Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II.
Beliliou was traditionally divided into five villages. Teliu is located on the southwest coast bordered on the north by Ngerkeiukl on the west coast, Ngesias in the central portion of the island, and Ngerdelolk on the east coast. Ngerchol occupies the northern part of the island on the west side of Bloody Nose Ridge. Most of the surface remains of the traditional villages have been obliterated. However, the locations of the villages and the locations of features within the villages, including odesongel, are known and preserved in the oral tradition. These traditional features are important symbols giving identity to families, clans and regions.[2]
The lagoon and adjacent rock islands are important resource areas, and probably were intensively exploited prehistorically. Important resources include many different species of trees and other plants and many different species of fish and shellfish. On the islands, traditional gardens would have been located in areas where sufficient soil had accumulated in low lying pockets and marshes.[2]
First sighting of Peleliu, Babeldaob, and Koror recorded by Westerners was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos at the end of January 1543. They were then charted as Los Arrecifes ("The Reefs" in Spanish).[3] In November and December 1710 these three islands were again visited and explored by the Spanish missionary expedition commanded by Sargento Mayor Francisco Padilla on board of the patacheSantísima Trinidad. Two years later they were explored in detail by the expedition of Spanish naval officer Bernardo de Egoy.[4] Following its defeat in the Spanish–American War, Spain sold Palau (including Peleliu) to Germany in 1899. Control passed to Japan in 1914.
During World War II, the Battle of Peleliu was a major battle between units of the United States Marine Corps and United States Army against the Imperial Japanese Army in 1944. The battle for the island was particularly brutal because by this time the Japanese military had evolved island defense tactics with strong fortifications in the island's caves and rock formations within the Umurbrogol Mountains (Bloody Nose Ridge), which enabled a defense in depth which maximized casualties on the attacking force. On both sides involved in the fighting there were high losses with more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese killed, but, remarkably, there were no casualties among the local civilians because they were evacuated from the fighting to other islands of Palau.
The ruins of many of the military installations of the era, such as the airstrip, are still intact, and shipwrecks from the battle remain visible underwater just off the coast. There are war memorials on the island to both the American and the Japanese dead. Peleliu and Angaur were the only islands in the Palau archipelago to be occupied by the Americans during the war. The capital of Koror remained in Japanese hands to the end of the war.
Peleliu was formally placed under the control of the United States under United Nations auspices in 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1947, two and a half years after Japanese surrender, there were over 30 Japanese still hiding in caves, believing the war was not over. The Americans sent a senior Japanese military official into the caves and convinced them to surrender. The last Japanese survivor, Keiji Nagai, died in 2019.[5]
Palau became independent in 1978, and Peleliu was organized as a state within the new republic. In August 2014, Peleliu hosted the "leader's retreat" at the 45th Pacific Islands Forum, featuring representatives from the forum's 15 member states.[6]
Geography
Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum
Peleliu is approximately 10 kilometres (5.4nmi) northeast of the island of Angaur and 40 kilometres (22nmi) southwest of the island of Koror. The state of Beliliou includes the islands of Beliliou, Ngedbus, Olngeuaol, Ngercheu, Belualasmau, Ruruid, Ngebad, Ngurungor, Ngesuall, and several islets. The total area for the state is approximately 19.52km2 (7.54sqmi). Beliliou Island, like Angaur, is a raised platform coralline island with an area of 16.98km2 (6.56sqmi). Located at the southern tip of the lagoon which encircles the main group of islands, Beliliou is surrounded by a thick fringe of mangrove forest comprising more than a quarter of its total area. On the island's west side is a steep spine named Bloody Nose Ridge during the Battle for Peleliu in World War II - rising to an elevation of 75 metres (246ft). A second raised area, Rois ra Sang and Roischemiangel, rises to elevations of just over 50 m at the northern tip of the island. The rest of the island generally lies below 10 metres (33ft) in elevation. Along this ridge, jagged spires of coralline limestone jut skyward in a tangled maze.[2]
Much of Beliliou is covered by a limestone island forest with stands of Casuarina forest along sandy beach berms. With the exception of Ngercheu, the rest of the islands in the state are low, flat islands with large areas of sandy deposits covered by coconut or Casuarina forests. Ngercheu, located in the northern part of the state, has a typical rock island profile with steep cliffs of uplifted reef covered by a rock island forest.[2]
The geography of Beliliou has been dramatically reshaped by the events of World War II. In preparation for the anticipated American invasion, the Japanese defenders transformed Beliliou into a defensive fortress. The build up, which was underway by 1943, began with the evacuation of Palauans from Beliliou to Babeldaob. As many as 10,000 Japanese defenders dug into the natural caves and fissures of the coralline limestone formations, reinforcing these positions with concrete bunkers. So well established were the Japanese defenders that they withstood a massive naval bombardment and met the American invasion force at nearly full strength on September 5, 1944. The Battle of Peleliu, which proved in hindsight to be a costly miscalculation by the Americans, dragged on for weeks of bitter fighting at a terrible cost of lives.[2]
