"War Hawk" arrived at Saipan on 15 June 1944 and landed elements of the 2nd Marine Division on the southwestern shore of the island. Sometime during the next eight days "War Hawk" helped fight off two Japanese air attacks. During this time she also took on eleven seriously wounded Japanese prisoners of war. As was the nature of many Japanese soldiers, the only way they would be taken prisoner was if they could not fight. The extent of their wounds was so great that all eleven died in spite of efforts of "War Hawk"s medical staff. They were buried at sea. Four days after the landing, the Allies engaged the Japanese Navy in the Philippine Sea and inflicted tremendous damage. This battle prevented the Imperial Japanese Navy from resupplying their troops in the Marianas leaving a brutal war of attrition for the Japanese until the commanding officer, General Yoshitsugu Saitō, committed suicide and the island was declared liberated on 9 July 1944.