The Last Great Banzai: Saipan, 1944

Bradley Mason Gates is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. He holds a B.S. in education from Millersville University, in Pennsylvania, and a MPA in public administration from Golden Gate University, in California. During his career, Brad participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, and later commanded the Marine Corps artillery force in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1985, Brad received the General John A. Lejeune Award for Inspirational Leadership, and in 1987 he received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. In 1984, Brad attended the 40th Anniversary of survivors of the Saipan suicide attack of 1944, the subject of this book. He subsequently spent almost ten years conducting personal interviews and other research on the attack, including a trip to Saipan in 1992. Brad and his wife Kathy, also a graduate of Millersville University, met while they were students. They have three children and five grandchildren.