[whitesharkseeker]

Here's the crewmember to an LVT(A)4 that was knocked out on Peleliu. It took a 75mm round in the cab that decapitated the driver and blew the starboard machine gunner/radio operator to pieces. The gun that took out this amtank is still intact on the beach in a pillbox.

-Eric

 

[204sailor]

Eric,thanks for posting the amtank photo.As someone else has suggested,maybe you could
publish a book using these photos accompanied with text about them.There must be an
untold number of titles you could give the book about your experiences on visiting Peleliu
60 years after the battle.May I ask you a couple of questions about the island ?
1.Would anyone know if they weren`t told about the battle that took place there,i.e.,
is it so overgrown that from a short distance,100 yds or so, the vegetation covers almost
all of the battle scars?(other than war wreckage out in the open)
2.Are all the roads still just dirt roads like in 1944?
3.Is there a small village or town at the northern part of the island?
4.When you go there for battlefield touring or scuba diving for the great white shark,
do you get to the island by boat,or do you fly into the airstrip at the southern end of the island?Thanks for your time.

Charlie

 

[JWMWITZ]

Charlie,

I haven't been to Peleliu as many times as Eric, but have been there quite a bit. It' been about five years since I was there last, but I doubt if anything has changed that much.

There are a couple places where one can see visible remains of the battle, but most has been covered up by dense jungle growth. Some areas are purposely kept clear for tourists, etc.


Most of the roads were coral "paved" with a few stretches of asphalt. There was construction of a new road around where the radio tower is, but I'm not sure how far down the island it was going.

There is a small town with a couple "hotels" and basic food/Budweiser shops.

The last time I was in Peleliu, I was scuba diving off a small live-aboard (four divers) boat. We spent a week around Peleliu and Anguar (lots of sharks!). A couple times we went ashore to visit some battle areas (with the help of one of Eric's maps that he made for me) The time before, I took a local "ferry" to the isand from Koror, then stayed in a small bungelo style hotel. I've flown there on a smal plane from Koror, and have also taken a friend's fishing boat there. It's not hard to access the island in other words. I as living in Japan and Korea at the time of most of my visits, including my first one back in 1984, so it wasn't expensive or time consuming. From here though, it is both.

John in Charlotte, NC

 

[204sailor]

John, thanks for bringing me up to date regarding Peleliu`s landscape as seen from your
personal experience.In this respect at least, the "corps" did you a favor by placing you in Japan and Korea enabling you to visit some of the most remote island battlefields without
breaking the bank.It sounds like Koror was used as a jumping -off base from which you
operated from to access Peleliu and Anguar.To actually step on Peleliu must be quite a "rush".Your input was most appreciated.

Charlie

 

[MGed]

Here's a google image of Palaliu. Looks like the airfield is still visible as well as the roads. If you check out the island using google earth, you'll see some photos of relics.