I've toured the caves in Okinawa (they are a battle sight tour). The Japanese high command on the island were committing suicide as the Marines advanced. The Japanese command committing suicide did so by pulling the pin on the grenades and holding it against their heads. The marks, shrapnel, and some bloodstains are still on the walls in the rooms of those caves today.
I've been there. The carnage was unimaginable. I am amazed anyone Japanese or American survived Okinawa. My first navy ship use to pick up Marines there every time we deployed.
According to Burgin’s Memoir, the company never identified who shoveled that marine to death. They kept it all hush and took the truth with them to the grave. It was a terrible situation with little to no good options at the time. What a tragedy.
@@andreraymond6860 Nope, Hacksaw Ridge - Maeda Escarpment - is on the southern end of Okinawa. What's also amazing is how small it is. From the famous cliff face to the back of the escarpment is only 150-200m. Somewhere between 4000 and 8000 soldiers died fighting over that tiny strip of elevation.
I always thought 9:00 was one of the most disturbing and powerful moments in the series that goes unnoticed. The audio is haunting. Her reaction shows that here
Omg this is the one I’ve been waiting for! I actually just got through this part in Sledges book, which makes this show look tame by comparison. I’m an Afghanistan veteran and I get a bit queezy reading it.
Some of the things I heard from Dan Carlin "Super Nova In The East" took me on the wildest emotional roller coaster ride of my life. Especially what happened to the civilians in the Pacific it was just awful. Dan quoted Sledgehammer book several times to give a verbal description with what stage he was on covering the Pacific campaign.
Oh man your teacher must have been awesome. What episodes did y'all watch? Im sure the school limited what episodes y'all saw due to the graphic content.
coming from someone in the infantry, that moment when the guys who have been in longer than you bless you with your nickname, it's a different type of feeling and pride. because most new guys just want to prove themselves to the guys that have been in and seen the things they have. that's why when you see Eugene, he has that smile when they call him Eugene
If I'm not mistaken the the explosion that injures Leckie was a Naval shell fires buy the US warships falling short of the airfield, hence the different sound as it falls and the massive concussive force that injured Leckie despite him being away from the main explosion. It was a terrible thing to happen but sadly not as rare as we like to hope.
The shockwave of a large shell blast could kill just as easy as the explosion or shrapnel itself - many soldiers were found dead without a scratch on them - the shockwave either stopped their heart or caused internal organ damage, similar to what happened to Leckie.
It’s gratifying to an old man like myself to see young people see appreciate and respect what these heroic men endure for their country and your future freedom isn’t free!
One of the biggest issues the Marines on Peleliu was the lack of water. Temperatures during the day were in triple digits and there was virtually no fresh water on the island. The operational planners tried to fix this by filling up 55 gallon oil drums with water. This obviously caused a lot of Marines to get sick because they didn't thoroughly clean the oil out of the barrels before filling them up. And the scene with Leckie on the hospital ship at the end reminds me of a anecdote I read about it where a sailor was asking if anybody had souveniers to trade for. One marine looked at him and said, "I brought my ass out of there swabie. That's my souvenier of Peleliu."
So interesting fact - the oil drums that Eugene was scrubbing were being scrubbed in an attempt to allow them to carry water for this battle. Unfortunately there was no scrubbing it all out and the water was toxic.
its commendable that you two are continuing this, its really tough to watch, and knowing how emotionally sensitive you are, even if its just a show, i see strength
Sidney lied to Eugene's mother so she would ne less worried. 60mm mortar men were part of an infantry unit and right up there on the front lines. Notice the look Eugene's father gives Sidney to him, thank you, for lying so his wife would worry less.
Bob Leckie had a blast injury. Blast injury is caused by the blast wave of the explosion, which is a wave of compressed gas moving faster than the speed of sound. A big enough blast wave can destroy buildings. He wasn't hit by shrapnel, nor did he really hit anything hard enough to damage him, the blast wave did it all.
@@jamesbirch4400 You got that right. On my first ship in the Navy I was stationed in Sasebo Japan. It was an amphib, we use to pick up Marines from Okinawa. In an area now called White Beach, which I later found out was the scene of some of the most extreme parts of that battle. This was 92 - 95. You could still see a lot of heavy damage from the battle. I was literally shocked anything or anyone on either said was able to survive. If it looked that bad during 92 - 95 imagine in 1945. OMFG I'm shocked anyone Japanese or American survived that. And those that did, had to have severe mental issues the rest of their lives.
