Peleliu – Connoisseurs of Experiences

This is a nice photo of Peleliu I got off the Internet looking mostly north.

I first visited Peleliu in 2003 as an add on to my tour of Bataan and Corregidor. Visiting the Philippines was my first battlefield tour with Valor Tours and the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Bob and Vicky Reynolds, the founders of Valor Tours. After the Ghost Soldiers Tour, as the tour of Bataan and Corregidor was and still is called, Vicky lined up a tour of Peleliu with a private guide that I would meet at Koror.

Yuki Schmolz met me at the airport and we drove to a nearby marina where we boarded a boat for the hour-long ride through the Rock Islands to Peleliu at the southern end of the Palau archipelago. The weather was nearly perfect (I usually define good weather by how good the photographic conditions are) for sightseeing and taking photographs. Unfortunately, the bouncing boat made it difficult to get clear photos.

After we tied up at Peleliu we immediately set out to see the battlefield. Peleliu is only 7° north of the equator so it was very hot and humid. This would give me an idea of what it must have been like for the Marines of the 1^st Marine Division to fight here. I soon was dripping with sweat from merely walking.

We encountered lots of land crabs and caught several for our dinner. Peleliu, although a typical South Pacific paradise, does not have any of the infrastructure we in the West have come to expect in a beach resort. Accommodations are spartan to say the least. There are no restaurants or nice hotels (as there are at Koror).

We ate the land crabs for our dinner and then continued our tour of the island battlefields the next day. We then rode back through the Rock Islands on our way to Koror. Yuki stopped at a nice beach where we tied up the boat. We ate leftover crab and then I went swimming. I was in training for my second Ironman, so this was a good opportunity to do some open water swimming. Just off the beach I saw a reef shark in the distance, but it did not bother me.

Back at Koror I said goodbye to Yuki and settled into a nice hotel. That evening I had dinner served to me on the beach. The next day I flew back to Manila and thence to San Francisco.

The Palau Archipelago is located in the Western Carolines. Before and during the war it was part of the Japanese mandate granted to it by the League of Nations following World War II.

This is the Palau Archipelago in the Western Carolines. Peleliu and Angaur are located at the southern end of the archipelago.

Peleliu has been described as looking like a lobster claw. It is located 7 degrees above the equator in the southern Palau Archipelago of the Western Carolines as it was known during the war. Now is called the Federated States of Micronesia.

These are the White Beaches taken from near the “Point”, a Japanese concrete bunker that had a gun that enfiladed the 1st Marines who came ashore here. They took many casualties.

This is typical of the easy terrain we walked through. There are others that were a bit more challenging.

This is the Japanese fuel-storage building. The hits it took from high caliber rounds is obvious.

Here is the Japanese command center for the airfield.

I placed these flags on Orange Beach in memory of John Mihalco, a friend’s uncle who was killed here. I have also visited his grave in Manila.

This is Johnny’s (as he was known to his family in Buffalo, NY) grave in Manila. Every time I go to the Philippines I visit his grave. In the past I have arranged for flowers to be lain here.

This part of the airstrip during the war.

This is a Marine LVT with a 37mm main gun. Yuki took me here early in the afternoon of our first day. We will revisit it the next day to see it in better light.

Yuki and I climbed to the top of part of the Umurbrogol Ridge to take in this early evening scene with a full moon This is a plaque dedicated to the 1st Marine Division who fought here.

Near the memorial plaque was this wreath laid here by Senator John McCain. According to Yuki, we missed seeing him by only two hours.

We saw lots of these land crabs. We collected several, boiled them, and ate them for dinner.

The land crabs we caught became our dinner that night. Yummy.

The next day Yuki and I set out in the hot humid day to see the sights. Here is Yuki climbing to the top of the Umurbrogol Ridge.

This is part of the view from the Umurbrogol Ridge.

From the Umurbrogol Ridge we could see where the airfield was located. In the distance are the beaches where the Marines came ashore.

From the top of the ridge you can see the island of Angaur to the south.

This is a memorial to the 323rd Infantry of the Army who fought here.

This is one of many caves we found scattered around the island.

There is a lot of this kind of stuff all over the island.

It seems that there is a lot of 60mm mortar shells all over the place. Best to leave them alone.

Even though this one was inert, it is prudent to not touch them. This was my first trip to a battlefield and I did not know any better. I now just leave this stuff where I find it.

This looks like an artillery round, either 75 or 105mm.

This looks like the barrel of a rifle and a Japanese hand grenade.

This is the LTV with a 37mm gun that we saw the evening before.

This is the Japanese artillery piece we saw the evening before.

This is a cave entrance to the Japanese artillery piece.

The rifling can easily be seen in this 200mm anti-gun boat.

We went into a large cave and found lots of Japanese war artifacts lying around. Here Yuki is climbing out of the cave. It is a good idea to bring a flashlight or a headlamp.

