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

By: John Jackson

John Jackson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:43:16 +0000

Reading Mr. Watson’s account and all the other responses sealed the deal for me –I’ll be going to Palau and Peleliu. It all started for me 10 years ago after I asked a Continental Airlines Micronesia captain what island he would most recommend visiting in that part of the world. His answer was Palau. My father was a sailor on an attack transport in the South Pacific. Of course, I didn’t learn anything from him about the war but his service has always driven me to accumulate as much information as I can on my own. I’ll never have the time to take in the full panorama of the Pacific battlegrounds but experiencing Peleliu would be a singular and appropriate representation of all that our fighting men endured for us. God bless them all.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:31:55 +0000

If you can find a copy, read Harry Gailey’s book on Peleliu.

First Marine Division CG William Rupertus was predicting his Marines would smash Japanese resistance in 3 days. Professor Gailey says that Rupertus had the ear of Chester Nimitz.

The Battle happened, maybe, because Nimitz believed Rupertus, that it would be a quick affair, not a drawn out battle of attrition.

The Japanese holed up in prepared positions impregnable to frontal attack. Rupertus had his marines conducting frontal attacks on those positions, even after his marines had taken thousands of casualties. Rupertus should have been relieved and court martialled for Peleliu. Instead the Marine Corps awarded him a Navy Cross

By: Samuel L. Lopresto

Samuel L. Lopresto — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:26:08 +0000

Hello Toni T. Thank you for the nice comments. I am so sorry for the health problems your Uncle experienced after WW2. For me, like many others, going off to war was something, being very young, we thought was great. Only after Peleliu did I realize what killing was all about and the after effects it gave. Now, at 84, I know that this type of affair will go on forever. Thank you again.
Samuel L. Lopresto
California

By: Keith Patton

Keith Patton — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:55:18 +0000

Don’t ping him too bad. As a geologist of 30 years and a resident of Okinawa for a while in the 60’s I have seen numerous writings that use the same phrase. It comes from confusion about how the islands formed, both Okinawa and the Palaus. They are volcanic mounts fringed with limestone reefs. Somewhere in the past some non-geo type erroneously ran the terms together and it has been passed down from author to author, much like errors in textbooks. One thing is certain, the mix of volcanics and reef limestones makes for very tough walking and climbing. I too visited Palau in the late 80’s and was struck by how much is was walking into a time warp. I explored Babelthaup and stumbled upon relatively pristine japanese amphibious tanks and was struck by the odd juxtaposition of anti aircraft guns guarding the auto repair shop that now occupied the former Japanese HQ building on Koror.

By: Son of Marine 2K8

Son of Marine 2K8 — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:14:09 +0000

Thanks to the veterans of Peleliu who responded to this post. If you are a veteran of the Pacific War, please consider adding to history your comments and observations. My Dad never talks about his service in the Pacific and he has ‘Jungle Rot’ a skin condition picked up in the island jungles. Suffering from both to this day.

By: Unlikely Words » Origin of the Phrase Thousand Yard Stare

Unlikely Words » Origin of the Phrase Thousand Yard Stare — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:29:33 +0000

[...] Stare by Tom Lea. Lea had been known for his jingoistic propaganda art until spending time on the island of Peleliu during the battle of [...]

By: Pierre Toomey,

Pierre Toomey, — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:07:03 +0000

I was at Pelilu in 1945 as YIC,USNR assigned to US Naval Sub Base. I would so like to return.
The pics make it so different. I drove a jeep along a road at the base of Bloodynose ridge taking mail to Base 10 Naval Hospital, and there were still some Japanese holed up i the caves of the ridge

By: ace nasby

ace nasby — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:13:32 +0000

2nd Bn 7th, I wanted to go back, too late now, too old. I know my spelling of Peleliu is wrong. Deliberate. is in memory of Mitch Page and John Basilone two who were awarded MOH. Page was a 2nd Bn 7th on the Canal. Pics are nothing like the day I hit the beach but thanks for the memories. Every one I knew is probably having a cool one at the big slopshoot in the sky. Semper Fi

By: Guy

Guy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:48:29 +0000

Peter,
Peleliu was too remote for it to present a threat to the U.S. invasion of the Phillipines. The need to take the island was controversial and debated even before the invasion took place. Today it is viewed as a mistake. It’s painful to view the U.S. Marines and Army men who died there as having given their lives for an outpost that had no strategic reason, but that sadly is the case with Peleliu. In truth the Japanese had very little air power left at that stage of the war to have effectively used Peleliu as a base to disrupt the U.S. retaking of the Phillipines.
Moreover, the U.S. very much underestimated the effort required to take Peleliu.
Hindsight is always 20-20, but in the end the U.S. should have bypassed the entire Palau island group.

By: cherokeebydesign

cherokeebydesign — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:49:50 +0000

I never knew about this island, nor had I heard the story/history.

Thanks for sharing.

Raven
http://cherokeebydesign.wordpress.com/