American casualty hoisted aboard ship off Saipan.

American casualty hoisted aboard ship off Saipan. An American soldier, wounded during the invasion of Saipan, is hoisted aboard a Coast Guard-manned transport for treatment. In the background, a small vessel stands by loaded with more casualties awaiting transfer to the larger ship's sick bay. Casualties during the bitter fighting for Saipan, in the Central Pacific Marianas, were heavy. By July 9, 1944, one day after Japanese resistance ended, American forces had buried 11,948 Japanese dead. Known American dead at that time totaled 2,359. More than 1,600 Japanese surrendered in the face of hopeless odds. The capture of Saipan was a major breach in the enemy's inner defense zone, and caused a crisis resulting in the overthrow of the Japanese cabinet.