Saipan - Suicide and Banzai Cliffs

Near the end of WWII when American forces invaded the Pacific island of Saipan, Japanese leaders on the island told soldiers and civilians that it was more honorable to commit suicide by jumping of cliffs than to surrender. This video shows two locations where many lost their lives and the present day memorials to this tragic event.

(Note: It is unfortunate that many have begun to abuse the privelage to make comments about the incidents in this video. I believe that sufficient points of view have been expressed about these events that occurred in the middle of the last century thus I will personally preview comments from here on out before allowing further postings.)

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Saipan
• WWII
• Suicide
• Cliff
• Banzai

[Yvesyew]

it's Banzai, not Bonzai, they got total different meaning.

[jimeagle1]

@Yvesyew

Well, actually it is a bunch of Japanese characters translated into English but if I misspelled the English equivalent, I'm sorry. Given the misspellings throughout the Internet, however, I don't really think that I'll get all that stressed about it.

[fedorkleber]

If you think this is sick read about "Unit 731" on Wikipedia (I got there while reading about the Battle of Saipan; you know how it goes when browsing on Wikipedia). I don't know what to think about the Japanese. They are the most polite people in the world but they are also sick bastards in many ways... Their suicide-rates are still the highest in the world right now btw. I love them for bringing me my Honda motorcycle, Playstation and Nintendo-stuff though :P

[jimeagle1]

Quite a few nations on all sides of WWII drifted quite far from what most of us consider 'normal'. Many of the victims of U.S. bombing and shelling of Saipan, for example, were native civilians who died right along with the Japanese soldiers around them. To repeat an infamous quote of one U.S. general, "War is Hell".

[Heidelager]

@jimeagle1 ust remember that pitiful excuse "war is hell" if ever war ever comes to US soil. By all means, remove this if you feel it is a "discourteous" comment. It is directed at you anyway.

[jimeagle1]

@Heidelager Since WWII was over before I was born 65 years ago, I don't believe anyone has a right to make inflamatory statements aimed at non-participants in that war based on their grandparent's or parent's excesses. Most of the generation that was responsible for the war in the Pacific have been dead and gone for many years. Prejudiced comments derogatory to living people not even responsible for WWII, whether Japanese, American, or German are inappropriate.

[861945japan]

the japanese government was successful at brainwashing their people this is proof . what a waste

[giannivee1]

It is for this reason, knowing the Japanese population was bound to die for the Emperor in addition to the armed forces. It was not cruel, but horribly correct to drop two Atomic Bombs to keep this highly cultured but severely in error civilization from killing its entire population through suicide. Our two bombs were very toxic, but the War which ended, needed such action. God bless, I know it will bring hateful comments, but so be it. Japan had to be stopped as evidenced in this film.

[dividednation44]

@JuanBautista12 yes they would, like they did to the japanese living in their own lands

[JuanBautista12]

@dividednation44 no... they wudn't...

[dividednation44]

@JuanBautista12 what japanese soldiers?

if there was, those soldiers were right, the amerikans would've put them into those concentration camps like they had in amerika for japanese

[dividednation44]

better then bieng captured by my enemy

[MGR1900]

@fedorkleber Today's Japanese people are very cool. They are not taught about Unit 731 in their schools by the older generation. It's not that the Japanese people are bad, it's their government that got away with murder. If you think Unit 731 is sick, the Americans granted Unit 731's monsters immunity in exchange for Unit 731's medical findings. That makes me just as disgusted as reading about what they did at Unit 731.

[rambo753]

US wanted war with Japan to get into war against Germany

It is well known. Read R. Stinnett

[rambo753]

@916ppl

"The Japanese civilians were tricked into thinking that the US troops would kill,"

yes probably also in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden, etc... they were all tricked...

[rambo753]

this is propaganda. The usual and dirty allied propaganda.



[IVomitOnYourGod]

@861945japan Yeah, of coruse...