terrain, roadblocks, and stubborn Japanese with rifles and machine guns. The 2nd Marines, veterans of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and three weeks of Saipan, could not recall a single day on which they killed more Japanese. 1/2 kept a morbid count and tallied roughly 800 Japanese accounted on this day by their battalion alone; one of their officers noted dryly that "hunting was exceptionally good."
Little opposition was encountered up until midday, and many civilians joyfully emerged from their hideouts as we scrambled down a cave-infested cliff line to the lowest level. Among those whom we released were two priests, several nuns, and many of their Chamorro followers. The Chamorros, though contact with travelers from Guam had been told that the Americans would treat them well. And in addition they have been assured by their priests that the arrival of the Marines would mean their liberation. Their joy gave us some indication of the welcome our brothers-in-arms were receiving at the same time from the people of Normandy.
While climbing down the cliff, a small group led by Lt. Joe Swoyer stumbled onto some concealed enemy who opened up at point-blank range. Swoyer saw the man beside him drop with a bulled through the head, and luckily managed to escape himself. When he got back to the remainder of the patrol, they had sounded a cry for a corpsman, to which cry he replied--"Never mind, it's too late. He caught it right through the head and he's gone." "But there's motion out there," replied a couple of men. Without looking again Swoyer repeated, "It's no use. I checked him and he's dead." "Not yet," answered the supposed dead man as he emerged from the woods, his head bloody but under his own power.
- Captain Frederic Stott, 1/24, "Saipan Under Fire."
A strong group of Japanese attempted to rush the right flank of 1/24, but were stopped cold by Major Roger G. B. Broome, commander of the regimental weapons company, who had moved into a protecting position with a pair of 37mm cannon and a few riflemen. This action, along with several other daring maneuvers over the past weeks, won Major Broome the Navy Cross.
The afternoon was far different and costly. Although we had been practically unopposed in our advance ever since the big attack, it became evident that many of the Jap defenders had not perished in it, but had retired to coastal fortifications. These beaches extending several miles northward from Tanapag were likely locations for a landing effort, and they were honeycombed with an intricate series of trenches, dugouts, and low-lying pillboxes. An observation plane swooped low and dropped a message telling of many enemy soldiers scurrying north along the beach, and just in defilade from us. But we were too close to call for any support from the air or ground.
We met very little opposition until we had approached withing a hundred yards of the water, for the Japs held their fire. But at the close range they opened up with all they had, stopped half the battalion short of the sea, and inflicted heavy casualties, including our final officer death, Lt. Al Santelli of Fordham football fame.
The tenacity with which they defended these last positions gave a clear indication of why the western coastal advance had temporarily bogged down. Ours was a comparatively small area, and with the aid of rapid firing tanks the remainder of the battalion sector was cleared out.
- Captain Frederic Stott, 1/24, "Saipan Under Fire."
That night, 1/24 was relieved by 2/2, and was sent to division reserve.
For most, the night was quiet. The men of 1/2, though, had a final challenge - a local banzai attack up a narrow draw took out three of their machine gun teams. The Marines were too close to the enemy to allow for artillery support, and had to rely on small arms and grenades. By morning, nearly 100 Japanese dead were strewn up and down the draw; the narrow confines meant corpses lying several deep in many places.
Mass suicides were usually an indication of Japanese desperation, and on Saipan, it was no exception. Even though caves still contained holdouts, the Marines knew that when the banzais started, resistance was coming to an end.
Among the Marine casualties this day was Private First Class DeWitt "Dee" Dietrich, of Able Company. PFC Dietrich saved the life of an unpopular sergeant off the coast of California while the company was training with small boats: the sergeant had panicked and fallen overboard, and Dietrich dove in after him (the sergeant did not know how to swim). Shortly after, the boat capsized, dumping everyone into the ocean. The entire squad spent the night dogpaddling and trying to stay afloat.
Dietrich turned 19 the day the company landed on Saipan. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
...it was very depressing to have suffered so heavily at a time when we thought the organized opposition practically ended. That night good security added some forty more Japs who appeared confused as to our location and their own destination.
In all our wanderings we had yet to make direct contact with any 2nd Division troops. So it was thankfully and with some interest that we noted a long column of Marines coming along the road as dawn broke. They proved to be of the 2nd, having been on the march for two hours, and fulfilled our desires (but not theirs) by relieving us. So we toiled back up to the ridge line and camp we had vacated on the previous morning. There our relief status terminated abruptly after two hours, when we picked up and moved down to the east end of Marpi Airfield to reinforce the front or the night.
- Captain Frederic Stott, 1/24, "Saipan Under Fire."
PFC DeWitt Landre "Dee" Dietrich. Colwyn, PA. Age 19. Gunshot wound, back.
PFC Jack C. Comer. Tillamook, OR. Remains unrecovered.
Wounded:
Captain Irving Schechter
Sergeant William W. Comer, Jr.
Sergeant Jack Tarleton Sayers
Corporal Kenneth Russell Gray
Corporal William J. Quinn (second wound)
PFC Robert Tierney
PFC Robert N. Harris
PFC James Walter Freeman
PFC Tom L. Johnson
PFC William Paul Loutzenhiser
PFC Tommy Lynchard
PFC Keith W. Thomas
Private Glen Marshall
Private Philip Valley, Jr.
Private Junior E. Jones
Private Lester C. "Rugged" Kincaid
Private James C. Fields (second wound)
Total: 19
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