Marpi Point Field or NAB Marpi Point is a former World War II airfield at the northern end of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 es ...

in the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonwe ...

. The airfield was vacated by the United States in 1962; it is currently unused and overgrown.

History

World War II

In March 1944 the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired their first aircraft in 1910 a ...

ordered the construction of an airfield near Marpi Point on the northern end of the island of Saipan as part of a general plan to improve defenses in the Marianas. The airfield was planned to handle 24 aircraft, but was still incomplete at the time of the U.S. invasion in June 1944. During the battle work on the runway continued to allow for the planned airlift of Japanese reinforcements to Saipan; however, this plan was abandoned when it became apparent that U.S. naval and airpower made this unfeasible. On 9 July 1944 the 24th Marines secured Marpi Point and the airfield, while the 25th Marines secured the northeast end of the island. Saipan was declared secure at 16:15 on 9 July. Aircraft from VMO-2 were the first American airplanes to land at Marpi Point Field. The US Navy took possession of Marpi Point Field and the 51st Naval Construction Battalion and Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 614 expanded the existing runway to and built a second runway, becoming part of

Naval Advance Base Saipan Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troop ...

. The field was renamed as NAB Marpi Point. VMF-512 flying F4Us operated from NAB Marpi Point from October to December 1945. Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 47 (CASU-47) was based at the field during 1945. CBMU-616 was based at NAB Marpi Point from 17 August until 3 October 1945. On 23 September 1945 USAAF Lockheed F-5G Lightning #44-26855 was written off while landing at NAB Marpi Point.

Mass suicides of Japanese soldiers and civilians

Towards the end of the

Battle of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944 as part of Operation Forager. It has been referred to as the "Pacific D-Day" with the ...

in 1944, hundreds of Japanese civilians and

Imperial Japanese The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...

soldiers jumped to their deaths at two locations flanking Marpi Point Field: Banzai Cliff and Laderan Banadero. Japanese propaganda had emphasized American brutality, citing the mutilation of Japanese war dead and claiming that U.S. soldiers were thus bloodthirsty and without morals. Many Japanese feared the "American devils raping and devouring Japanese women and children." The precise number of suicides committed there is not known. One eyewitness said he saw “hundreds of bodies” below the cliff, while elsewhere, numbers in the thousands have been cited. A contemporary

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

praised these civilians, describing them as "the pride of Japanese women" and their self-sacrifice as "the finest act of the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

Postwar

Postwar the entire northern region of Saipan was called NAS Tanapag and home to the U.S. Navy's Technical Training Unit (NTTU), a CIA cover. It purportedly was used for training of anti-communist spies and guerilla forces. The area was returned to civilian control in 1962.

Current status

The airfield has become overgrown with vegetation and few traces of its former use remain. The Banzai Cliff memorial is located at the western end of the former airfield. The former airfield is part of the

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

District Landing Beaches; Aslito/Isely Field; & Marpi Point, Saipan Island, designated in 1985.

References