108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. J. RES. 102
JOINT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Battle of
Peleliu and the end of Imperial Japanese control
of Palau during World War II and urging the
Secretary of the Interior to work to protect the
historic sites of the Peleliu Battlefield National
Historic Landmark and to establish commemora-
tive programs honoring the Americans who
fought there.
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. J. RES. 102
JOINT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Peleliu
and the end of Imperial Japanese control of Palau dur-
ing World War II and urging the Secretary of the Inte-
rior to work to protect the historic sites of the Peleliu
Battlefield National Historic Landmark and to establish
commemorative programs honoring the Americans who
fought there.
•HJ 102 EH
Whereas on December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan bombed the
United States fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, forcing the
United States to declare war on Japan;
Whereas by 1944, United States victories in the Southwest
and Central Pacific were bringing the war ever closer to
Japan;
Whereas on September 15, 1944, after three days of naval
gunfire, United States forces landed on the beaches of
Peleliu, in the Palau islands chain, with the objective of
capturing a vital air field;
Whereas the battle for Peleliu lasted more than two months,
during which the United States suffered over 10,000 cas-
ualties, including an estimated 1,250 Marines and 540
soldiers killed in action;
Whereas George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the
United States, served as a torpedo-bomber pilot in the
Navy and sank an armed Japanese trawler during Oper-
ation Snapshot, an operation to weaken Japanese de-
fenses on Peleliu before United States Marines invaded
the island in September 1944;
Whereas former Secretary of State George P. Shultz served
as an officer in the Marine Corps detached to the 81st
Infantry Division of the Army during the Battle of
Peleliu and participated in the seizure, occupation, and
defense of Angaur Island in the Palau islands chain;
Whereas on February 4, 1985, the Secretary of the Interior
officially designated the Peleliu battlefield as the ‘‘Peleliu
Battlefield National Historic Landmark’’;
Whereas the landmark plaque has been mounted and is now
displayed in a prominent place in the village of
Kloulkubed;
•HJ 102 EH
Whereas that designation as a national historic landmark at-
tests not only to the significance of the battlefield site,
but also to the integrity of the site;
Whereas the Peleliu battlefield today has considerable phys-
ical evidence of the battle, including about 100 identified
individual cave sites occupied by the defending Japanese
troops, as well as pill boxes, casemates, and large military
equipment, both American and Japanese, which played a
direct role in the battle for Peleliu; and
Whereas thanks to the sacrifices of members of the United
States Armed Forces who participated in the Battle of
Peleliu, the Republic of Palau today is an independent,
democratic nation and a strong ally of the United States:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the Congress recognizes the bravery and courage of
the members of the United States Armed Forces who par-
ticipated in the Battle of Peleliu and of all veterans who
fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
SEC. 2. The Congress urges the Secretary of the
Interior—
(1) to recognize the year 2004 as the 60th an-
niversary of the Battle of Peleliu and the end of Im-
perial Japanese control of Palau during World War
II;
(2) to work to protect the historic sites of the
Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark; and
•HJ 102 EH
(3) to establish commemorative programs hon-
oring the Americans who fought at those sites.
Passed the House of Representatives September 28,
2004.
Attest:
Clerk.