Evening star., 1944-12-17
! of 76D.C. Area Marines Died
On PeIeIiu;; 4 Were Wounded
CorpI. Donald Groy Lost Life in Jap
Mortar Borroee; All Played Active Roles

oped into the bloodiest and most
bitter battle of the Pacific war be-
fore the japanese garrison of more
than 10000 was wiped out.
The landing on the beach was
the tightest spot I was in," said
Sergt. Bennett. Il came ashore in
the 18th wave while the Japs were
training mortars on the beachhead.
D-day was also a hot one for
Sergt. Conway, who got his first
Jap at dugout on the edge of the
airstrip.
A 'broken-field run" across a
runway of the airport, while dodg-
ing Jap mortar fire. was Pvt. God
dard's contribution to the first
night Of fighting. The little marine
made his 100-yard dash at about
1870 pm. with his arms full of
ammunition for an assault unit
holding the line on the edge of the
airport.
Pvt. Huber, in his first major
action, got his baptism of fire As
minutes after landing. His outfit
came upon strong enemy gun
position on road skirting the air
port. He told the story this way:
THE Japs had one 37-mm. gun.
two nortars and a 77-mm. field
piece in two blockhouses. When
they saw us coming, they rolled the
II out on the road. We took a tank
up with us and knocked both guns
and the mortars, killing about IS
Japs. Many of them were shot with
small arms fire.
Corpl. Lindsay was in charge of
two guns set up on the edge of
Peleliu's airport the first night,
when the Japs made three counter
attacks in his area.
Counted IS Dead Japs.
eve sent up flares and could see
'em coming at u.s. Corpl. Lindsay
said. 'The next morning we counted
rs dead Japs on the ground which
our machine guns covered"
Pvt. Mays, tall redheaded
youngster, came ashore in one of
the first assault waves at H hour
plus IL minutes. He did most of his
fighting in the jagged, precipitous
coral hills and in the caves.
THE -throwers flushed five
Japs from one cave and we opened
up on them as they came running
out. Five others in the cave were
burned to a crisp" he said.
1t. OLaughlin, former Gonzaga
High School trackman and graduate
of Notre Dame University in 1912,
was in command of a platoon of
me-throwers, bazookamen and
demolitionists, whose job it was to
clean out the Jap-infested caves
which pockmarked and honey
combed Peleliu's hills.
When the lieutenant and his men
were fighting in a ravine called
Death Valley. a Jap mortar shell
fell between him and his runner
1t was a dud.
I'VE heard it fired from the Jap
mortar and everybody yelled, Here
comes another one!' When it hit
between us and didn't go off, I
thought it was delayed action. We
got the hell out of there" he said.
Corpl. Picken got two Japs the
first day of battle, was wounded
twice the second and returned to
the fighting on the fourth.
Sergt. Walden, whose first con-
cern always has been his men, met
his first problem Of the Peleliu
battle 80 minutes after it started.
Two scouts had become separated
from his group and were some-
where between the beach and the
airport which is like saying some
where in the South Pacific"
Met Jap Sniper.
| Sergt. Walden set out to find them
and did. But before doing so, he
"had to take care of Jap sniper"
who had other ideas about the
whole thing.
Why the Jap missed him, Sergt
Walden doesn't know, but it was the
Jap's last mistake. Sergt. Walden
tossed hand grenade through an
opening in the sniper's pillbox. A
marine flame -thrower who was ap-
preaching saw what was going on,
moved up and fired in burst of
flame "just to make sure"
Sergt. White landed at H-Hour
plus II minutes, was pinned down
|on the beach by Jap machine gun
fire for one hour. He admits that
was tough" but said the airport
was the worst place to get over.
One day after the fi0htiY,o had