U.S. Marine reports on fighting in Saipan capital.

U.S. Marine reports on fighting in Saipan capital. An American Marine keeps his gun ready as he uses a portable two-way radio to report to his headquarters on the progress of U.S. troops in battered Garapan, capital of Saipan Island. Garapan, administrative center for the Marianas Islands of the Central Pacific, was leveled by U.S. air, land and sea bombardment prior to its capture by American troops on July 4, 1944, four days before the end of Japanese resistance on Saipan. In speaking of the American victory on Saipan, which is less than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Japan, U.S. Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson said: "The firm establishment of American sea and air power in this region of the Pacific should mean the eventual elimination of effective Japanese military strongth in the islands of this area and to the south including Truk."