Holland Smith quotes:

If the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eaton, the Japanese bases in the Pacific were captured on the beaches of the Caribbean.

I have always considered Saipan the decisive battle of the Pacific offensive...(it was) the naval and military heart and brain of the Japanese defence strategy.

We had generals who were admirals and admirals who wanted to be generals. Generals acting as admirals are bad enough, but it was the admirals who wanted to be generals who imperiled victory among the coral islands.