As the 80th anniversary of the battle for Peleliu nears, a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules recently touched down on a newly restored World War 2 airfield on the island in Micronesia.
In September of 1944, U.S. Marines came ashore on Peleliu and fought a fierce battle with the Japanese. 10,000 troops were garrisoned on the six mile long island, and the resulting battle caused massive casualties. However, the amphibious assault resulted in lessons learned that helped the Marines in future battles, and the capture of Peleliu meant that America had a critical staging area in the Pacific.
Following the trend that was is old is new again (re: trench warfare in Ukraine), Marine engineers worked diligently for months to refurbish and repair the airfield which is named after Eugene Sledge, a Marine veteran of the battle for Peleliu and author of a history book on the subject.
The reason for reactivating the airfield is, "mission critical to enhancing U.S. military strategic capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region," a Pacific Command press release states. Translation: much as during World War 2, Peleliu is seen as a strategic staging ground and logistics hub, this time to counter China as opposed to Japan in 1944.
"I feel privileged because I was in Peleliu in 2021 and saw the airfield transform into what it is now,” said Sgt. Brandon Gonzalez, a Marine combat engineer who led vegetation removal and assisted with unexploded ordinance sweeping. "It truly is an honor to have been a part of this mission and see it come to fruition with a KC-130 landing."