During the Battle of Peleliu Island in the Pacific War, the Japanese garrison tried to destroy the American forces at the water's edge, and two American Marines who finally reached the shade of a tree were also shot dead by the Japanese.

    During the Battle of Peleliu in the Pacific War, the Japanese garrison aimed to destroy the American forces on the Orange Coast at the water's edge. In order to destroy the American forces at the water's edge, the Japanese were ordered to bomb the area as close as possible. These two Marines were also shot dead by Japanese snipers at the point where they finally reached the shade of the trees. The American soldier, hiding behind a palm tree, lifted his pistol with both hands and struggled to aim. One after another, Japanese soldiers charged the beach, knocking them down one by one. On the beach, a battle of combat ensued between friend and foe. Without time to take aim with light machine guns and rifles, friend and foe alike simply pulled the trigger.

　The U.S. forces landed on Peleliu Island at 8:00 a.m. on September 15, 1944. American soldiers, supported by naval gunfire, landing craft and amphibious tanks, came up the beach. When the U.S. Marines reached the beach, they were met with an unexpectedly fierce counterattack by the Japanese. The only amphibious tanks were set aflame, and they had no choice but to hide behind landing craft that had come up on the beach.

　Not only did they shoot at each other at close range, but they also threw grenades at each other. Although they landed on the beach, heavy Japanese fire made it difficult for them to advance. Artillery bombardment knocked down all the palm trees, and the enemy lines were unknown, so it became a kill-or-be-killed hand-to-hand combat, and they fired as long as the bullets lasted.

　The first line of the U.S. front line was littered with black soldiers, many of whom had been killed in action. As a squall peculiar to the South Seas passed over Peleliu Island, the coastline was washed away by the thick smoke of gunpowder and the foul smell of gunpowder, and the bodies of both friend and foe were piled up, burned by the sun and washed away by the white waves. The number of corpses was clearly greater than that of the camouflaged American soldiers. In the first landing operation on Peleliu Island, the U.S. forces lost about 60 landing craft, three Sherman tanks, and 26 amphibious tanks, and suffered more than 1,000 casualties, forcing a temporary retreat after 8:00 am.

　Built of concrete or coral reefs, Japanese air defense shelters and gun emplacements were located all along the coast, and mines and landmines were laid in tight rows both on the sea and on land. The crossed roads were heavily defended with anti-tank guns and automatic weapons. Suddenly, the soldier beside me stopped moving, and the soldier who had been talking not long before no longer knew who was who. The attack on Peleliu Island became a total hellish battle, as the soldiers had to bury their heads in the sand, keep their feet high and their heads low to avoid the balls of the enemy.

　The battle for Peleliu Island was so fierce that after the U.S. forces captured Peleliu Island, they named the western shore (West Beach) of the landing point Orange Beach. The reason for this was that the blood of the soldiers on both sides had turned the white coral beach orange. Orange Beach has now become the official name of Peleliu Island. The Peleliu operation ended on November 27, although the U.S. military publicly stated that it would be over in three days. The U.S. forces lost approximately 2,236 killed, 8,450 wounded, and 2,500 sick in action, while the Japanese forces lost approximately 10,022 killed and 446 wounded in action.