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On September 15, 1944, the Battle of Peleliu took place. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war in the Pacific. An excerpt from the article:
"Bloody Nose Ridge
The Japanese had learned from past attacks, however, and they took a new strategy, aimed at bogging the enemy invaders down for days and inflicting massive casualties in hopes of pushing the Allies into a negotiated peace. Peleliu’s many caves, connected by networks of tunnels, allowed the Japanese to hunker down and emerge mostly unscathed from the Allied bombardment. They held out for four days before U.S. forces were even able to secure the southwest area of Peleliu, including a key airstrip. When the Marines turned north to begin their advance, they were targeted along the way by heavy artillery fire and a fusillade of small arms from Japanese forces installed in caves dug into the rocky surface of Umurbrogol Mountain, which the Marines dubbed “Bloody Nose Ridge.” Over the next eight days, U.S. troops sustained about 50 percent casualties in some of the most vicious and costly fighting of the Pacific campaign."
"Bloody Nose Ridge
The Japanese had learned from past attacks, however, and they took a new strategy, aimed at bogging the enemy invaders down for days and inflicting massive casualties in hopes of pushing the Allies into a negotiated peace. Peleliu’s many caves, connected by networks of tunnels, allowed the Japanese to hunker down and emerge mostly unscathed from the Allied bombardment. They held out for four days before U.S. forces were even able to secure the southwest area of Peleliu, including a key airstrip. When the Marines turned north to begin their advance, they were targeted along the way by heavy artillery fire and a fusillade of small arms from Japanese forces installed in caves dug into the rocky surface of Umurbrogol Mountain, which the Marines dubbed “Bloody Nose Ridge.” Over the next eight days, U.S. troops sustained about 50 percent casualties in some of the most vicious and costly fighting of the Pacific campaign."
Battle of Peleliu
Posted from history.com
Marines
WWII World War Two
American History
Combat
Posted 3 y ago
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I had the honor to walk the battle grounds with my fellow Marines in "96. The king of the island told us stories of the occupation. He was a young boy who was captured and sent away to another island to work for the Japanese.
A touching story I wish I witnessed. Read the attached story of Capt Pope first then read the rest of what I wrote.
https://pacificwrecks.com/provinces/palau_peleliu_hill_100.html
Sometime in the 80's or 90's there was a tour for the Marine vets of the island and the king was with them. As the tram passed by hill 100, an elderly man yelled out for the tram to stop. He climbed out and started to run up the hill. As he ran up the steep hill he was picking up rocks and naming them after the men he lost. His son quickly chased the old man and stopped him. The man sat crying holding the rocks as if they were his men dying in his arms again. This part kinda contradicts the kings story against what I posted, but the king said at that point, hill 100 would forever be known as Pope Hill.
A touching story I wish I witnessed. Read the attached story of Capt Pope first then read the rest of what I wrote.
https://pacificwrecks.com/provinces/palau_peleliu_hill_100.html
Sometime in the 80's or 90's there was a tour for the Marine vets of the island and the king was with them. As the tram passed by hill 100, an elderly man yelled out for the tram to stop. He climbed out and started to run up the hill. As he ran up the steep hill he was picking up rocks and naming them after the men he lost. His son quickly chased the old man and stopped him. The man sat crying holding the rocks as if they were his men dying in his arms again. This part kinda contradicts the kings story against what I posted, but the king said at that point, hill 100 would forever be known as Pope Hill.
Pacific Wrecks - Hill 100 (Higashiyama, Pope’s Ridge) Peleliu Island, Palau
Hill 100 is a feature to the north of Peleliu Airfield on Peleliu Island in Palau on September 19-20, 1944 defended by U.S. Marines from C/1/1.
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Thanks for that history. I read "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" some years back. That is one of the best personal war memoirs ever written in my opinion.
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