70 years ago today, the task force for the invasion of Peleliu was underway from Guadalcanal. MajGen William Rupertus was said to have informed the Marines that Peleliu would be a 3 to 4 day operation. It turned into one of the bloodiest battles, per capita, ever recorded for the 1st Marine Division, and would last well into late November (even though the island was declared "secure" September 27th.)
Below is a video of a few short clips of veterans of Peleliu explaining how different the Battle of Peleliu was, compared to the previous island campaigns of the Pacific to that date. Starting with Peleliu, the Japanese changed their strategy and would put up minimum resistance to the landings, then settle in to bunkers/caves with connection tunnels below ground and wait for the Americans to come to them. The same strategy was used later on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
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