Eugene’s transformation into Sledge is both endearing because he’s building a bond with Snafu, but also heartbreaking because he’s losing that childlike innocence that we saw from him at the beginning of the show. The last episode will deal with that a lot, and it’s also what really sells The Pacific for me.
We won’t see Hacksaw Ridge in particular in this series, but Okinawa does come up. The caves in Peleliu were different, it was really the first time the Marines had to face it. Even after all of the fighting done in WWII, the Marines still refer to it as the “Bitterest battle of the Pacific.” It pretty much set the tone for subsequent battles in the Pacific.
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa. The Japanese dugout caves and tunnels like gophers. They did so on every defensive position they could throughout the Pacific.
Peleliu was one of the first Pacific campaigns that the Japanese switched from Bansai charges to defense-in-depth - many of the Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester veterans were thrown off by the change in tactic, and many more US troops died as a result.
Both of my parents volunteered after Pearl harbor and served during WW2. My father was in the navy and served In Pacific. my mother was a clerk in the army and served In North Africa and Italy.
The war in Europe involved armies with millions of men but the war in the Pacific was mostly on a smaller scale- but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in the ferocity and brutality of the combat.
Not hating, but marines in other countries, who actually deal with water, still call themself soldiers. I guess for you guys it's the whole "different armed branches" in the U.S, and wanting to separate themself from army etc, no?
@ Navitus, quite honestly, the Corps is a cult. Anyone who thinks differenty just does not get it. After serving I can say I hate the Corps. I do love the Marines though. If you are confused don't worry. We are all screwed up too.
The Japanese always used their cave system for defense of these islands when they could. The cave and tunnel systems they used on Iwo Jima were the most complex during the war and the Japanese used them to devastating affect on the Marine on Iwo
Talking about Gunny Haney, I feel this quote is perfect: “They were first sergeants yanked off "planks" in navy yards, sergeants from recruiting duty, gunnery sergeants who had fought in France, perennial privates with disciplinary records a yard long. These were the professionals of that oldest profession of Men, War. Many had fought “The Cocoas" in Haiti, Banditos in Nicaragua, and French, English, Italian, and American soldiers and sailors in every bar in Shanghai, and they spoke lovingly of the whorehouses of Manila, Tsingtao, Tientsin, and Peking. They were inveterate gamblers, and accomplished scroungers, who drank hair tonic in preference to post exchange beer, derisively called Horse Piss, cursed with wonderful fluency, and never went to chapel ("the Godbox") unless forced to. Many dipped snuff, smoked rank cigars, or chewed tobacco (cigarettes were for women and children). They had little use for libraries or organized athletics... they could live on jerked goat, the strong black coffee they called "boiler compound," and hash cooked in a tin helmet over a fire of twigs. Many wore expert badges with bars for proficiency in rifle, pistol, machine gun, hand grenade, auto-rifle, mortar and bayonet. They knew their weapons and they knew their tactics. They knew they were tough and they knew they were good. They knew the sound of Heavy Guns and they cursed the Navy’s lack of marksmanship. There were enough of them to leaven the Division and to impart to the thousands of younger men a share of both the unique spirit which animated them and the skills they possessed. They were like a drop of dye in a gallon of water, they gave the whole division an unmistakable hue and they stamped a nickname on the division: ‘the Old Breed.’ The Japs feared them and their own compatriots didn’t quite know what to make of them, but the younger men loved them.” - Lt. Col. Samuel B. Griffith
when you think about it, the time that has past since WW2 is the same amount of time in between the Civil War and WW2. Also, each year WW2 is talked about less and less in history class and fewer pages in the history books
