Tinian

Elements of the Fourth Marine Division wade ashore to the narrow beachhead on White Beach 1 at Northwest Tinian, July 24, 1944. On the first day the Marines suffered 15 dead and 225 wounded.

Six-inch guns, such as this one, which remains on Tinian today, withstood the naval and air bombardment near Tinian Town and inflicted heavy damage on the battleship USS Colorado (BB-45) and destroyer Norman Scott (DD-690), as the ships provided covering fire for the 2dMarDiv feint landing off Sanhalom Harbor.

A Japanese tank provided support to the infantry, but it wasn't enough to stem the flow of overwhelming Marine forces as they swept in a wave from the beach and down the island.

The Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino just south of Tinian Town, today known as San Jose, opened in 1998 with 400 rooms. The establishment caters to tourists and gamblers from the United States and Asia.

Back in 1944, Marine landing craft that carefully avoided Japanese mines roll up to White Beach 2. Three amphibian tractors (LVTs) were not so fortunate and struck mines at White Beach 2.

At White Beach 1, in June 2011, Military Historical Tours' visitors to Tinian stand on the beach called Unai Chulu. They later had a barbecue where the vehicles in the previous picture once crossed.

Although it was called "the perfect amphibious operation of World War II," taking Tinian was not without cost and pain as shown in this photograph where two Marines help their wounded comrade to medical treatment.

North Field Runway, from where two B-29 bombers left to deliver the ordnance that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, today resists jungle encroachment and provides a setting for monuments to the American units that fought to secure the airfields.

The carnage around Tinian's airfields was complete, yet U.S. Navy Seabees and combat engineers quickly constructed new facilities and, most importantly, rebuilt the runways to enable the B-29 bombers to launch 29,000 missions against mainland Japan from the Marianas.

The sign marks the end of the runway. The B-29s, loaded with ordnance, were just airborne when they reached this point. Pregnant with bombs, they made their way to Japan and dropped a total of 157,000 tons of explosives and two atomic weapons weighing more than 9,000 pounds each.

From this pit at North Field, near Ushi Point, technicians from Project Alberta of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, N.M., loaded the atomic devices into the bellies of two B-29s. The site is a tourist attraction to those who visit Tinian, and more importantly, it is a history lesson for children and residents of the Marianas.

Col Robert D. Loynd, Officer in Charge, Marine Corps Activity Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, delivers the keynote address at the unveiling of a monument for the Second Marine Division at Tinian's historic North Field, July 1, 2011. He said the Battle of Tinian is considered to be the most brilliantly executed expeditionary and amphibious operation. "Today's Marines go forward into battle carrying the armor of their forebears and the same fighting spirit and elan as those Marines... that landed in the Marianas 67 years ago."

It took 67 years, but both Maj Richard T. Spooner, USMC (Ret) (left) and LtCol Roy Elrod, USMC (Ret) returned to the Marianas where they fought a stubborn and determined Japanese force. Both were members of the Second Marine Division. Spooner fought on Saipan and Tinian, and Elrod, a veteran of previous island campaigns, was wounded and evacuated from Saipan.

Leathernecks of Marine Corps Activity Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas were on hand to provide honors at the unveiling of the plaque to the Second Marine Division on Tinian. Marine Corps Activity Guam and CNMI are providing a key link to ongoing efforts to establish a Western Pacific base and training areas on the islands.

Gordon I. Marciano, Director, Pacific Development Inc., Saipan (foreground), and his brother John are the ubiquitous coordinators used by Military Historical Tours and other visitors to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. They ensure everyone has a great time visiting the Pacific paradise.

Military Historical Tours leader Shayne Jarosz, who is a high school teacher in Virginia, does the legwork for MHT, getting people from the States to the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas and Guam. He's become somewhat of an expert on the islands too.

Shayne Jarosz's son Patrick took the trip to Saipan and Tinian with his dad. The middle school student not only helped members of the tour, but stayed an extra month on Tinian with Don Farrell and his family.

It is a rare and wonderful journey that allows a father to travel with his son, especially to the site where he fought in World War II. Maj Richard T. Spooner, USMC (Ret) and his son, Maj Richard W. Spooner, USMC (Ret), took advantage of the opportunity, and are shown here atop Mount Tapotchau.

Don A. Farrell, a transplanted-from-the-mainland historian, and the "go-to" expert on the Marianas (foreground), talks with Robert "Bob" Palmer of Lake Forrest, Ill., who, when practicing law, enjoys a good cigar. Bob took time to accompany his son Cpl Justin Palmer, who currently is stationed in Hawaii, on a trip to Saipan and Tinian to gain further insight into Bob's father who was involved in Operation Forager as a naval officer.

Cpl Justin Palmer explored a Japanese bunker on Saipan with Maj Richard T. Spooner, USMC (Ret). Palmer is an intelligence specialist and student of history, who teamed up with his father, Robert, for the trip to Saipan and Tinian.