U.S. Marines crawl past each other under enemy fire during the Battle of Saipan. Photo: DOD
A permanent memorial court of honour, for the Navajo code talkers and the Marianas' marine scouts will soon be erected on Saipan.
The Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council recently endorsed the funding request of CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios to install the memorial.
It marks their appreciation of the sacrifices made by these two groups during the Battle of Saipan, by about 50 Chamorro and Carolinian marine scouts recruited by the US Marines.
On 14 August 1982 US President Ronald Reagan declared National Navajo Code Talkers Day. President Reagan said the code talkers played an instrumental role in the Pacific War from 1942 to 1945.
In a letter of support to Carmen Cantor, assistant secretary for the Office of Insular and International Affairs, the Saipan council underscored the pivotal role of the code talkers.
The Navajo soldiers' ability to encode messages confused the Japanese command as to the location and direction of Operation Forager's troops, during the battle.
After the bombardment of Saipan a few carefully vetted local civilians were conscripted into the US Marine battalion; their duty was to ensure the continuing safety of US soldiers and local civilians following Operation Forager.
These civilian marines were chosen by the US Marines because of their familiarity with the terrain, knowledge of the Japanese military's tunnels and caves including the locations of the Japanese gun emplacements, and Japanese language skills.