I learned about Peleliu during boot camp, we saw footage of it on the TV [yes, when I went to Parris Island we watched tv, all of it about the Marine Corps.] I was going to be a Marine musician, so that battle was interesting but on several other islands the bands carried the wounded back from the front line, so that always was in my mind. When I moved into the 'ancestral' home in the Southern Appalachians upon the death of my grandmother I had to do something to bond w/the critters she'd left behind. We walked around the fields & the nearby cemetery. 3 WW2 servicemen were buried in it - 2 soldiers, 1 killed in the Philippines, 1 killed in Germany; and 1 Marine, a Platoon Sgt killed on Peleliu. So I studied up on it. The portrayal in the series is horrific, and sanitized. One statement a veteran of used was about decimation. He used it incorrectly. Decimation has the root deci-, like decimal. It was when a Roman general punished a unit which fled the battlefield or another 'traitorous or cowardly' act by grouping the offenders in sets of 10, one of the 10 was selected by lot or another method, & the 9 beat the 10th to death. In this way Rome viewed itself as 'kind'; 1 died so that 9 could live & hopefully redeem themselves. The 1st MarDiv was not decimated on Peleliu, all three regiments, 1st, 5th, 7th plus the cannon cockers in the 11th, took casualties well over 30%. Peleliu almost cost the USMC an entire division as a fighting unit ... and they're going to play a pivotal role in the invasion of Okinawa in roughly 7 months. We see Leckie in the 7th, Sledgehammer in the 5th, Chesty in the 1st. They made it back, in a sense. The amazing thing, the totally American thing about the whole story, is that after the war, they brought as many home as they could. I met some old guys who remembered digging the grave for Plt Sgt Partain, a Marine honor guard escorting the casket to the cemetery, the bugler [ok, a trumpet player] sounding taps as the rifles fired, and my valley, for it's entire length, heard the shots & the echo of taps. That was just one ceremony that echoed around the country for years during and after WW2. You were right, it's not really that long ago. Thank you for suffering through this series. When Marines, sailors & soldiers returned from fighting in the Pacific & Asia, it was completely different that what their brothers in arms experienced/endured in N Africa & Asia. Again, thank you. And as we are wont to say at moments like this, semper fi.
I've never understood why so little of the battle for the Pacific in WW2 is taught in school. Like you said its Pearl Harbor, maybe MacArthur in the Philippines, and the atomic bombs. Absolutely nothing about how absolutely brutal the fighting was and how monstrous the Japanese were to the people in the lands that they had over run.
There is a reason why the Pacific war is considered the place where the modern Marine Corps mythos was forged. Europe had a few landing operations, including one really big one, but that was an allied effort; the Pacific war was mostly Marine lead, with a fair amount of Army units also involved, and some help from mainly the British and the Dutch, but the Corps and the Navy really took the lead, and every operation was a landing operation followed by a grind against an entrenched and literally fanatical enemy. Also, unlike Europe, there wasn't really anywhere to retreat or pull back to; once you landed, you were stuck on that island, and the enemy was also stuck on that island. Each of those battles were knife fights in an elevator.
The Marines were made in the Civil War facing the Confederate Marines and hardened in the Philippines Nicaragua Haiti China and France long before WW2.
Caves and hidden bunkers were common throughout the major islands Japan occupied. They had time and local conscripts to build major islands into fortresses. If it has an airfield it had fortifications to some degree. This is why you see more flamethrowers used in the Pacific than in Europe. They can burn down foliage, knock out bunkers and suffocate tunnel systems. When you're fighting on an island you'll probably come up against all three of those things.
"Time for the release of emotions." I think you hit on what is so destructive--aside from the physical traumas--of war. We ask combatants to go well beyond their ability to process. Their recourse is to be with eachother then--and later. Sledge was 'fortunate' to have a gift that let some of it out. Without it, those who have never seen combat (I have not) could not begin to know. Thanks for sharing your reactions.
In Europe it was a cake walk compared to what the marines and navy had to go through in the pacific the navy had to deal with kamikaze raids and the marines had to deal with banzai charges from the Japanese army
I also cannot remember if they showed it in the series or not, but remember the barrels they were cleaning on Pavuvu? Well, they didn't do a very good job cleaning them, because when water did finally arrive it came in those same oil barrels, and the water was tainted with oil to the point that it made many men sick.
Its not mentioned in the series, but in Sledge's book, he relates that the empty oil drums he and the other FNGs were cleaning were used to transport fresh water to Marine positions on the beach. Sledge's opinion of the quality of his work was very low, as the water they initially received had a harsh taste of benzine.
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa. You will get there later. I visited Okinawa a few years ago when my son was stationed there in the air force. We visited many of the battle sites including Hacksaw. Simply amazing and horrifying to see what must have occurred there during WW2.