2015 Tour

Valor Tour’s guide, Andy Giles, led the tour to Peleliu in 2015. Andy is a friend and fellow guide. I traveled to Saipan, Tinian, Guam, and Iwo Jima with Andy this year. We had particularly good weather for this tour.

Another Japanese air raid shelter. This one apparently took several hits but remained intact.

This is a cave entrance to the anti-boat gun.

This is the view from the cave with the anti-boat gun.

Obviously a large caliber shell hit this building, likely from naval gunfire.

A partially destroyed Japanese building.

The jungle is taking over these buildings.

This is the van that took us around the island.

Here we are taking a lunch break in the shade of a bombed out air command center near the airfield.

This is part of the Japanese airfield most of which has been overgrown with trees and brush.

This is a Japanese bunker half buried by coral rock and dirt. This entrance/exit likely faces away from the expected line of attack.

This is another view of the air commander center building.

The ceilings of the Japanese buildings and bunkers were covered with wasps nest but we thankfully did not see any wasps.

A Japanese tankette. These were easily taken out because of their light armor.

Andy Giles thinks he is a Japanese tanker.

This is the runway that still can be used. It appears to be original tarmac.

This may be a Japanese Zero as evidenced by what appears to be a red meatball on the fuselage.

A memorial plaque for the “Wildcat” 81st Division.

The axel of some kind of tracked vehicle.

This is a view of White Beach and the Point. As you can see the reef goes out quite far necessitating the need for tracked vehicles like the LVTs to bring the Marines to the beach.

This is a post for stringing barbed wire. These are all over the South Pacific.

This is the view from the Point lookin down the length of the beaches toward the Orange Beaches. The reef is readily seen here.

This is a view from the Peleliu invasion beaches looking mostly south toward Angaur. Again, note how far out the reef goes.

Andy Giles holding what looks like a 40mm shell.

This is a view of White Beaches 1 & 2 from the Point. Is that an alligator trail on the right?

No, it is not an alligator. This looks like a rubber tread off of some kind of tracked vehicle.

A nice view from the Point. It is clear to see how the Marines took so many casualties as they came ashore on White 1 & 2. Japanese guns easily enfiladed the beaches from this position. The Japanese also had an anti-tank gun that hit several of the LVTs as they came ashore.

This is one of the embrasures of the bunker at the Point.

This is another nice view from the Point. The Japanese could shoot at point blank range from here.

Capt. Hunt commanded K/3/1 that landed next to the Point. K company took grievous loss on D-Day.

We found these flags put here by some other visitor.

This is the southeast side of the island looking east. This was the 3/7th Marine’s zone of responsibility.

This is a bunker that anchored the Japanese flank on the right side of the invasion beaches.

The Umurbrogol Ridge from below. Japanese caves infested this ridge looking and firing down on the Marines.

Another memorial plaque, this one to the U.S. Navy.

Another Japanese cave with junk and sake bottles.

During our hike we came to a part of the island where some Australian explosives experts were gathering and clearing out unexploded ordnances. There was a sign warning us to stay on a marked path (the red and white markers indicted the path we were stay on) and to not touch anything.

This appears to be an inert 75mm artillery shell.

This kind of stuff is all over the island.

Somewhere in there is a Japanese bunker.

I think this is a Japanese aerial bomb. These were frequently used as IEDs

Not all that is interesting is related to the war.

Inside the 1000-man cave we found lots of Japanese junk including these incrusted hand grenades and bullet clip. Do not touch!

One of our passengers emerging from one of the many caves we found.

A few looking mostly north toward the Rock Islands from atop the Umurbrogol Ridge.

A view from the Umurbrogol Ridge looking out to sea.

This view is from the top of the Umurbrogol Ridge looking down into the Horseshoe.

Bullets and shell casings are everywhere.

Andy is holding a grenade pin and a BAR clip and something else I cannot identify.

This is the Point on the far left of White 1 where the Japanese had a well hidden defensive position that gave the 1st Marines so much trouble.

I think this may be a Marine 60mm mortar base plate.

We found this mass of .30cal ammunition buried in the sand on the beach.

Looking south down the length of the invasion beaches from the Point. This is White 1 in the foreground.

The island of Angaur as seen from Peleliu.

Another view of the length of the invasion beaches looking toward the White beaches and the Point that gave the 1st Marines so much trouble on D-Day.

The length of the invasion beaches looking north to White 1 & 2 in the distance and Orange 1,2 & 3 in the foreground. The tide has come in to hide the reef.

A Marine M2 .50 cal machine gun and bent prop.

Another view of the LVT (A) with 75mm Howitzer.

