Marines make first landing on renovated WWII airfield in the Pacific

By Todd South Jun 26, 2024, 06:01 AM

A Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft with 1st Marine Air Wing, lands on a newly designated airstrip on the island of Peleliu, Republic of Palau, June 22. (Lance Cpl. Hannah Hollerud/Marine Corps)

The Marines recently landed their first fixed wing aircraft on a recertified airfield on the Pacific island of Peleliu, which jarheads captured after brutal combat in 1944.

The KC-130J Super Hercules tanker with 1st Marine Air Wing landed Saturday, marking the first time the Corps has landed such an aircraft on the installation since the service recertified the airfield in early June, according to a Marine Corps press release.

The Marine Corps Engineer Detachment Palau, MCED-P 24.1, contains engineers from the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group. The detachment spent the past few months rehabilitating the airfield to accommodate large, fixed-wing aircraft such as the KC-130J.

“I feel privileged because I was in Peleliu in 2021 and saw the airfield transform into what it is now,” said Sgt. Brandon Gonzalez, a combat engineer squad leader who led vegetation removal and assisted with unexploded ordnance sweeping. “It truly is an honor to have been a part of this mission and see it come to fruition with a KC-130 landing.”