War of Attrition
In a 2004 speech to 1st Marine Division veterans, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England drew some interesting comparisons between the Marines’ foes in World War II and today’s conflict in the Middle East:
There is a parallel between 9/11 and the island and battle of Peleliu. By 1944, the Japanese recognized that they could not match American firepower and tactics in the air, on the sea, or in land warfare. Therefore, at Peleliu, they shifted their strategy from a war for victory to a war of attrition. Japanese commanders had orders to seek a ‘stalemate’ in which they would inflict the highest possible cost to Americans in blood and time…
What makes Peleliu so significant is that in the face of this new strategy and warfare, the 1st Marine Division did not hesitate or lose its will. The Marines pressed on until the Japanese were defeated. Despite heavy losses, the Marines would not be deterred.351
The secretary pointed out that he was four years old when America fought the first ‘ism’ of his lifetime: fascism. His granddaughter was four years old on September 11, 2001, when America went to war against terrorism. Once again Marines face foes seeking to spill as much blood as possible. This time the targets are civilians as well as soldiers.
In both these wars, Secretary England asserted that the decisive factor has been and continues to be the courage and sacrifice of American men and women in uniform: The raw courage and determination that prevailed in the caves and jungles of Peleliu continues today in Kandahar, Baghdad, Al Kut, Tikrit, Najaf… and other places where the 1st Marine Division carries on. It’s still about our people… God bless each of you, God bless this magnificent Corps, and God Bless America.352
Our Armed Forces continue to serve us heroically today, and we continue to pray the same prayer expressed by Secretary England: “May God bless our men and women in uniform, and may God always bless America.”
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship.
—Romans 12:1