Our Goals

When we created this site, our main goal was to learn more about Michael and Peleliu. Many veterans have been willing to share their memories of Peleliu with us. These memories are very valuable to us. With their permission, we have posted those memories in the Veterans Remember portion of our site.

Going forward, we have the following goals:

(1) Find Someone Who Knew Michael A. Lazaro
We've met many wonderful veterans during our research, but we still haven't met a veteran who was a buddy to Michael Lazaro and can tell us what it was like to serve with Michael.

(2) Understand Why Michael's Body Was Not Recovered
According to an eyewitness statement that was included with the death certificate, when the phosphorous grenade exploded on Michael's belt, he ran for 10 yards then fell to the ground. The eyewitness did not see him move after that, and later heard that Michael had died. According to the Muster Roll, Michael was listed as Missing in Action with the following remarks: "while on patrol, was shot by snipers bullet which exploded a phosphorous grenade attached to his belt.When last seen his clothes were aflame. He was seen to fall into a chasm. Statement of witnesses does not definitely establish death." However, the same Muster Roll later notes that Michael was killed in action but "due to battle conditions the body was not recovered. Death has been definitely established beyond reasonable doubt by statements of witnesses."

Our goal is to learn more about the details around Michael's death. We can find no account that his body was recovered, but the family has one dog tag, implying that someone was able to reach the body and remove the tag.

(3) Preserve the Memories
Many veterans have been kind enough to share their own memories of Peleliu. It is very important to us to record these rich recollections of the surviving veterans to ensure that Peleliu does not become a forgotten battle.

(4) Landmark Status
Participate in the effort to protect the boundaries of the Peleliu Battlefield National Historic Landmark.