Purgatory on Peleliu. There are no living US survivors of this horrific and arguably futile battle, raging today in 1944. 1,794 Americans killed and 8,010 wounded in a 73 day battle. Of the 10,900 Japanese defenders, 10,695 were confirmed killed in action. Think about that.…The Americans captured just 202 men, mostly laborers. A chilling foretaste of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.