The Japanese had one mind set, protect Saipan at all costs! Death was an honor. Every hill and cave on the island had to be defended. The American military viewed Saipan as a key to ending the war in the Pacific. The battle raged on for three weeks. Saipan was a costly victory for the United States, far costlier than the conquest of Tarawa. The United States lost 2,359 soldiers, 11,481 wounded and 1,213 missing. But the Japanese losses were much worse, 18,000 dead, 2,000 wounded or captured. Among the Japanese killed was Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thousands of Japanese civilians were also killed or committed suicide during the conflict. Although the Battle of Saipan ended in July of 1944, the pschological wounds would linger forever in the minds of those who experienced it. As Ray Hagley would later say: “The feeling of death was here the minute we landed on the island.”