[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 110 (Wednesday, August 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         WORLD WAR II/PELELIEU

                                 ______


                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 10, 1994

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, for the last few weeks, you and most of 
our colleagues have been witnesses to the efforts I have made in order 
to bring attention to a largely neglected aspect of the Second World 
War, the battles of the Pacific. Amid feelings of neglect from 
islanders who suffered during the war and widespread sympathy, support 
and concern among our Nation's veterans, I would like to cite yet 
another example of a World War II battle which will remain not properly 
recognized--Pelelieu.
  Located in the Pacific, southwest of Guam and 500 miles southeast of 
the Philippines, the island of Pelelieu, by any other standard, would 
be considered no more than a puny little dot in our normally complex 
and ever-changing scheme of things. Now a part of the Republic of 
Palau, this beautiful but small island ordinarily would have been 
inhabited by fewer than 600 native Palauans. Nevertheless, more than 
40,000 people were amassed here 50 years ago, struggling in inhumane 
conditions within the island's limited living space, in order to fight 
for control over a Japanese airstrip.
  At the close of the Marianas campaign, a substantial part of the Navy 
set out toward the Palau Islands, a major Japanese naval stronghold. On 
September 15, 1944, Admiral Nimitz struck Pelelieu. The Marines of the 
3d Amphibious Corps met tough resistance from the Japanese defensive 
forces. When the smoke cleared, more than 12,000 soldiers were left 
dead and the once lush islands were reduced to bare limestone. Needless 
to say, American forces eventually took the islands, Imperial Japanese 
command was demolished and the destiny of Palau was changed forever.
  However, the Palauans were still determined to regain their 
birthrights. The strains of occupation and the ravages of war did not 
break their spirit. The survivors were able to recover their culture 
and control of their natural resources during the ensuing years. In 
1947, the islands became part of the U.N. Trust Territory of the 
Pacific Islands under U.S. administration. After two referendums, a 
constitution was adopted in 1981 and elections were held later that 
year. The islands became internally self-governing and a Compact of 
Free Association with the United States was signed in 1982. This 
Compact provided for an option for full independence or an alteration 
of its status with the United States at any time based upon approval of 
such changes through plebiscite.
  As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of World War II in Palau, an 
international conference will record, for Palauans and for the world, 
the historical, political economic, environmental, educational, and 
cultural effects of the Second World War in Palau and the Pacific. 
Presenters will include Palauan war survivors, local planning experts, 
and international scholars. The conference will be held in Koror, Palau 
from the 6th through the 9th of this coming September. The National 
Museum of Palau should be congratulated for sponsoring this combination 
of scholarship and commemoration of a great historical drama.
  The Palauan Islands are now the last Trust Territory in the world and 
they are scheduled to become a fully independent nation in free 
association with the United States this coming October first; that is a 
fitting testimony to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of World 
War II in Palau.

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