generals with a stark understanding that Japan would not fall easily.

Fierce fighting by the more than 25,000 Japanese army men and the mass civilian suicides on Saipan left U.S. The taking of Tinian was preceded by the invasion of Saipan, also part of the Marianas, on June 15, 1944.

military referred to Tinian with the codename 'Destination.' military because of its key strategic importance. Tinian, easy to supply by sea and perfect for launching air attacks against Japan, was desired by the U.S. This proximity to Japan is one reason Tinian served as the headquarters of the 509th Composite Group. The round-trip flight from Tinian to Tokyo took B-29s an average of twelve hours. One of three islands in the Northern Marianas, Tinian is less than forty square miles in size and located approximately 1,500 miles south of Tokyo. Tinian Island was the launching point for the atomic bomb attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.