Sep. 09, 2004 'Old veteran' returning to site of 'forgotten battle'
By Gale M. Bradford Special to the Star-Telegram
WEATHERFORD - It's been 60 years since a veteran from Weatherford stepped on an island to fight in what he calls World War II's "bloody and forgotten battle." Yet he believes that he will recognize his exact landing spot when he revisits the battleground this month.
Those who fought there, said Melvin Simons, 79, will always remember Peleliu, one of the most heroic struggles in U.S. military history. But little has been written in history books about the battle, which chewed up one of the Marine's proudest units.
"This will be my first and probably only trip back. I'm just like any other old veteran. Some don't want to go back. Some do," Simons said sadly before leaving for the South Pacific on Thursday. "But I'd like to. I just don't know how I'll feel."
The trip is also important because Simons will be accompanied by his son, Terry Simons, and because it includes a side trip to the national cemetery in Honolulu, where his older brother, Boyce Joe Simons, is buried.
"None of my family has ever been able to visit his grave. ... Not my parents when they were alive or my other brother or sisters," he said. "He was with the 7th Army Division and was killed on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands not long before I went to Peleliu.
"The 7th Army Division was at Peleliu with my division. If he'd have lived, we would have met there," Simons said. "During a lull in fighting, I got permission to visit with my brother's buddies, and they told me he'd got hit with a big shell and never knew what hit him. I felt better knowing."
Simons was only 18 when the 1st Marine Division landed at Peleliu in the Pacific on Sept. 15, 1944. The island, near the Philippines, had an airstrip within striking distance of Japan, making it important militarily.
Simons questioned the island's military value as he lamented the heavy loss of life. More than 6,336 were killed, wounded or missing in his Marine division, and more than 10,000 Japanese died.
"We lost over 1,000 men the first day. Eighty percent were 17 to 22 years of age. Bodies lined the beach awaiting burial.
"Peleliu was just a coral island. It was eight-mile square that just rose up out of the ocean. It has a long ridge down the middle of it, about 200 feet high. It was impossible to dig foxholes for cover in the coral, so we looked for holes where mortar shells had hit," he said.
No foxholes this trip. Accommodations will be much better. There's a motel on Peleliu. And on the 60th anniversary there will be a commemoration and an opportunity to meet with Japanese veterans.
The Japanese used the dominant terrain feature on the island, the Umurbrogol or "Bloody Nose Ridge," to anchor their defenses. They fought from intricately constructed tunnel complexes and fighting positions hewn from the coral, Simons said.
Simons said he wants to see one of the caves on his return.
"I want to go inside the cave where the Japanese commanding general and his assistant committed hara-kiri, just before the end of the battle that we were told would last 48 to 72 hours. It lasted 70 days."
One Good Thing....
Robert Hamilton, who passed away recently, left one interesting story behind regard ing his participation at Tarawa. It appeared on the back of his memorial service folder. As he recalled:
One thing happened which I would like to relate and which I still feel good about I stepped around an outcropping of boulders and almost fell over a Japanese soldier lying on the ground. I saw he was severely wounded in one ankle. The situation looked secure so I turned and called some of the guys over. When I turned back, his hand was coming out from under his jacket holding a hand grenade. Then, I realized he was handing me the grenade. He was in terrible pain. We got him on a stretcher and to an aid station. Why did I feel good about this? Two reasons—one, I did not take a life unnecessarily—two, I hope the guy made it back to his people after the war with a different view of the U.S. Marines.
Perhaps the story stood him in good stead when he reported to St Peter for guard duty in the streets of Heaven.