Northern Marianas
Most people know Tinian as the island from which the Enola Gay took off from in its mission to drop the atomic bomb which ended the war with Japan and brought the conclusion to the Second World War. However, long before the B-29’s of the 509th Composite Group could make that fateful flight the Marines of the 2nd and 4th Divisions had to secure the Islands of the Northern Marianas. Clearing out entrenched Japanese soldiers on the Islands of Saipan, Tinian and Guam was no small feat.
The Marines landed on Saipan on June 15th 1944. The Island of Guam on July 21st and the Island of Tinian July 24th.
LINKS: Northern Marianas