Joe, as I promised, here's a picture of that very poignant scene off the shores of Saipan:
This Sherman sits a couple of hundred yards offshore, at Oleai Beach, in San Jose, Saipan. It was the first relic of the war I saw on my first trip to Saipan two years ago.
I'm not sure of the real story about this vehicle, but on my second trip to Saipan, a tour guide said he thought it was a vehicle that simply broke down during unloading from a ship, quite some time after the island was secured, and not a casualty of combat.
Either way, it's a powerful reminder of the sacrifices people made during wartime.
Joe, I hope this picture helps you to imagine what it must have been like for your grandfather when he came ashore on that beautiful island during those terrible days of war.
NOTE: I didn't have any pix of this scene myself, so this is a postcard I bought while in Saipan. This excellent picture was taken by Mitchell P. Warner.