Last installment (thanks for hanging with me this long)...
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After leaving Bloody Nose Ridge, we drove to a trail that was as moving as it was disturbing. As you can see by the sign, this part of the jungle has only been cleared ON THE PATH THAT'S MARKED. The guide told us that of the 600 or so residents of Peleliu, every few months someone is injured from ordnance still on the island.
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You can clearly see the markers for the path. White means "you probably won't lose a foot", red means "good luck...we're all counting on you!"
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Occasionally you would see colored sticks off of the trail. The guide said that the colored sticks are where live ordnance has been detected but not dug up...we came over a rise and saw this.
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Many times along the trail, you would see something like this. This is a magazine from a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle....my Dad carried one in Korea) with the rounds still in the mag! At one point, one of my companions looked down by my feet (we were squarely ON the trail) and said, "Bill, what's that?" I reached down and picked up an unknown object and began to clean the mud off of it. She asked, "Is it part of a Jeep or something?" I said "no...hang on...", then it hit me like ton of bricks. I was holding the top part of a "pineapple" hand grenade (where the spoon and pin are attached)! It was merely the top (with some sort of object protruding down from it....the detonator?), but I got rid of it post haste!
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The top to a pick axe.
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The remains of a canteen cup and a helmet.
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The F/O reached down and found this on the trail. It looks to me like a bayonet scabbard. We laid it on a rock and kept walking...
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The remains of a helmet, some motor rounds (60mm it looks to me), and a canteen cup. These were placed just off of the trail, and I'm guessing it was done by the locales.
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At the end of the trail, we came upon this Japanese gun emplacement (20mm?). It was a "interesting" walk through the jungle....alternately harrowing and fascinating all at the same time.
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Riding back to Babelthuap Island with us was this gentleman. Tsuchida Kitokaze...one of the VERY few Japanese POWs from the battle. He's 94 years young, and when I shook his hand, the first thing he did was whip off his USMC cap and show it to me. It was signed by many Marines (most of which he's outlived I would guess), and he seemed genuinely very proud of it. I bowed to him as a sign of respect and asked the young lady to ask him if he would allow me to take his picture. He obviously consented. He was there as it was the 67th anniversary of the invasion (there was no fan-fare at all that I could see), and he seemed to have a general sense of profound sadness to him....
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No words are necessary.
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And finally...
As we rode north on the boat in the on-again, off-again rain, I tried to reflect on what I had just done. It was almost overwhelming, and would take more than a few days to sink in.
I found myself tired in a way that I had not been in a very long time...and I snapped this pic hoping the sun peeking through the clouds would somehow help it all make sense...
It failed.
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Thanks for sharing this journey with me.
Have a great day,
BBall
