Liberation armada poised for landings on Peleliu. Landing craft and amphibious tanks gather for the assault on Peleliu.

Liberation armada poised for landings on Peleliu. Landing craft and amphibious tanks gather for the assault on Peleliu. Covering warships in the background pounded the island before the landings on September 14, 1944, causing smoke to rise (left) from Japanese installations. Despite pockets of Japanese resistance, U.S. forces by October 2 had control of Peleliu and eight other islands which flank the southeastern Philippines, 530 miles (848 km.) to the west.