Kodiak mirror., 1945-12-01
INTO THE MARIANAs

MARINES and soldiers went onto Sapan, fort M fled by the Japanese for over 30 years, tt headquarters for all enemy forces in the centr Pacific, and the administrative hub of the entl MarianaS chain.
 While the landing craft sped toward shor Mitscher sent some carriers toward the Volcar and Bonin islands to pound at the volcanic roc the Japanese called Two Jima and Chichi Jim The attacks on enemy airfelds there prevent the foe from sending land-based air support to l MarianaS.
 The main body of the carrier-battleship fore under Admiral Spruance, remained to support t landings. Spruance soon learned the Japanese na, was coming down to fight
 Planes from American carriers and planes fro Japanese fiattops met over Guam. It was da long engagement of screeching dives and dog fgh and when the Navys turkey shoot had end 4O2 enemy planes out of total of 545 that had be- seen were out of action American losses In this i battle of the Philippine Sea were IT planes and flo ships damaged.
 American pilots went after the enemy's surfa ships at extreme range next day, and straggl back through the perils of the night with ports of two carriers, two destroyers and tank sunk and II ships including three carriers and battleship damaged It was decisive victory, though 73 U. S. planes with fuel tanks dry fell sea Land operations could now proceed wlthe danger of enemy endorsements.
 Nevertheless Sapan rough and bloody WI scenes of slaughter at places the Tanks apr priately named Hells Pocket and Death ValN But the invaders went ahead grimly and the isla was announced secured on July g.
 Saipans fall led to the collapse of Premier Hid Toio and his cabinet A new Japanese caolnet formed under General Kuniaki Koisi.
 On July 21 after almost month-long sea air bombardment of the island the AmerlcanS vaded Guam. Marines and soldiers squeezed o' sides of the Orote peninsula and met not rec ton on the beaches But the Tanks, for the n time in their long comeback drive, now were ns ing on an American island and for the hrst tlni native population was waiting to greet tneiil
 While other Marines invaded and cleared neal Tinian the Tanks moved into Guams nils. fi a slow. cave-by-cave advance they announced U held complete control on August ID. TUX now fully exposed and at the mercy Of lano-oa bombers from the north and the south
 Hardly had the smoke cleared before the oeaos the Navy's corps of construction men Who ~ fight as well as build, were on the MarlanaS iay long coral airfields and repairing Guam's harp
 The clue to the value of those alrhelds nao oiven the Japanese only the day after the odH landing, when they got their first view or d anos great American war achievement-tne b-A0 oop fortress. ,:h dropped the sweat of almost three-quartefSs S million peasants the Superfortress fulfilled all fears the enemy had felt when his homeland was raided by .Doolittles bombers m lS4I'
 It was the mightest airplane in the world IL co Av 3O0O-mile missions almost casually ana oio tremendous load of bombs along the way Wltn fo,,r 2200 horsepower engines, it's 55000 numoe parts, it's 129 electric motors, 26 motor genera' 15,OOO feet of electric wiring and electrlcanS i. erated accessories, pressure cabins to enaoie on, Ay high in the stratosphere it's central hre-com system and computers that increased Ine aos s,r of ;ts o,,nnarv if could be described only by sup latives. 1onon
 The first superfortress raid against Japan yawata on Kvushu, the enemy's southernmoss land On August 10 the B-29s went oyer s4 Nasra rs Japanese shipping center, in the longest bombing operation in history. so,,
 Tokyo was stunned by the new super-poil but it's radio consoled itself *We should nos ~ that we have been passively attacked, put =. .nS' have actively pulled the enemy toward "S'
 COMEBACK IN BURMA nESrnEs tha woe caused by Saipan and