My Thoughts regarding Peleliu...

How do experienced leaders help the soldiers cope with such an overwhelming experience?

   I'd say that the leaders that were in Peleliu were very strong and courageous. They did what they could to get their soldiers to stay strong despite what happened while fighting. When they weren't fighting and just chilling out in their tents, they just tried to keep them company. They would talk about each others' lives back in their hometown so the thoughts of the war wouldn't freak them out. While in combat though, all they could really do was give them orders and make sure that they listened. If one of the fellow soldiers died, the leaders would have to make sure that the rest of the soldiers kept moving on and wouldn't worry about what happened.
   I think what's helping them get through with their experience in the war is the whole idea of "forgive and forget". Many of the men would just have to put whatever happened in their past and keep going. Othewise if they were to keep thinking about the more terrifying moments of the war, they could easily just break down and go crazy.
   I'm reading a book called The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien in my American Studies class and a lot of what these soldiers went through is obviously similar to what these guys went through in Peleliu. The book talks about the Vietnam War though. But both wars did have their similarities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Things_They_Carried
  
   Anyways, about the book, the author writes about his experiences in the war and how they all had to cope with it. He basically said that they were all like actors. They had to put on this fake character and act all tough, when really they were scared out of their minds.!
   I don't blame the people who went through this (and all the other wars).! I'm sure it was hard to get your mind off of the terrible things and memories of the war. I'm sure, though, that especially as the leader of your group of soldiers, it has to be really hard to see all of the men with such serious faces and freaking out because they just witnessed some messed up stuff. Leaders just have to really be strong for themselves and for the other troops to show them that they can make it, and not to worry about it so much or else it'll mess you up mentally, emotionally, and psychologically.