1) June 15, 1944, an American fleet of 535 ships sailed into the Marianas carrying 128,000 marines, sailors and soldiers. Some 20,000 men stormed into Saipan that day against entrenched Japanese troops, beginning a campaign that senior officers later called -Japan's Pearl Harbor. 2) The victory here was costly - 16,500 American casualties, including 3,426 dead or missing. Almost the entire Japanese garrison was killed - 30,000 men, including 3,000 who hurled themselves against the Americans on July 7 in a suicidal ''banzai charge.'' @usmc1940 #saipan