Two battalions of the U.S. Army’s 165th Infantry Regiment, the “Fighting 69th” of Great War fame, landed on Saipan at about 0115 on 17 June. At 0330, Fourth Marine Division informed regimental commander Col. Gerard W. Kelley that his regiment would attack in four hours’ time. The New York National Guardsmen made good progress through the morning, until they reached a ridgeline just in front of their objective, Aslito Airfield.

What happened in front of the airfield would be disputed between the Army and Marines. Kelley reported heavy resistance, and his subordinates called for both air support and Marine artillery fire to help suppress it. Fourth Marine Division pointed out that the 25th Marines had advanced north of the airfield more than a mile deeper into Japanese-held areas than the Army regiment. The U.S. Marine official history dances on the edge of accusing Kelley of cowardice under fire (“Although Marine patrols discovered that Aslito field had been abandoned, Colonel Kelley was unwilling to occupy it with elements of his 165th Infantry.”). Whatever the truth (Kelley, a West Point grad, had been decorated for his heroism on Makin Island the previous November), Aslito Airfield remained in Japanese hands.