The Battle over Peleliu: Islander, Japanese, and American Memories of War

293 Pages·2016·6.177 MB·English

by  Stephen C. Murray

The Battle
over Peleliu
WAR, MEMORY, AND CULTURE
Series Editor
Steven Trout
Advisory Board
Joan Beaumont
Philip D. Beidler
John Bodnar
Patrick Hagopian
Mara Kozelsky
Edward T. Linenthal
Kendall R. Phillips
Kirk Savage
Jay Winter
Series published in cooperation with
http://www.southalabama.edu/departments/research/warandmemory/
Susan McCready, Content Editor
The Battle
over Peleliu
Islander, Japanese, and Americ an
Memories of War
Stephen C. Murray
The University of Alab ama Press
Tuscaloosa
The University of Alab ama Press
Tuscaloosa, Ala bama 35487- 0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2016 by the University of Alab ama Press
All rights reserved.
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the University of
Ala bama Press.
Typeface: Garamond
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover photograph: The Bai ra Ngermelulau in Ngerdelolk, Peleliu, 1936. Kondo,
Micronesian Expedition, Bishop Museum, Honolulu; CN 18835.
Cover design: Kyle Anthony Clark
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of Americ an
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1 984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murray, Stephen C., 1945–
The battle over Peleliu : islander, Japanese, and American memories of war / Stephen C. Murray.
pages cm. — (War, memory, and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8173-1884-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8173-8889-8 (e book)
1. Peleliu, Battle of, Palau, 1944. 2. World War, 1939-1945—Campaigns—Palau—Peleliu
Island. 3. Collective memory—Palau—Peleliu Island. 4. Historic sites—Palau—Peleliu
Island—Conservation and restoration. 5. Peleliu Island—Social life and customs. 6. Peleliu
Island—History. 7. Japan—Relations—Palau. 8. Palau—Relations—Japan. 9. United
States—Relations—Palau. 10. Palau—Relations—United States. I. Title.
D767.99.P4M87 2016
940.54’2666—dc23
2015022948
This book is dedicated to the three women who considered me a son:
Barbara Curran Murray Henderson,
1919–1992,
Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Wash ing ton,
my mother;
Olga Davis Murray,
Sausalito, California, and Kathmandu, Nepal,
my stepmother; and
Aliil Betok Nakamura,
1909–1988,
Ngerchol, Beliliou, Belau,
my Palauan mother.

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Part I. Palauan and Colonial Landscapes
1 History, Memory, and Island Landscapes 11
2 Colonial Masters and Island Society 21
Part II. Peace, War, and a New Empire
3 Smiling Sky, Gathering Clouds 51
4 War 73
5 Exile, Fear, and Hunger: Ngaraard, Babeldaob, 1944–1945 98
6 An Island Desolated, a Trust Betrayed, 1946–1994 118
Part III. Pursuing Memory
7 Retrieving the Dead 145
8 Remembering a Painful Victory 170
9 Parallel Histories: Three Peoples’ Memories of War and Loss 190
Conclusion: The Roots of the Plant 215
Notes 229
Glossary 247
Bibliography 253
Index 273

Illustrations
Maps
1. Palau within the West ern Pacific region 3
2. The archipelago of Palau 5
3. Micronesia and the central Pacific region 7
4. Peleliu and its five villages, before construction of the airfield in 1937 27
5. The prewar village of Ngerkeyukl 41
6. The Americ an landings on the west coast of Peleliu 89
Figures
1. The Bai ra Ngermelulau in Ngerdelolk, 1936 32
2. Interior of bai in Melekeok village 34
3. Palauan house next to an odesongel, 1935–1936 38
4. Matichau Ilemelong at the site of his village of Ngerkeyukl 43
5. Women harvesting taro at the Beches el Mesei 56
6. Tokie Morei of Ngesias 58
7. Diltpak Merkii Napoleon and Dirribukel Ngirametuker 64
8. U.S. Marines coming ashore on Ngebedangel (White) Beach 91
9. Flame in the battle for the ridges 94
10. The sisters Ungil Besul and Mesiou Matareklai 111
11. The Odesangel Bad in Ngebuked village of Ngaraard 116
12. The U.S. Navy base on Peleliu, June 1945 120
13. Site of the village of Ngerkeyukl, 1968 150
14. Stephen C. Murray and Professor Iitaka Shingo in the Japanese section
of the Ngerchol cemetery 159