Most of the land use in Beliliou today is for private gardens located in and around residential areas. There are no commercial enterprises active today, and municipal use is limited to a few small facilities. A large coconut plantation is on Ngedbus Island.[2]
Demography
The population of the state was 484 in the 2015 census and median age was 34.5 years.[7] The official languages of the state are Palauan and English.[8]
In June 1972, the resident population was 843.[9]As of 2000[update], its population was about 571, making it the third most populous state of Palau.[10] Most of the island's population lives in the village of Kloulklubed which is the state capital on the northwestern coast. Including the capital, there are a total of four villages:
As at Angaur, phosphate mining in the Bloody Nose Ridge area of Beliliou began during the German administration and continued into the Japanese administration. The phosphate was loaded onto ships at a small harbor facility located at the northern tip of the island.[2]
Peleliu has its own constitution, adopted in 1982.[13] The state government was established in 1983. The state of Peleliu has an elected chief executive with a 3-year term length, known as the governor. The state also has a legislature elected every three years.[14] The state population elects one of the members of the House of Delegates of Palau. Obak is the title of the traditional high chief from the state.[15]
Transport
Peleliu Airfield, created by the Japanese in World War II, has the longest and widest runway in Palau (1,850 metres (6,070ft)), but was used only by small chartered aircraft after Palau's domestic flights were discontinued in late 2005. The landing strip was built during the Japanese era and originally consisted of a 6,600-foot runway oriented SW to NE with a smaller perpendicular runway intersecting the main run way about 2,200 feet from the SW. Additional taxiways connected the runways to airport facilities located to the north of the runways. The landing strips were unimproved, but still served for the daily flight from the Airai airport by a single engine plane. A third landing strip was built on Ngedbus Island, just north of Beliliou, during the Japanese administration. It was abandoned after the Battle of Peleliu and today is overgrown with a coconut plantation.[2] In any event, in mid-2024 after months of work, U.S. Marine engineers reactivated the Peleliu airfield to enhance US military capability in the Pacific region.[16]
A regular boat service connects the island twice a week to Koror and Angaur. Travel time by boat from Koror is over an hour. The small harbor in the far north of the island is shallow and suitable only for yachts with shallow draft.
The main road lies on the west side of Bloody Nose Ridge and extends from Kloulklubed to the landing strip. Secondary roads extend to all parts of the island.
Peleliu Elementary School opened in 1946, and had its second building open in 1966, with the first still in use.[19]
Palau High School in Koror is the country's only public high school, so children from this community go there.[20]
Related Research Articles
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the US military, was fought between the United States and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from 15 September to 27 November 1944, on the island of Peleliu.
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Palau was initially settled around 1000 BC.
The Republic of Palau consists of eight principal islands and more than 250 smaller ones lying roughly 500 miles southeast of the Philippines, in Oceania. The islands of Palau constitute the westernmost part of the Caroline Islands chain. The country includes the World War II battleground of Peleliu and world-famous rock islands. The total land area is 459 km2 (177 sq mi). It has the 42nd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 603,978 km2 (233,197 sq mi).
Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island. It is Palau’s most populous state.
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Campaign Plan Granite II, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific Ocean between June and November 1944 during the Pacific War. The campaign consisted of Operation Forager, which captured the Mariana Islands, and Operation Statemate, which captured Palau. Operation Causeway, the invasion of Taiwan was also planned but not executed. The offensive, under the overall command of Chester W. Nimitz, followed the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and was intended to neutralize Japanese bases in the central Pacific, support the Allied drive to retake the Philippines, and provide bases for a strategic bombing campaign against Japan.
Angaur, or Ngeaur in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau.
Babeldaob is the largest island in the island nation of the Republic of Palau. It is in the western Caroline Islands, and the second largest island in the Micronesia region of Oceania. Palau's capital, Ngerulmud, is located on Babeldaob, in Melekeok State.
The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a collection of several hundred small limestone or coral uprises in the Southern Lagoon of Palau between Koror and Peleliu, now an incorporated part of Koror State. There are between 250 and 300 islands in the group according to different sources, with an aggregate area of 42 square kilometers (16 sq mi) and a maximum height of 207 meters (679 ft). The islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
The Southwest Islands of Palau are several small islands spread across the Pacific Ocean about 600 km from the main island chain of Palau. They make up the Palauan states of Sonsorol and Hatohobei. The nearshore islands to the southwest of the main island of Palau (Babeldaob), which belong to the states of Koror, Peleliu and Angaur and the unincorporated Rock Islands, are not considered part of the Southwest Islands.
