Banzai Cliff is a historical site at the northern tip of Saipan island in the Northern Mariana Islands, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Towards the end of the Battle of Saipan in 1944, hundreds of Japanese civilians and soldiers (of the Imperial Japanese Army) jumped off the cliff to their deaths in the ocean and rocks below, to avoid being captured by the Americans. Not far away, a high cliff named Suicide Cliff overlooks the coastal plain, and was another site of numerous suicides. At Banzai Cliff, some who jumped did not die and were captured by American ships.[2]
Banzai Cliff | |
 | |
| Nearest city | San Roque, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 15°17′11″N 145°48′56″E / 15.28639°N 145.81556°E |
| Area | 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) |
| Part of | Landing Beaches; Aslito/Isley Field; & Marpi Point, Saipan Island (ID85001789) |
| NRHP reference No. | 76002192[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 27, 1976 |
| Designated NHLDCP | February 4, 1985 |
A 7.5-acre (3.0 ha) area at the site was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1][2] The site is also a contributing site in the Landing Beaches; Aslito/Isley Field; & Marpi Point, Saipan Island historic district, which was recognized in 1985 as a U.S. National Historic Landmark District.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Dennis C. Vander Tuig (1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Banzai Cliff". National Park Service. and accompanying two photos from 1976
- ^ Erwin N. Thompson (July 1, 1984). "National Historic Landmark nomination: Landing Beaches, Aslito/lsley Field, and Marpi Point, Saipan Island / Saipan International Airport and Beaches, Saipan". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-04-14.