On this day

On July 9, 1944 The island of Saipan was declared secure. General Holland "Howlin Mad" Smith defeated the forces commanded by Admiral Nagumo, who had directed the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Saipan gave us a taste of what lay ahead if we had to invade the Japanese home islands. Please read the linked article and note what Japan had prepared for us had we invaded. Then, thank GOD that we had the atomic bombs which in reality prevented much greater loss of life. Had Operation Downfall become a reality, more than a million Americans likely would have become casualties. Tough number? Consider how many Japanese would have chosen to perish rather than face defeat. Japan might well have been reduced to an unsustainable number, defacto genocide, but by their demand, not ours.
In tribute:
PFC Carl Dearborn (address unknown) of the 4th Marine Division which went over the Saipan beachhead should be cited and left for the historians to ponder. It is titled: I Died For You Today.

I died for you today on a far off Pacific Island.
If you are concerned, to say the least, I'll tell you who I am...
I'm the soldier and the sailor - I'm the airman and Marine...
I'm the life blood of your nation - you sent me to this scene...
I'm the one who loads the Amtracks...I'm the pilot, just as well...
I'm the dedicated corpsman saving leathernecks who fell...
I'm the trooper of the airborne, I'm the Seabee with a trade...
I'm the wiry American medic dodging steel to give first aid...
I'm the tail gunner in the airplane, I'm the crew chief and the crew...
I'm the cannoneer and mortar man in the field defending you...
I'm the man of different races clinging to a rumbling tank...
I'm Catholic, Jew and Protestant, and I serve in every rank...
Call me Dominic, Smith or Kelly or pronounce my foreign name...
And regardless of my color - When I'm hurt, I bleed the same...
I'm Indian and I'm Mexican. I'm Polish, Dutch, Italian and Greek...
I'm every inch American and your freedom's what I seek...
I'm the southern boy from Florida, I'm the northern lad from Maine...
I've toiled in Georgia's orchards, and I've cut Montana's grain...
I came from every walk of life - from mountains to the slums...
I've lived, by God, through dust and drought, and I've prayed aloud for rain.
I've known hardship and depression; still I've watched our country grow...
But when Uncle Sam came calling I was proud that I could go...
I've watched demonstrations and the people who protest...
And I said "Thank God for freedom!" - my country's still the best...
So take your banners and your slogans. Raise your placards to the sky...
I'll defend your right to do it... Though in doing it. I'll die...
I'm your fathers - sons - and brothers...I'm the arm of Uncle Sam...
And I died for you today, my friend...On an Island called Saipan...