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In this third installment in "The Men and Guns of the Pacific," the ARTV crew heads to Saipan, the site of the first battle where American Marines and Soldiers encountered Japanese civilians on the ground in 1944. It was an intense battle between American and Japanese forces that lasted from June 15 to July 9, 1944, at which point the island was declared secure by American forces. In the end, 3,426 Americans paid the ultimate sacrifice to recapture Saipan. Check out this segmentfrom a recent episode ofAmerican Rifleman TV to learn more about the Battle of Saipan.
Across 250 years of history, the actions of the Army have been closely intertwined with the direction and growth of the United States as a nation, and at the heart of it all was the soldier and his longarm.