Palau burns under U.S. attack.

Palau burns under U.S. attack. Smoke rises (background) from burning Japanese installations on the Palau Islands, as American carrier-based planes attack the enemy stronghold in the Western Carolines of the Central Pacific. During a three-day assault on Japanese bases in the Carolines, late in March, 1944, sea and air units of a U.S. Navy task force sank 28 Japanese ships, damaged 18 others, destroyed 160 enemy aircraft and probably wrecked another 54 planes. The Americans lost 18 men and 25 planes.