An American soldier prays on Saipan.

An American soldier prays on Saipan. An American soldier kneels in prayer before a battlescarred crucifix on Saipan Island where Japanese organized resistance was ended on July 8, 1944. The crucifix is in Chamore cemetery, near Garapan, the administrative center of the Central Pacific Marianas islands and capital of Saipan, which is less than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Japan.