The Battle of Saipan: In Honor of Memorial Day, A Local Newsman’s Harrowing First-Person Account
EDITOR’S NOTE: For decades, residents of Cape May County’s barrier islands relied on their local newspapers to find out what was going on in and around town. The Cape May County Times, which served Sea Isle City along with the entire county and The Seven Mile Beach Reporter, which served Avalon and Stone Harbor, were both published right here in Sea Isle City by Garden State Publishing. In the spirit of Memorial Day, we thought that we would republish a story from July 1945, written by William Haffert Jr., the former editor of both publications. Haffert, who lived on 45th Street, enlisted in military in January 1942 when he was 27. Here, you’ll read his account of the battle of Saipan, considered by most historians as one of the most pivotal battles in the Pacific – which gave the United States the ability to house military and long-range bombers within reach of the Japanese mainland. The following story appeared in a July 1945 issue of The Seven Mile Beach Reporter. To learn more about Haffert, plan a visit to the Sea Isle City Historical Museum.
THE ORIGINAL EDITOR’S NOTE WHEN THE STORY RAN
WILLIAM A. HAFFERT JR., former editor of the Times-Reporter newspapers, who has been promoted to yeoman first class from public relations specialist first class, U.S. Coast Guard, and has been cited by Admiral Waesche for bravery in covering the story of the landing of the Marshall Islands under fire and for completeness of coverage. He was in the leading small landing barge in a shallow channel in the opening stages of the assault on Saipan and was under direct fire for six hours. His story on Saipan, forwarded to us by the United States Coast Guard, follows this note. The former editor entered Coast Guard service in January 1942. He was on the Wakefield when it burned, after which he was stationed for some time in Washington, D.C. He has been in the South Pacific for the past nine months.
William Haffert, YIC, USCGR
Aboard a Coast Guard Assault Transport at Saipan (Delayed) – The Japanese knew we were coming, and they made a living hell out of “Hari-Kari Pass” off the Charan-Kanoa beachhead in the opening stages of the assault on Saipan.
I watched men die as they tried to negotiate the shallow channel, which is only 150 feet wide and four feet deep – the only boat passage into a lagoon paralleling the mile-long beachhead.
A mortar shell scored a direct hit on a tank lighter ready to enter the pass. One of the two aft machine gunners and his weapon disappeared into a puff of smoke. The shell penetrated the engine room and killed the machinist’s mate tending his motors. In the sprawling yellow letters across the scarred back of the tank in the hold of the lighter was its nickname: “Eight Ball.”
More of Our Men Die
Another lighter was nearing the beach when a shell caught it squarely amidships and sank it. More men died. Another boat foundered in the surf and its crew and troops waded ashore under sniper fire.
Two young Coast Guard officers – Lieut. (jf) Clifford L. Benson, Maspeth, Long Island, NY and Lieut. (jf) Truman C. Hardin of Springfield, MO – probed and found a 20-foot wide channel through the lagoon into the shell-torn pier while shattered coral rock rained against the sides of their boats like hail.
Under Fire for Six Hours
I was in Hardin’s boat when snipers opened fire on us. We ducked a dozen times in the next six hours as they singled us out. One of the bullets nicked our bow. Devastating mortar shells exploded nearby with a sharp report, sending up a geyser of water and debris. We crouched in the hold as we heard them whistling into the lagoon. The wooden sides of the boat felt like paper and we tried to squeeze into our helmets. Everyone has a healthy respect for mortar shells. But the channel saved the day for the beleaguered Marines in the vicinity of the beachhead. One of the first boats that used it delivered 30,000 rounds of desperately needed ammunition. Another brought in blood plasma and medical supplies. Three tanks were delivered ashore within a half hour. Troop reinforcements splashed down the ramps and crawled on their belies up the 15-foot-wide beach to gain the protection of a low bank.
Small world a world away: Sea Isle City mate William Hassert Jr., USCG; PFC David Mazzoni Jr., USMC; and Kenneth Camp Jr., USCG, aboard ship on their way to the invasion of Saipan in the South Pacific.
Sunken Jap barges were scattered around the lagoon, and the pier leading to the island’s chief sugar refinery was a shambles (sic) although it was still serviceable. The refinery was a gaunt skeleton of twisted girders and smoking ruins. Supplies were unloaded under crossfire by Japs. It increased in intensity of small arms fire and mortar bombardment increased. A machine gun bullet creased the left thigh of James Serra, an 18-year old seaman first class, USCG, of 922 Minnesota Ave, San Francisco. He merely laughed and stuck to his post behind a machine gun on a lighter as he headed for the beach. A young Marine sergeant kissed his gun and waved his hand in a “V” for victory as he hit the beach. He was back aboard the ship before I returned tonight – with a gunshot wound in his abdomen.
Thus, Are Battles Fought –and Won
One landing boat had just discharged troops on the beach at the base of the pier when a shell hit the pier and loosed an avalanche of concrete in front of the bow. The last man out of the boat limped away with a scared awed look. Scores of landing craft were milling around in the lagoon at dusk when the enemy began a local counterattack from behind the refinery. Rifle bullets and machine gun tracers began to flack the water with vicious zings. Everyone ducked down and the boat coxswains steered on bended knee, occasionally popping up for a quick glimpse of the course. Men were going through similar experiences in a hundred places on Saipan today. That which was reported over radio set as a temporary delay at point X due to unexpected enemy opposition was the men in our boat and Benson’s the core and fiber of the entire operation. Thus, are battles fought – and won.