U.S. Army nurses prepare for duty at Saipan. Using a helmet as a wash basin a U.S.

U.S. Army nurses prepare for duty at Saipan. Using a helmet as a wash basin a U.S. Army nurse bathes her hands while a sister nurse holds a canteen. Both are second lieutenants in the Army Nurse Corps and were in the first contingent of nurses to arrive on Saipan Island while U.S. Marines were locked in battle with the Japanese. Up until July 10, 1944, two days after organized enemy resistance was smashed on the strategically vital Marianas island in the Central Pacific, American troops had buried 11,948 Japanese dead. American losses during the same period were 2,359 killed, 11,481 wounded and 1,213 missing. Saipan, major base within the enemy's inner defense zone, lies loss than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Japan. American forces wrested the important base from the Japanese after 25 days of fierce fighting.