Sledge and his division take a LST (landing ship, tank) to the beach at Peleliu. The initial landing is uneventful and the men are told to prepare their weapons and be ready for attack. The men prepare their combat packs and exit the ship. Sledge decides to stick close by a fellow mortarman and veteran, a friend nicknamed Snafu.

Once he is out on the beach, the magnitude of being in war fully dawns on Sledge. He worries about being sick with fear and refuses the whisky the men begin passing around. The soldiers immediately come under heavy fire. Sledge witnesses death close at hand for the first time and also sees men get “million dollar wounds,” ones that will get them sent back home to the States. As Sledge and Company K Division gradually move inland, they encounter many Japanese corpses, which they promptly strip of rifles. The weather is oppressively hot and the men are told to take only small sips of the little tepid water they have at the ready. They endure with the help of salt tablets.

Snafu and Sledge set up their 60mm mortar and participate in heavy fire. The constant shelling rattles the nerves of all of the men who wait out each explosion.