I had an Uncle (well, father's cousin) who was one of the guys who went through Cape Glouster, Bouganville, ect only to die on Peliliu. He was 21 (I think) and had been out there for a year an a half before his death, so he was no rookie. Made it to the second day and then disappeared. Nobody knew what really happened to him (I asked a guy who was in his squad about 12 years ago and he said he remembered talking to him on the evening of the second day but his memory was sketchy). Family lore has it (and they got this from other guys who were with him) that he went out on patrol with 5 other guys and never came back. Orders were to come back the same way he went out and everybody knew the Japanese would be waiting. They found one of the guys from the patrol some time later but nobody knew which of the guys he was.
After the war, his remains were sent home.At least what was claimed to be his remains. Nobody knows if there were any remains in the casket or just some sand bags. Nobody checked and I think, but am not sure, that the casket was sealed. Another Uncle was at the funeral and told me that the guys who showed up at the funeral that were from his unit were all screwed up. Missing fingers, arms and legs or in wheel chair/crutches. They'd really taken a pounding. And those were the ones that survived as the same bunch that went through Peliliu later went to Okinawa.
He was an demolitions guy and was attached to Company K. The same Company K that attacked The Point. I read a book written by the CO of that Company about ten years back and the author had named him as one of the guys in the unit and mentions him in the fighting. I think the name of the book was "A Blood Stained Tide".