The peaceful, green landscape and waterfall setup of the yard at Vernon Mullins' Belen home bears at least a little resemblance to Peleliu, an island within the nation of Palau near the Philippines.

The tranquility found in Mullins' yard, however, is not how he would remember Peleliu the way he was first introduced to the island. As a member of the 3rd Armored Amphibious Battalion of the U.S. Marines, Mullins was part of one of World War II's most deadly battles at Peleliu in 1944.

"Our battalion's job was to move in and set up the artillery," said Mullins. "And there's sure a lot of Japanese guns buried in the cliffs on that island."

Today, Mullins, 83, is able to enjoy the part of his life in which he is retired and trying to catch up with his four children, 11 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

After his time in the Marines, Mullins bounced around New Mexico with his family before starting a career with the state police, followed by a stint as the Catron County sheriff.

Reflecting on his time with the 3rd Amphibious Battalion, it isn't easy for Mullins to talk about some of the horrors of combat.

"There's so much smoke and noise, it's even hard to tell how well things are going, at certain moments," said Mullins. "Even though photographs don't show how gruesome it was, there was so much happening, and a lot of lives were lost, so there were things like the smell of human decay."

So much went into the war effort, Mullins points out. While there was plenty of sentiment against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi efforts in Europe, but what really seemed to spur enlistment, and boys lying about their age to enlist early, was the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

"That really stirred up a hornet's nest," said Mullins, who grew up partly in Roswell and enlisted in the Marines in 1943 at age 18. "I jumped the gun and joined the Marines, because anyone in the regular draft got put in the Army."

Mullins doesn't go into too much detail about the harrowing experiences of the war, but he does talk about the fellow soldiers he knew well, and what part of the country they were from.

In more recent combat, mobile hospitals, helicopter evacuations and better field equipment help keep soldiers alive and minimize injuries to the wounded. But World War II field medics did the best they could, Mullins said.

"My hat goes off to the medics," he said. "No matter what was being fired at us or how many wounded there were, when a guy went down, they came running."

Based in the Russell Islands, the 3rd Battalion was involved in some important operations in the latter part of Pacific campaign, including Okinawa. That's where Mullins thinks he picked up a left-behind photo album he kept ― one with professional photographs that reveal the humanity of the opposing side in the war.

"It's a family album, and the Japanese never seemed to smile," he said. "I've also wanted to trace it back to the family."

When Japan surrendered in the summer of 1945, Mullins said, there was more to the Americans arriving than was seen in the official surrender aboard the USS Missouri.

"When we got there, the Japanese were happy to see us," he said. "Some of them were waving American flags."

After he was discharged from the Marines in March 1946, Mullins went to live with a sister in Bisby, Ariz. He signed a waiver regarding having no major health problems as a result of military service.

"There wasn't a scratch on me," he said. "I guess God must have other plans for me."

In the years to come, Mullins would get into the construction business, meet and marry his wife Mary, and they would move around as they began to raise their four children.

Ending up in Alamogordo, Edgewood and then Lordsburg, Mullins worked at welding repair before joining the New Mexico State Police in 1957.

While many state police officers like to stay in one area, especially if their family is in one community, Mullins bounced around with the NMSP. He was with the force for 28 years, being stationed in such spots as Datil, Grants and Silver City before spending 10 years in Belen before he retired in 1984.

He later was elected Catron County sheriff, overseeing one of the most far-flung and hard-to-patrol regions of the state. While he had few ancestors that served in the military, he seems to have started some traditions. Two of his sons and several grandchildren have joined the service, and four nephews joined the state police.

Mullins has private health insurance, and has never sought Veteran's Administration benefits.

"I have some hearing loss, but that's not necessarily from the war, and I'm basically in good health," he said. "There were so many chain saws and firing ranges through the years, it could have been any number of things. I'm a veteran because I chose to be. Let the benefits go to the guys who really need it."

Mullins credits the civilian side of the World War II effort that kept troops supplied and helped the U.S. succeed. He said unity is important in supporting the efforts of the military.

"At some point, we have to let ourselves be governed," he said.

Mullins' son, Gill, served in Vietnam and is the commander of the Belen Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter. The elder Mullins said he doesn't participate in many VFW activities, but "I really should."

He said both the U.S. military and the world in general have learned basic and important lessons from World War II.

"The military has so much more technology to keep soldiers in touch with their families now, and they've learned that all that iron hand stuff isn't all it takes to make a good soldier," he said. "And we've looked harder for ways to settle differences without war."