Comments on: Thousand Yard Stares: Ruins and Ghosts of the Battle of Peleliu, 1944, 2008

By: Alaska Paul

Alaska Paul — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:01:57 +0000

Henry—your story on your father on Peleliu and after was very touching and inspiring. After the war, my dad worked for Chevron Research, and they had licensing agreements with Fuji Oil Co for some of their processes. Dad worked closely for years with a fellow with Fuji Oil. They discussed the war and got beyond the hate and bad times. Also they were both mountaineers, so they did a lot of mountaineering together. They were close lifelong friends.

I asked Dad about patriotism and the war. Dad was a patriot, but he said that the war was a nasty dirty job that had to be done, and the lot fell to him and his comrades to do it. So they did their dirty job and killed the enemy till either they all died or they quit. Peleliu was bad, very bad. And so was Okinawa. When the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan finally surrendered, he and his buddies felt like their death sentence was commuted. There was no joy for him and his buddies, just relief that they will live and have the chance to do what they wanted to do in their lives.

By: Leila Kight

Leila Kight — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:03:46 +0000

I have a photograph of my father with four of his fellow marines taken on Peleliu sometime after Setpember 27, 1944. He has listed the last names of the men, along with their states of residence. They are: Brannon from Wisconsin, Alexander from Massachusetts, Keim from Pennsylvania, and Davis from Kansas. If anyone knows them, I’ll be glad to post the photo. Just post a comment here to let me know.

By: Henry Craig Crenshaw

Henry Craig Crenshaw — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 10:34:39 +0000

We’re coming up on the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. My father-in-law each year retells us where he was listening to the radio announcements. I had an Uncle who was rescued through the hull of the OKLAHOMA. And my Dad was an interpreter on Peleliu. My thanks again to the men and their memories that helped my dad get back alive and “in one piece”. i haven’t had the guts to even watch the HBO series yet. Am I wrong in comparing the WWII volunteers to the first responders at the Twin Towers? Off to do whatever they could to help. No one trying to be a hero. Wouldn’t it be great if this December 7th 2011 we had a “National 70 seconds of Silence” as a sign of respect and thankfulness to the past generations of Americans that have given us the opportunities that we have today! Perhaps at the day’s dawn, … ” a day that shall live…”

By: Beachinnole

Beachinnole — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:35:30 +0000

Was (USN) with the 24th MAU in Beirut and they went through more in 5 minutes than we did in 7 months.

By: Mike Shepherd

Mike Shepherd — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:36:01 +0000

The friendship between Hiroshi Funasaka and Forrest Vernon Crenshaw (both now deceased) was well documented by Funasaka in a book, FALLING BLOSSOMS.
Crenshaw was not just a Marine, but a Christian, who helped Funasaka survive the war and go on to become a leading publisher and book seller in post-war Japan. Funasaka sought out “Grenshaw” for many years and finally put an ad in Navy TImes which found Crenshaw in Dallas, Texas. Reunited in 1966, Funasaka went out of his way to honor Crenshaw–a three week tour of japan with Vernon and his wife Georgia. Restudying his Japanese, Crenshaw spent six years corresponding with Funasaka in Japanese, much of which consisted of sharing his faith in Christ with Funasaka.
The one time pow was baptized at a church in Japan in 1972.
(Mike Shepherd, Duncanvile, Texas–friend of the Crenshaw family).

By: Jim Hines

Jim Hines — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:56:55 +0000

Read “The Last Man Standing” by Dick Camp. It’s his story of the 1st Marine Division on Peleliu. Not as comprehensive as Eugene Sledge’s book but still very informative.

By: Andrew Ehrhardt

Andrew Ehrhardt — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:50:21 +0000

I’m glad you added these exerts from this amazing piece of work by Eugene Sledge. They explain the horror in the Pacific so we who cannot even imagine what these men went through could somewhat understand.

By: Old Chief

Old Chief — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:25:54 +0000

Oddly enough, I happened to be in the middle of Sledge’s book when I waas reading this. I have to say that after all my years serving as a corpsman with the “green people” I thought I knew then pretty well — and this book just reinforces that idea. It’s the real stuff about the real guys. Thanks “Sledgehammer”! Oh, yeah, the pics and stuff here are pretty interesting, too.

By: Geo.

Geo. — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:31:04 +0000

I recommend the D-Day Museum in New Orleans. Half of the museum covers the war in the Pacific where every assault was a D-Day. Filled with artifacts and the voices of personal experience. Particularly poignant were the helmet with the sniper’s bullet hole, the photos of the young Marine that died under it, the letters home. The war becomes suddenly very personal.

By: mstrmac711

mstrmac711 — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:31:00 +0000

112 degrees. I can barely imagine walking in 112 degrees no less fighting for my life. Your post was great and I thank you for the pictures. I have been on Guam and other islands in my younger days and it is hard to imagine the hell they went through.

theleansubmariner