Bloody Nose Ridge

The chain of jagged limestone ridges in the middle of the island where the heaviest fighting took place. The American memorial sits at the top of one of the highest points, with a steep concrete staircase climbing through the jungle to a viewing platform with sweeping views over the airfield, the lagoon, and the surrounding islets.

The ridge is honeycombed with Japanese cave defences, many of them still partly accessible. Don't go off the marked paths — there is unexploded ordnance throughout. Allow an hour for the climb and the memorial.

things to do sight
A story
Marine planners expected Peleliu to fall in three days. The Japanese garrison, dug into the coral caves of the Umurbrogol — what the Marines named Bloody Nose Ridge — held out for two and a half months. The 1st Marine Division took 6,500 casualties, more than half its strength, and was effectively destroyed as a fighting force. Naval historians now consider the entire battle to have been strategically unnecessary.