A Visit To Peleliu

This is Orange Beach, the first American invasion site, which started the 73-day-long battle.

My partner and I headed to Peleliu for a quick weekend getaway. Knowing that Peleliu was home to some of the bloodiest battles in WWII, we elected to do a land tour. Our guide escorted us throughout Peleliu and essentially took us back in time.

View from Peleliu's highest point.

The island of Peleliu lies southwest of Palau's main island of Babeldaob. Peleliu used to be home to over a thousand people - until WWII came. Today, the island is populated by roughly 300 people as more families and youth move northeast to the big island. The island is traversed weekly by locals who may have family in Peleliu or by the savvy diver seeking adventure in the nearby reefs. Peleliu offers shipwreck dives and the famous Drop Off and Blue Corner dive sites for the diver. About 3-4 hotel locations are all conveniently located five minutes from the north dock.

War in Peleliu

 

The war devastated Peleliu. The war destroyed the natural environment and ancestral locations, and it also displaced people. By 1944, more than 11,000 Japanese soldiers occupied Peleliu. The island was an exceptional point of interest to the Japanese because they had already lost the Marianas, Solomons, and the Marshall Islands. They shaped Peleliu into a fort by carving caves out of the island's natural limestone, forcing the Americans to push forward into its defenses. The 73-day-long battle ended when a Japanese Imperial Army Colonel performed ritual suicide signifying defeat. 

Peleliu Today

Helmets with bullet holes.  

Remnants of the war are scattered almost everywhere. The island, spanning more than 5 square miles, exhibits tanks, howitzer guns, bullet casings, bullet-stricken helmets, bullet-stricken canteens, caves, and previously Japanese-occupied buildings. Over the past 70 years, the jungle's dense foliage has quickly buried then-obvious locations such as a Japanese communications building, American beachside camps, and entrances to caves, which the Japanese had built to hold Peleliu against American forces. 

A tank in the middle of the road.

It is astonishing to see old island photos depicting a barren wasteland with absolutely no trees. Aiding the bombardment of the land, flamethrowers were a common tactic to drive out opposing forces who hid within the caves during the battle. Due to the growth and towering trees, you cannot see past 10 feet in front of you. It is quite easy to become lost if you don't know your way. If we didn't have a guide to escort us, we would have missed the locations of tanks, bunkers, and communications buildings entirely.

The remains of a Japanese communications building.

Pictured to the right is a photo of the inside of a Japanese communications building. This building was huge. Upon entering the two-story building, your imagination brings you back in time. This building is in multiple old aerial shots from the war. Now overtaken by the jungle, this building offers shelter to the numerous fruit bats and other native creatures. 

An armored door, still intact.

 

The picture to the left shows an armored door, fully intact, which leads to an additional area for unlimited use. The second floor of this building has decayed, and only a staircase remains to indicate there was indeed a second floor. Outside this building, a couple of hangars were once used for mechanical repairs; only a few tools and/or cans are left. 

The Experience

While the Peleliu Land Tour offered many amazing sights and history, the experience that stood out to me was what is pictured below. This is an entrance to a Japanese air-raid bunker. Conveniently, this bunker is positioned right outside the building from the pictures above. If the Japanese troops heard that opposing forces were attacking from the air, soldiers would rush into the bunker for safety.

Entrance to a Japanese air raid bunker.

"You can go inside if you want," our tour guide beamed. 

Knowing that I would probably never have a chance to explore an untouched world war two relic, I obliged. I only made it down the steps to look inside, but this experience stood out because I could feel an icy and still presence as if the uncertainty of the soldiers' lives lingered in the air. My partner and the guide were merely ten feet away, but time seemed to stop down here. I endured only a few more minutes which felt like hours, and I rallied myself back up the stairs to the group. I'm not one for real-life ghost stories, but I think it was wise to leave this place undisturbed.

Ironically, it wasn't just this bunker where I felt a similar eerie feeling. I entered a couple of caves where 1000 men died within and where Japanese Colonel Nakagawa committed ritual suicide. The only scary things I saw were crickets the size of my big toe and upset fruit bats because we were obviously disturbing their peace. Of course, there were plenty of Sapporo beer bottles and even artillery left by soldiers.

For Now, At Peace

Our time in Peleliu will be forever memorable, not because we remember the glory of war, but because we remember the cost of war. I only hope the world doesn't fall into a third world war. What will become of small island nations should another war ignite? With Russia still invading Ukraine, the entire world waits. 

-Raquel