One place that Andy wanted to take us required a bit of climbing. He wanted us to go to where Captain Everette Pope earned his Medal of Honor. Using a fixed rope, we scaled a small cliff to reach the top of a ridge. It was not difficult and all of us made it to the top. On a hillside in the jungle, we found a partially buried bone that, to me, was obviously human. At first I thought it might be a forearm bone but after digging it out it was clearly a human tibia (shin bone). Because of its length, I presumed it was Japanese. We also found a human skull with a hole in the back. The left side of the front was gone indicating that it may have been a bullet wound. We photographed both, reverently set them back, marked the spot, and left them in place. Andy would later notify the Australians who were clearing the unexploded ordnance about our find for proper disposition. Of all the battlefields I have visited, this was the first time I had encountered human remains.

We used a fixed rope to climb to the top of this ridge to see where Capt. Pope earned his MOH.

Bring a flashlight or a headlamp to explore the caves. We found lots of Japanese junk here including lots of sake bottles.

A lone island near Peleliu. The tide appears to be out.

Inside one of the several Japanese buildings we explored.

I believe this is a Japanese 75mm artillery piece.

This is a partially buried unexploded shell. Without something to give it scale I am not sure what its caliber is. This kind of stuff is all over the place. Leave it be.

This is a typical Japanese air raid shelter. I found others just like it on Saipan and Tinian.

On our last day at Peleliu we visited the little island of Ngesebus where we wanted to see a Sherman tank. During the war there was a causeway to the island, but which has since been removed. We took some boats across the short distance to Ngesebus. Ngesebus is nearly all jungle with little in the way of defined trails. We knew approximately where the tank was and set out. Some of our group decided to turn back but three of us continued. The other two were Kevin and Kent, veteran battlefield tourists (Kent was with me on my Guadalcanal tour and Kevin was with me on the Pearl Harbor tour).

After we found the tank, we crawled all over it and took the requisite photos then went back to the beach to wait for the boat to come fetch us. While we were on the island the tide had gone out so that the water was too shallow for the outboard motors; they could not reach us. This did not deter us, however. I took off my boots and we began to wade out to the boat. On tours to places like this one must have a sense of adventure and flexibility to adjust to unforeseen circumstances… like the boat can’t reach you, wade out to it.

From atop the Sherman tank looking down at the barrel.

This is the Sherman tank we found on the island of Ngesebus.

2023 Tour

As part of my tour to Iwo Jima in March 2023 there was a post-tour visit to Peleliu. This was my third time to the island battlefield of Peleliu but my first as guide. I first visited this important island battlefield in 2003 after a tour of the Philippines. I brought 27 passengers here in 2023. Our local guide was Des Matustaro whom I had met in 2015 when Andy Giles, also of Valor Tours, was our guide.

This is the high speed boat that took us back and forth between Koror and Peleliu.

This is most of my group before we begin our tour of the Peleliu battlefield.

Here we are advancing through the jungle to the Point.

Hiking through the jungle to get to the Point.

This is one of the Japanese bunkers that the Marines called the Point located on the far left of the landing beaches. Guns from these positions brought devastating enfilading fire on the advancing Marines, especially the 1st Marines.

This is a 60mm mortar shell that has been marked as potentially still live.

This is a view of the landing beaches from the Point. The White beaches are on the left and the Orange beaches are on the right.

This is another one of the bunkers at the Point. The gun port is seen in front.

This plaque describing the exploits of Capt. George Hunt’s company’s in reducing the Japanese position at the Point. It is located near one of the bunkers.

This is a coral encrusted Japanese hand grenade we found near the Point.

A view looking down the invasion beaches from the Point. White beach is in the foreground and Orange beach is in the distance. Angaur is on the far right on the horizon.

A view from the Point looking west. The coral is razor sharp.

The length of the invasion beaches with the Orange beaches on the right and White beaches on the left.

Another view from the other side of the Point.

There were some Marines deployed at Peleliu to clear the jungle for a new runway. The United States is reforitying the Palaus. China threat?

Angaur island on the horizon about six or seven miles away.

A monument to the 81st Infantry Division, the Wildcats.

Orange beach looking toward the White beaches.

Three of our passengers were professional videographers making a documentary of the battle. This is John and he has a very heavy camera.

This was the Japanese command center for the airfield during the war.

This is the Japanese command center at the airfield during the war. The battle for this building was vividly portrayed in the HBO miniseries “The Pacific.”

This is the interior of the Japanese command center for the airfield.

This is a steel door to one of the rooms of the command center.

Inside the command center, which was heavily damaged by artillery and naval gunfire.

This the Japanese toilet in the airfield command center.

The jungle has taken over the command center.

These vents under the floor are to keep the command center cool during the heat of the day.

This is one of two entrances to a Japanese bomb shelter near the command center.

This is part of the original tarmac in front of the Japanese command center. There was no jungle here during the war.

This is a destroyed Sherman tank that hit a mine killing the Marine occupants.

These are my passengers in a group photo at the Sherman tank.

