Battle of Peleliu - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
  • WhereGrapesMayRule@lemmy.worldEnglish
    352·
    2 months ago

    “It’s the equivalent of the congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version. It’s actually much better because everyone (who) gets the congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead,” Trump concluded.

  • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
    11·
    2 months ago

    The 1st Marine Division was mauled and remained out of action until the invasion of Okinawa began on 1 April 1945. In total, the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6,500 casualties during its month on Peleliu, over one third of the entire division. The 81st Infantry Division also suffered heavy losses with 3,300 casualties during its tenure on the island.

    Postwar statisticians calculated that it took U.S. forces over 1,500 rounds of ammunition to kill each Japanese defender

    Wow, that is brutal.

    • Shiggles@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      53·
      2 months ago

      I can’t exactly say I love the fact that we nuked Japan, but the diameter of the Fat man was about a mile, and google tells me Peleliu is about 20 square miles in size. Would waiting, and glassing an entire island have been a better choice? Loss of native life would still be awful, but magnitudes less than the real bombings.