The Battle of Peleliu

Here’s my deep, dark, secret confession.

Part of our group would be going diving today while the rest of us would be doing an “alternate” activity. So of course I was thinking that a separate (but equal) activity would be snorkeling.

Nope. We non-diving girls would be visiting Peleliu Island for an in-depth overview of island’s importance during the War in the Pacific.

Hmm, can’t say I was as excited as I should have been.

Turns out, the program was quite fascinating.

We were transported by a 40-minute boat ride to Peleliu Island by Sam’s Tours . Once on Peleliu, we were escorted by Des Matsutaro, an expert on the island’s history, and a World War II historian.

War in the Pacific

Peleliu, which is currently inhabited by some 200 residents, had no less than 10,000 residents before the (in)famous battle. Many of these residents were Japanese, as the Japanese had several military sites on the island, in particular an airstrip that proveg to be central in the fight to control the Pacific.

Scattered throughout the island are numerous World War II artifacts, all of which are protected under historical preservation rules. We visited a memorial site (seen in the photo) dedicated to the 81st infantry division (the Wildcats) as well as many other historical sites, including the famed “Orange Beach” where one of the initial battles took place.

Des did a fabulous job of bringing the history of this area to life. The battle for Peleliu was considered controversial, by many, in particular because of its high casualty count and because of the fact that the airstrip never ended up serving its intended purpose as a strategic site in the battle to recapture the Philippines.

Des excelled at conveying the feeling of that time. The young men of the US (and Japanese) armies fought in 115 degree, humid weather marching over sandy beaches and tropical vegetation. The horror of what these brave men went through, in the defense of liberty, is really beyond my comprehension. I've attached this photo (which I "borrowed" from the Department of Defense, public domain) which illustrates very well, the overwhelming forces fighting for Peleliu.

We took a break from military history to enjoy lunch at Yellow Wall restaurant, which is owned and operated by our hosts for the day, Maml Divers. We were served stuffed mud crab, a local specialty, as well as a totally decadent deep friend cheese log. Bad, bad, bad (but so good.)

After lunch, our history lesson continued, as we visited Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum. The museum is largely made up of donated artifacts and items, as well as many personal histories of the soldiers that fought on the island. One of the many donations here was a copy of John McCain’s biography.

We visited some of the island’s caves, which played a huge role in the Japanese defense of the island. These caves were largely the reason that the battle of Peleliu didn’t take the four days the Americans anticipated, and rather lasted some four months.

Palau Diving

Des told us that diving operations also have base locations on Peleliu Island. Because the island is much closer to some of the famed reef spots, visitors embarking from Peleliu will reach the prime diving spots an hour before the visitors from Koror, making for at least an hour of prime, unshared diving time.

If staying on the island, one of the best resorts to check out is Dolphin Bay Resort. This cute little resort is an ideal jumping off point for eagers divers wanting to get an early start.

Palau Pacific Resort

During the day our belongings had been transferred to the lovely Palau Pacific Resort (known by locals as PPR), our second accommodation in the islands. After finishing our Peleliu tour, we enjoyed a relaxing 40-minute boat ride back to Koror, where we were dropped off directly at the PPR’s boat dock.

This gorgeous, west-facing facility would be our home for the next three nights, and what a home it is.

Sams Tours

After a brief rest we were escorted back to the Sam’s Tours headquarters. The tour company is operated out of an open-style area, which loans itself well to group events, meetings and functions. We were served a splendid dinner, prepared by the wives of the Sam’s Tours senior staff.

A particular favorite was the crab in coconut milk (gosh I can still taste it) and lobster with garlic butter. Our hosts were incredibly generous with their time and they pulled out all the stops.

We enjoyed an in-depth presentation on the ecological history of Palau by Ron Leidich, the staff biologist for Sam’s Tours.

We were also lucky enough to watch some of the stunning underwater, movie footage shot by staff videographer Dr. Nick Martorano, Ph.D. If you want to watch some of his awesome footage (or even download it to your iPod), you can visit his site at: www.oceanwonders.org/LAUPS_2007/. A sample picture from a dive to a "mystery wreck" is included here.

With our heads and our bellies filled to the max, we returned to the PPR to enjoy some well-earned rest.