re: Band of Brothers vs The Pacific

The Battle of Peleliu, which was a savage bloodbath, really didn't need to be fought, in retrospect. The threat from Japanese air power in the Palau Islands really wasn't as great as feared. MacArthur wanted them taken to protect his flank during the invasion of the Philippines, but the Palau Islands probably could have been bypassed and isolated to "wither on the vine" so to speak.