I thought you knew this...

MacArthur determined the strategic necessity of taking the airfields at Peleliu in support of his planned invasion of the Philippines. two things went south immediately following.

1) Any vestige of Japanese air power was destroyed in what was later coined the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. The airfields at Peleliu were never needed for bomber support.

2) The Japanese air threat on the island never represented the danger to the US Navy as MacArthur feared.

There is no doubt, Peleliu is a classic example of wasted effort. It could have been bypassed like Truk and left to "die on the vine."

Sad, tragic, the war is full of stories like it, but true. Are Spielberg and Hanks at fault for pointing this out? Absolutely not.