Aimeliik is an administrative division of the island country of Palau. It is one of the Republic of Palau's 16 states. It has an area of 52 km2 and a population of 334. The state capital is the village of Mongami. The four other villages are Medorm, Imul, Elechui and Ngmechiangel.
Ngaraard is one of the 16 states of the Republic of Palau, and was originally named Kerradel.
Kayangel (Ngcheangel) is the northernmost state of Palau 86 km (53 mi) north of Koror. The land area is about 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi). The population is 54. There is one hamlet in the state - Orukei, which is also its capital. In 2020, Richard Ngiraked was elected governor of the state.
Tobi, or Hatohobei (Tobian), is the southernmost of Palau's sixteen states, consisting of Tobi Island and Helen Reef. The total land area is about 0.88 km². The population was 25 in 2015. Tobian, English, and Sonsorolese are the official languages of Hatohobei State.
Ioueldaob is a region in the Republic of Palau located south of the island of Babeldaob. It includes the islands within the State of Koror, the states of Peleliu and Angaur. It is a traditional division between the northern and the southern islands. Ioueldaob literally means "lower sea", while Babeldaob means "upper sea".
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Republic of Palau.
There is a small Japanese community in the Pacific Island country of Palau, which mainly consists of Japanese expatriates residing in Palau over a long-term basis. A few Japanese expatriates started to reside in Palau after it gained independence in 1994, and established long-term businesses in the country. Japanese settlement in Palau dates back to the early 19th century, although large scale Japanese migration to Palau did not occur until the 1920s, when Palau came under Japanese rule and administered as part of the South Seas Mandate. Japanese settlers took on leading administrative roles in the Japanese colonial government, and developed Palau's economy. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, virtually all of the Japanese population was repatriated back to Japan, although people of mixed Japanese-Palauan descent were allowed to remain behind. People of Japanese-Palauan descent constitute a large minority of Palau's population as a result of substantial intermarriage between the Japanese settlers and Palauans. They generally identify with, conforming to cultural norms and daily lives with the Palauans.
The effects of Typhoon Bopha in the Caroline Islands were significant, though limited in extent in comparison to the cyclone's intensity. Typhoon Bopha originated from a tropical depression south of Pohnpei on November 25, 2012, and tracked generally westward for more than a week. During this time, it threatened several islands across Micronesia, prompting the issuance of typhoon watches and warnings. The system skirted the Nomoi Islands on November 28 where it caused limited damage. Thereafter, it became a threat to Palau as an intense typhoon. Residents there boarded up their homes and some evacuated to public shelters while officials enacted a strict curfew during the typhoon's passage. Bopha passed 55 km (34 mi) south of Angaur island, or 100 km (62 mi) south of Babeldaob, on December 2 with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph).
The Palau tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Micronesia. It encompasses the nation of Palau.
Peleliu Naval Base was a major United States Navy sea and airbase base on Peleliu island, one of sixteen states of Palau. The United States Marine Corps took the island in the Battle of Peleliu during World War II. Battle of Peleliu was a costly conflict that started September 15, 1944, and ended November 27, 1944. On September 30, 1944, Peleliu is declared occupied. The taking of Peleliu and Morotai gave the sea and air protection needed for the later invasion of the Philippines. US Navy Seabee built a number of facilities at Peleliu Naval Base.
↑ Patterson, Carolyn Bennett, et al. "At the Birth of Nations: In the Far Pacific." National Geographic Magazine, October 1986 page 493. National Geographic Virtual Library, Accessed 17 May 2018. "An example is Peleliu, the tragic island where more than 13,000 Americans and Japanese died during less than three months of fighting, often hand to hand, in the autumn of 1944. Pat and I went to Peleliu from Koror, the republic's capital, by speedboat, a wave-tossing, rear-slapping 45minutes, and arrived to discover it was election day, with five candidates running for governor. Although Peleliu claims a population of 2,000 people, only 400 actually live there. More registered voters live in Koror than on their home island, and 800 send votes from Guam. The situation is similar in Palau's other states."
↑ "Peleliu". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
This article incorporates public domain material from Snyder, David; Adams, William Hampton; Butler, Brian M. (1997). Archaeology and historic preservation in Palau. Anthropology research series / Division of Cultural Affairs, Republic of Palau 2. San Francisco: U.S. National Park Service.
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