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Demolition Crew The Marianas
Robert Benney #1
Oil on board, 1944
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AF
Before D-Day and H-Hour, these tough, hardened, and highly trained
men went in on the beaches at Saipan to pave the way for invasion.
It was they who made possible the approaches to the beach and
the subsequent landings of our Army and Marines. Pictured here,
a group of men have approached the beach at low water at a previously
charted area. They are attaching "satchel" charges to
the "Crib" in the rear. In the foreground is a Japanese
horned "Scully" and the man directly behind it is attaching
a demolition cap to a "J-13 Mine." In a few minutes
their hazardous job will have been completed and another highway
to Tokyo opened, thanks to the "Demolition Demons".
The Morning After the Saki Run (The Beach
at Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, July 7, 1944)
Robert Benney #2
Oil on canvas, circa 1943
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AG
This is the scene that greeted the survivors of the 27th division
after the famous "big Banzai" when the Japanese unsuccessfully
attempted to push our men back to the original landing point at
Charan Kanoa. That night the cries of American wounded were heard
when the saki-mad Japanese over-ran our perimeter aid stations
and showed no mercy to the defenseless wounded.
Enemy Cave (The Marianas)
Robert Benney #9
Oil on board, circa 1943
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AN
The long and costly struggle for these strategic islands was due in large measure to the numerous caves which the Japanese had blasted in the volcanic rock. These formidable fortifications frequently concealed heavy gun batteries as well as vast supplies of food and ammunition. Those that were not blasted by our heavy ships' batteries required slow and costly elimination by our ground forces. Here a couple of GI's are mopping up a cave. In the eerie light of the interior of the cave they cautiously search for signs of the enemy.
Mopping Up, Charan Kanoa
Robert Benney #5
Watercolor, 1944
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AJ
The first landings made on Saipan were made at Charan Kanoa. The
landmark of this once industrial city was the sugar mill that
stands wrecked in the middle distance, which for many days concealed
Japanese spotters in the smokestack. Securing Charan Kanoa made
possible our advance over Mt. Topatchu, to the capital city of
Garapan and on to Marpi Point.
Enemy Gun Emplacement (Nafutan Point at Saipan)
Robert Benney #10
Watercolor, 1944
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AO
This shore battery was captured by the Japanese at British Samoa
and moved to Saipan. Pictured here are a couple of Marines cautiously
checking the rubble around the enemy gun emplacement knocked out
by our naval guns.
Inching In (The Beach at Saipan, June 1944)
Robert Benney #13
Oil on canvas, circa 1943
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AR
At this point our Marines have just left their landing craft and
made it to the beach wall. With the platoon is a flame thrower.
A squirt from the flame thrower will hold up the Japanese long
enough to enable the Marines to leap over the barbed wire and
other entanglements and push inland. From now on, the beach-head
established, the long and difficult struggle to conquer the island
begins.
Last Call for Water
Robert Benney #3
Watercolor, circa 1943
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AH
Tomorrow is the big day all the years of hard training, the tedious
months of sweating it out for the big show will be at an end.
Over the "Squawk Box" comes the order "last call,
fill canteens." Tomorrow these men will hit the beach, some
on their first assault, others, veterans of previous campaigns,
but all subject to the same fundamental needs to sustain life
on unknown enemy-held territory.
Roger Three (Scout and Raiders)
Robert Benney #12
Oil on canvas, circa 1943
Gift of Abbott Laboratories
88-159-AQ
Silently, stealthily, these specially trained men of our Amphibious
Forces approach the enemy strongholds. Their job is to land on
enemy-held territory, often hundreds of miles from our own forces.
There they are left to their own resourcefulness, to make their
way to the civilian inhabitants who have been dominated by the
Japanese oppressors. They speak the language of the country or
island where they will do their job. Information on enemy strength
and supplies is thus obtained sometimes long before our Army or
Marines will land, and when our forces arrive, the success or
failure of the battle will, in large measure, be due to the information
brought back by these skillful and courageous men.
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