This is the Japanese fuel storage building

This is the only Japanese fuel-storage bunker of four constructed on Peleliu. They were not completed, and it is doubtful that none of them contained fuel. Two identical bunkers across the road to the north of here were also still unfinished when the American attack began.

The bunker became a Japanese strong point that held up the advance of American Marines moving from White Beach toward the airfield. The thick concrete walls were impervious to artillery shells fired at close range. On September 16, 1944 – D+1 – there was fierce combat at this location with 35 U.S. Marine killed or wounded in assaults. The bunker finally fell after being struck by two 14-inch shells fired from the battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41), killing about 20 Japanese defenders inside. The bunker was then used by American Marines as an aid station during the early days of the battle.

This bunker was restored for use as a WW II Museum. A few years ago it began to crumble and was declared unsafe, and subsequently closed. The museum artifacts were moved to a new location.

This is a 1944 photo of a Sherman tank in front of the Japanese fuel storage building. Compare this to the same scene today in the previous photo. The ladder is still present.

This is the fuel storage building where the 14-inch shells from USS *Mississippi* struck the building killing the Japanese inside.

These are pock marks from Marine artillery shells that failed to penetrate the thick reinforce concrete walls.

This is the prop of a Japanese “Betty” bomber in front of the Japanese fuel storage building.

This is a Marine LVT (Landing Vehicle, Tracked) with a 37mm gun mounted on the turret.

This is a view of part of the runway of the original airfield. The LVT is at the bottom of the steps. I took this photo from the 200mm anti-boat gun cave.

This is the back entrance to the cave where the Japanese 200mm anti-boat gun is located.

The location of the 1st Marine Division memorial. To the left is the beginning of the hike to the summit of Bloody Nose Ridge.

This memorial plaque to the 1st Marine Division is located near the summit of Bloody Nose Ridge.

This is the plaque on the memorial. It reads, “In memory of the Marines who gave their lives in the seizure of Peleliu and Ngesebus Island from the Japanese during the period 15th September through 15th October 1944. Your comrades in arms, First Marine Division (Reinf), United States Marine Corps.”

I believe these are unexploded 75mm artillery shells. Don’t touch!

This is possibly a Japanese aerial bomb that was use as an IED. It would be planted in the ground with the nose just above the service. It would detonate when stepped on or when a tank passed over it.

Three of the hundreds of caves dug into the Umurbrogol Ridge. These caves were concealed by the jungle vegetation and were usually impervious to anything but a direct hit through the mouth of the cave.

This is the jungle today. Much of this would be have been blasted away by naval gun fire and artillery shells.

Here are relics left over from the battle. This appears to be the blade of an entrenching tool, a Japanese canteen, a pickaxe, and assorted other detritus of war.

More jungle on the way up to Bloody Nose Ridge.

Here is our group hiking through the jungle on our way to Bloody Nose Ridge. We had to stay on the path to avoid stepping on unexploded ordinance (UXO). The trail was clearly marked.

Hiking up to Bloody Nose Ridge. These ropes came in handy both going up and going down hill.

The moss on the roots made for difficult walking. It was slippery.

75mm artillery shells. It appears the fuses have been removed.

This is a Japanese small caliber artillery piece.

A 60mm mortar shell with the fuse removed. FFE stands for Free From Explosives. It’s a technical term and marking that is accepted by
UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) demolition teams worldwide.

We were instructed to stay on the path between the white side of these markers. The red side indicated the unsafe zone that had not yet been cleared of UXO.

Hiking up the steep stairs to the summit of Bloody Nose Ridge.

This is a monument to the 323rd Infantry of the 81st Infantry Division. It is at the summit of Bloody Nose Ridge. The inscription reads, “Lest we forget those who died. 323 Infantry, US Army.”

This is the panoramic view of where the Japanese airfield was located just behind the invasion beaches in the distance. Below is what was referred to by the Marines as the “Horseshoe.” The top of the ridge above the Horseshoe (Known as Walt’s Ridge during the battle) is where Capt Everette Pope led 90 of men and fought the Japanese at the top of this ridge. For his efforts, he earned the Medal of Honor.

This is a map indicating where the Horseshoe is located east of the Umurbrogrol Ridge and where Walt’s Ridge is.

Another view of the airfield from Bloody Nose Ridge.

Panoramic video from the summit of Bloody Nose Ridge looking down on the airfield, the invasion beaches, and Angaur on the horizon.

Des Matsutaro, our local guide. Here he is describing a Marine LVT (A) 4 mounted with a 75mm Howitzer.

Charles “Des” Matsutaro was our local guide on Peleliu. I have worked with Des on two tours to Peleliu. He is very knowledgeable about the battle. He has a Palau travel business that includes battlefield tours of Peleliu. You can visit his company website at Pristineparadisepalau.com.