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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.
8,000 [6] –10,000 [7] civilian deaths: The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States ... Suicide Cliff and Banzai Cliff, ...
Suicide Cliff is a cliff above Marpi Point Field near the northern tip of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, which achieved historic significance late in World War II.. Also known as Laderan Banadero, it is a location where Japanese civilians and Imperial Japanese Army soldiers took their own lives by jumping to their deaths in July 1944 in order to avoid capture by the United States.
Banzai Cliff became known as Suicide Cliff after the mass suicides of soldiers and civilians jumping off the cliff at the end of the Battle of Saipan in the summer of 1944, when Japan was headed ...
Banzai Cliff monuments. Marpi Point is the northernmost part of the island. At the north-facing Suicide Cliff, an unknown but large number of civilians and soldiers jumped to their deaths rather than surrendering to the advancing U.S. forces. The area is now marked by memorials at the top and base of the cliff.
From 1994 to 1997, the Order of the Solar Temple's members began a series of mass suicides and murders, which led to roughly 74 deaths. The first occurred in Switzerland in 1994, followed by additional deaths in France in 1995, and finally a mass suicide in Quebec in 1997. The group was led by Joseph Di Mambro, alongside Luc Jouret.
Of the estimated 30,000 Japanese defenders, only 921 were taken prisoner. The weapons used, and the tactics of close quarter fighting, also resulted in high civilian casualties. Some 20,000 Japanese civilians perished during the battle, including over 1,000 who jumped from "Suicide Cliff" and "Banzai Cliff" rather than be caught and taken prisoner.
The Banzai Cliff memorial is located at the western end of the former airfield. The former airfield is part of the National Historic Landmark District Landing Beaches; Aslito/Isely Field; & Marpi Point, Saipan Island , designated in 1985.