Saipan Pictures: banzai cliff

Inside the bunker.

To the North of Saipan, across from the road heading to Banzai Cliff, is a half cave, half bunker where the last Japanese commanding officer in Saipan led his battle. You can climb the stairs recently added to go inside the Last Command Post or hike on the paved trail which leads around to the rear of the bunker. A large hole enters one side of the bunker and exits the other. This was caused by a direct hit from a round fired by a U.S. battleship off shore. If you line up those holes you see where the battleship fired from. There are some large Japanese guns artificially positioned around the Last Command Post. On the back side of the bunker are the high rock cliffs which is the base of Suicide Cliff. You can see the discolored holes in the side of the cliffs where rounds fired from battleships blew large pieces off the rock. The park-like grounds are beautiful with many Japanese and Korean peace memorials. My family and I often have our Sunday picnic there.

Japanese canon.

Japanese tank.

The bottom of Suicide Cliff.

View from the front of the bunker.

The bunker is in the side of the cliff.

Blast hole from offshore U.S. battleship.

Front door.

From outside the bast hole.

Video drive through Marpi passing by the Last Command Post and Japanese and Korean Peace Memorials.

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Walking around the Last Command Post.

Suicide Cliff is 820 feet above sea level with most of that being a vertical drop to the rocks just behind the Last Command Post. It provides cool breezes and breathtaking views of the ocean and the hills of Northern Saipan. Suicide Cliff has a similar history as Banzai Cliff. The name came from the mass suicides of Japanese civilians at the end of the Battle of Saipan. Rather than surrender, Japanese families lined up on the cliff's edge from youngest to oldest. Each in turn gave the one in front a push.

Looking down to Banzai Cliff.

Looking down to Veteran's Cemetery.

Looking up from Veteran's Cemetery.

Picture taken from a cliff in the jungle near Suicide Cliff.

A cactus full of names right on the edge.

Spotters keeping watch before the WWII ordnance detonation.

A great view of the WWII ordnance detonation. WWII bombs are still being found on Saipan. When found they are stored in caves in Marpi until there is enough for a nice size explosion. This is one of those detonations of 12,000 pieces of WWII ordnance, mostly mortars, projectiles, and hand grenades.