THE TEARS OF PELELIU

Where The Thin Red Line leaves off, The Tears of Peleliu picks up some fifty years later, as it follows five American WWII veterans as they meet their former Japanese adversaries on the bloodiest battlefield in the history of warfare. The residents of Peleliu, a tiny island in the South Pacific, regard with some trepidation the return of the men who destroyed their island. The American veterans reminisce about their youthful combat experiences and reawaken their most horrific nightmares in an attempt to purge them, while the aging Japanese veterans reclaim the bones of their commanding officer who committed suicide after the battle was lost, the ultimate indignity for the Japanese soldier. This moving and insightful documentary reveals how the war was experienced by both the combatants and observers, and how some of them have changed while others continue to live in the past.

Directed by Greg DeHart
1995, 54 minutes
Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125

"The poignant comments from all parties will bring home the gravity of war. The video can be used in secondary classes in American history."-School Library Journal

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