21, 24 July 1944
U.S. Forces Land on Guam and Tinian
With Saipan in Allied hands, and the Japanese naval threat neutralized, there was little to stop U.S. forces from landing on the other two important islands of the Marianas chain, Guam and Tinian. Nevertheless, each island held considerable numbers of Japanese troops, the vast majority of whom were willing to fight to the death. Nevertheless, by August 10 both Guam and Tinian were fully under U.S. control, bringing both the Philippines and the Japanese home islands within reach of Allied heavy bombers.

Histories:
Western Pacific
The Return to Guam

Campaign Map:
Allied Seizure of Marianas and New Guinea, 1944

Personal Accounts:
“We Need to Exterminate Them”: A Marine Describes the Battle of Guam
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with James T. Wells
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with Morton M. Rosenberg
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with W. Wallace Kaenzig

Photographs:
The crew of the USS SOUTH DAKOTA stands with bowed heads, while Chaplain N. D. Lindner reads the benediction held in honor of fellow shipmates killed in the air action off Guam on June 19, 1944
A Water Buffalo, loaded with Marines, churns through the sea bound for beaches of Tinian Island near Guam
Two U.S. officers plant the American flag on Guam eight minutes after U.S. Marines and Army assault troops landed on the Central Pacific island on July 20, 1944