Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise

In 1944, near the end of the Pacific War, on the southern island of Peleliu, there was a 21-year-old Japanese soldier named Tamaru. Tamaru, an aspiring cartoonist, was assigned a special duty because of his talent. His job was to serve as a “Commendations Officer”, tasked with writing letters to the bereaved families describing the final, heroic moments of their deceased comrades. Tamaru fabricated beautiful tales of his comrades' deaths, sometimes mixing in lies, unsure of what was right. His support came from Yoshiki, a reliable private first class who was his contemporary. The two encouraged each other, shared their struggles, and developed a special bond. Only 34 Japanese soldiers survived until the end. What did the two young soldiers, Tamaru and Yoshiki, who desperately tried to survive in this harsh and cruel world, witness on that mad battlefield? 

The US attack on Peleliu Island began on September 15. Over 40,000 elite US troops attacked the island, which was defended by 10,000 Japanese soldiers. The Japanese military was gradually cornered, even forbidden from carrying out a suicide attack, and were forced into a protracted war of attrition, exhausted and barely holding on to buy time.