On July 5th, newspaper readers and radio listeners learned that the Fourth of July in the Pacific had been lively and not much fun for their Japanese adversaries. Major gains and combat action on Saipan dominated the front pages. It hardly could have been lost on the Japanese forces on Saipan--if they had any way of knowing about events outside of their immediate area of combat--that Guam was going to be next in line.
In case you're wondering about Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, (cartoon above) who was in command at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked in 1941, history suggests he was scapegoated for the devastating American losses. Click on picture for more details.
