While Peleliu remains a fixture of Pacific war memory, Morotai is overlooked and virtually forgotten in histories of the Pacific theater.

Underscoring its ferocity, future commandant of the Marine Corps General Clifton Cates argued that “the fight for Peleliu was one of the most vicious and stubbornly defended battles of the war.” 

As 1943 turned to 1944, PT-305 departed New Orleans, and she would not be back for more than six decades. 

World War II was a global conflict involving nearly every country in the world. But who was on each side—and why?

World War II was a global conflict involving nearly every country in the world. But who was on each side—and why?