After 80 Years of Dormancy, US Reopening Pacific Airfields Last Operational in WWII
By Jared Harris September 1, 2024 at 12:00pm
Airfields that played a pivotal yet fleeting part of America’s campaign against the Japanese Empire in World War II are now being refitted for service as the Pacific is potentially set to become a theater of war in the world’s next big conflict.
Airstrips on the islands of Peleliu and Tinian are being reconditioned for modern use after decades of dormancy. Major steps have been taken in the last few months to make these islands ready for military aircraft, according to France24.
The plans were first announced in April as part of the military’s growing focus on the Pacific region.
The airfield on Peleliu was originally a Japanese construction.
Imperial forces on the tiny island numbered some 10,000 before the American amphibious invasion in 1944, according to Task and Purpose. To dislodge them, 50,000 American Marines and Army soldiers threw themselves against the entrenched enemy, resulting in one-third of the force dead or injured.
This was one of the costliest amphibious assaults of the war in the Pacific.
Cameras were rolling as U.S. forces worked the island over with heavy bombardments and landed men ashore.
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The island airstrip provided air coverage and served as a vital link in the island chain strangling the empire. Eventually, the progression of the war rendered the airfield virtually useless, and it was soon overtaken by nature.
On June 22, after months of hard work, the U.S. military marked a “triumphant return” to the island by landing a C-130 on the resurfaced runway.
“For the first time since its recertification in June, a military fixed-wing aircraft has touched down on the historic Peleliu airstrip, marking a significant and triumphant return to this iconic World War II site, on June 22, 2024,” the Marine Corps announced in June.
The USMC called the mission to make the runway operational a “critical” part of the military’s positioning in the Indo-Pacific region.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command shared photos of America’s return to this historic airfield, hinting at what is to come as the Pacific becomes more militarized.
https://www.westernjournal.com/80-y...ning-pacific-airfields-last-operational-wwii/
