All, this is my first post, so bear with me. I just returned from a two week trip to Guam, Iwo Jima and Peleliu to celebrate my third retirement. It was the second visit to the three locations. Needless to say, for a Marine military historian it was a great way to end one career (VP Marine Corps Heritage Foundation) and start another (military author).
As you can well imagine, the places mentioned above are rich in military history. Guam, while fairly heavily settled, still has remnants of the WWII battle...mainly bunkers (Japanese) and plaques to commemorate the landing beaches, the Navy base, which contained the war dog cemetery and the old Marine barracks.
Iwo Jima and Peleliu are another story entirely...bunkers, caves and tunnels abound. Unexploded ordnance is all over the place...it was not uncommon on Peleliu to find Japanese hand grenades and an occasional U.S. pineapple grenade, artillery shells, naval gunfire shells (6" and 8" and an occasional 14"), mortar shells, etc. Battlefield debris remains are seen in the bunkers (Sake and beer bottles, Coke bottles, mess kits, rusted helmets (both US and Japanese), boot and shoe remnants...whatever was carried into battle is still there.
Iwo is pretty well restricted to the landing beach and Mt. Suribachi. A Japanese officer died in one of the caves and his death caused the island commander to be gun-shy. However, Peleliu is open without restrictions...probably the most preserved battlefield remaining in the Pacific.
If you want to hear more, let me know, Semper Fi, Dick Camp
About the Author
Colonel Richard D. Camp, USMC), “retired from the Marine Corps in 1988 after completing 26 years of service. During his career he served in a variety of command and staff assignments, including the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., Instructor, The Basic School, CO, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, MCRD San Diego, CO, Recruiting Station, Milwaukee, WI, CO, 12th Marine Corps District, San Francisco, CA, and Aide de Camp, CG Marine Corps Education Center. He served one tour in Vietnam as CO, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment. You can find out more about Colonel Camp and his books at:
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