A KC-130 Hercules transport aircraft landed on the 1.1-mile runway on Peleliu Island in the Pacific Ocean on June 22. The Marine Corps called it a “remarkable and triumphant return to the iconic site of World War II.”
For months, marine engineers have worked to rebuild the runway, clear brush, remove trees and ensure no explosives left over from World War II battles remain on the island, which is part of the nation of Palau.
An aircraft lands on a new runway on Peleliu Island on June 22. Photo: US Marine Corps
According to the US Naval History and Heritage Command, more than 1,500 US servicemen and nearly 11,000 Japanese soldiers died on Peleliu between August and November 1944. The command notes that some Japanese soldiers hid in the island's jungle and were not found until two years after the end of World War II.
The 1st Marine Regiment, an American unit, suffered 70% casualties in 6 days of fighting on the island.
The Marine Corps named the rebuilt runway Sledge Airstrip in honor of Private First Class Eugene Sledge, a veteran of the Battle of Peleliu. He was a mortarman on the island who wrote about the site in his memoir With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Sledge described Peleliu as "a surreal, eerie nightmare, like the surface of another planet."
The Marine Corps said the runway now “bridges the past and the future, honoring the sacrifices of World War II while enhancing regional security and cooperation” by establishing close relationships with Pacific island nations.
Meanwhile, on Yap Island in the Federated States of Micronesia, located between Guam and Palau, the US Air Force has requested $400 million in the 2025 budget to expand the runway at the island's international airport, which is also a former Japanese military airport, so that US military aircraft can use it.
The US is currently undertaking renovations at other sites, including restoring North Field Air Base on Tinian Island in the Northern Mariana Islands, where US bombers dropped atomic bombs in August 1945. The US has also signed a bilateral defence agreement with Papua New Guinea and reopened an embassy in the Solomon Islands from early 2023.
Along with the runway, the US Marine Corps is helping to improve the Peleliu Civic Center Museum to house artifacts from the World War II battle.
At an event last month marking the landing of Marine Corps aircraft on Peleliu Island, Governor Emais Roberts thanked the US Department of Defense for its efforts there.
“Our small island community has benefited greatly from the presence of the US Marine Corps. We appreciate this great partnership and we feel safe and protected” with US support.
Ngoc Anh (according to CNN)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/my-xay-dung-lai-duong-bang-tung-dien-ra-tran-chien-ac-liet-thoi-the-chien-ii-post302040.html
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