Pfc. Lightheart died in Michigan in 2006 at the age of 86.
Pfc. Thursby died in Texas in 1999, at the age of 75, he was a sheetmetal worker and his family said that he never spoke about Peleliu.
Posted on 02/08/2012 3:00:30 AM PST by Neil E. Wright
Visitors to the Pacific island of Peleliu can't claim they weren't warned. The sign at the harbour says "Welcome to Peleliu -- Land of Enchantment," but as the boat approaches the quay, a second sign becomes visible. "Remember that WWII ordnance is still dangerous and can injure or kill!"
The water glistens in varying shades of turquoise, the sand on the beaches is as fine as dust and a balmy breeze eases the tropical heat. But the beauty is deceptive. The "Land of Enchantment," which belongs to the island nation of Palau, was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific during World War II. Rusty grenades and rifles still lie strewn across the island. Wrecked warplanes and tanks lurk in the lush green vegetation. No one moved them after the firing ceased. Much of the battle debris remains lethal.
"The Americans landed here on Orange Beach on Sept. 15, 1944," says Des Matsutaro. The 36-year-old guide fetched the group of tourists at the quayside and took them to the beach. His company Peleliu Adventures offers World War II tours. He reassures visitors that they're safe if they stay close to him.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
“Where liberty dwells, there is my country." –Benjamin Franklin
Islam Delenda Est!
Just spread a rumor that the island is loaded with copper and the pickers will swarm there overnight.
Perhaps saddest of all, the airstrip was never really used as intended after capture. Adm. Halsey didn't even want to take Peleliu. But it was taken, at great cost.
I could never visit that island without the imagery from E.B. Sledge’s book “With The Old Breed” popping into my head. What a bloody mess of battle that place was.
Peleliu nearly wiped out the 1st Marine Division; it was one of the bloodiest in history and was a pointless effort that many of the senior leadership in the pacific wanted to avoid.
I had the opportunity to talk years ago as a Marine private with a SgtMaj who had been a 18 yo private during that campaign. His descriptions of what went on stayed with me and I have since read six different accounts of the campaign. Between the first hand account and the books on the battles I could understand it if there was ordinance of some kind in every square inch of the beaches and the Umurbrogol mountains.
3 days of constant naval bombardment (16" and 14" guns) and carrier aircraft did next to nothing to reduce defenders numbers nor their cavernous fighting positions. A very tragic end for so many of our men. Reckless in the opinion of many at the time.
Just to bad we didn't have "the bomb" at that time. We could have blown that damned island apart.
It was very reckless. MacArthur demanded the operation in spite of warnings that it was not needed. Rupertus and Chesty Puller were the on the ground commanders who sent in wave after wave of Marines to the slaughter in useless attempts to gain and hold untenable positions. Rupertus refused for too long to bring in the reserve Army division that could have saved lives.
Everett Pope, one of the MOH winners from the campaign, had no good words or respect for Puller after Puller ordered his company repeatedly to take and hold a ridge in spite of Pope’s pleas that his company had been destroyed could not hold the position.
The Marine and later the Army troops made a valiant, but ultimately useless effort to achieve the campaign goals while the senior leadership sent them into wholesale slaughter with little follow-up support.
Another memoir that is coequal with Sledge’s book is Islands of the Damned by R.V. Burgin who was Sledge’s squad leader. It is also a first hand account from a combat Marine’s point of view. It relates Burgin’s trek through New Britain, Peleliu, and Okinawa and provides further elaboration and insights of many of the incidents in Sledge’s book.
Pfc. Lightheart died in Michigan in 2006 at the age of 86.
Pfc. Thursby died in Texas in 1999, at the age of 75, he was a sheetmetal worker and his family said that he never spoke about Peleliu.
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Thanks Neil E. Wright. |
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