Maybe a more practical suggestion for a paper would be an anlysis of the U.S. strategy in the Pacific. Was it really necessary for Homer’s dad to retake Leyte for Gen. MacArthur or was it just PR? How about all those nasty islands. The whole theatre seems murkier to me than the ETO. Maybe that’s just me.
Retaking the Phillipines was important for a whole bunch of reasons, the least of which was PR.
Control of the Phillipines cuts the sea lanes between Japan and Southeast Asia, the source of the Oil for the War Machine.
And Okinawa couldn’t be taken with significant Air forces to the south in the Phillipines.
That’s a good suggestion. I do know that in the grand scope of strategy the island of Peleliu was absolutely unnecessary since it was originally on the list to use as a staging area for the invasion of Formosa. Formosa had already been canceled before the Peleliu invasion. There was suggestions made by Admiral King to skip the Philippines all together to instead focus on an invasion of Japan proper. The fall of Japan would be what liberated the Philippines. MacArthur of course would have none of that. But that is something to consider. Thanks for the suggestion.