13:08 "Thanks Sledgehammer" then they smirk about it cockily like that's the most unique & badass nickname anyone has come up with... MF'er could've been a florist with the last name 'SLEDGE' of COURSE 'Sledgehammer' is gonna be the number 1 choice.
When you mention the Pacific Theatre as the 'forgotten war', please do not forget the ignored contribution of Australian soldiers on the southern flank of the Allied advance across the western Pacific. New Guinea (Gona, Buna, Lae, Wau), Bougainville, New Britain, New Ireland, Celebes, Borneo campaigns were fought by Australians with (largely green) US forces to destroy Japanese forces and airfields from Bougainville through New Britain, northern New Guinea and across Indonesia to secure supplies to US forces in the Philippines, Peleiu (Palau) and Nauru.
As a southern military college graduate ,with a degree in history, and a mother who was German and lived to WW2, I will say, from what I learned in my studies ,62 years of life ,and 15 years at sea, the fighting in all wars is brutal and desperate but the Japanese methods were especially horrific. Capt.Bob, SV ( Sailing Vessel) 27th Chance, Tampa Fl,USA 🇺🇸
Every foot of every island the Marines took were paid with in blood; The Japanese were cunning defenders and could fit into every nook and cranny they found to fire onto advancing Marines. And Peleliu was just grazing the top of the brutality. It’s not as Brutal and more focuses on the ‘Duality of Man’ in war, but if you guys ever get a chance check out ‘The Thin Red Line’; Easily a classic and one of the best movies on the Pacific theatre. Was over shadowed by Saving Private Ryan but it is a great movie and features some of the best music made by Hans Zimmer (In my opinion) and has a star studded cast; Including Young Woodie Harrelson!
The island of ChiIchi Jima hidden story that came out of WWII (in the pacific theater) US government finally released this story 2004. Content creator Mr Ballen has this it's under " This Island Kept a secret until 2004" all I can say is wow.
The older fulla was a ww1 veteran as well. One fulla I knew had been thru ww1 and during ww2 was captured by the Japanese early in the war as a pow some of his captors who had served on the same side during ww1 were now his guards. He came across quite a few that had the same or similar ww1 medals to what he had.
Not quite. Elmo "Gunny" Haney did train to fight in WW1, but according to official records and contradicting Eugene Sledge's claim in his memoir, the war ended before Gunny could be deployed to Europe. However, he was a tough mf because he'd been in the military long before any of the other men, because he was from a different generation of men, and because he was a tough mf in general, which explains why the others respected him so much
The juxtaposition of watching Japanese charge into American guns and Americans running across an open airfield into Japanese guns is something not a lot of people catch on to
If I can recommend a beautiful follow-up that is unrelated to this series from a production side but touches on the story of the fight in Pelau and on Peleliu is the beautiful documentary To What Remains. Made by the wonderful people at Project Recover, it delves into the battle through a very different be equally impactful lens.
One comment, with gratitude and appreciation for your watching this, sharing your reactions, and probably letting some people learn about this that wouldn't have otherwise . . . thank you, and PLEASE do not call Marines "soldiers."
Peleliu was an island the could have bypassed but it was taken on the behalf of MacAurthur because it has an airfield that posed a threat to the flanks of the Philippines . A total waste of time, blood, and treasure. Hindsight is always 20/20
dont worry,it will become EVEN MORE BRUTAL in the comeing episodes,too the point that even i think its getting close to what should be allowed. and thats saying something. kinda saving private rayan stuff 2.0
It was called "Bloody Ridge" on Pelelieu. Then there was Edson's Ridge on Guadalcanal. Hacksaw Ridge on Okinawa. No ridges on Tarawa.....which is probably just as well. It had a coral reef that couldn't be crossed by anything but amtracs. The problem with all the Pacific Islands......no room for flanking maneuvers. Even if there was, even if they were outflanked, the Japanese didn't give up ground until they were all dead They used to talk about Muslim religious fanatics, who wanted to die as martyrs, and have 50 virgins in heaven, and how we had never seen that kind of fanaticism. Right. At least not since WWII.
So, guess which airfield the US Military never used in the end? Yep... The intensive battles all over this island, which covers 3 episodes of the miniseries were for the airfield and then they never even used it.
to the scene where the giant explosion happened you gotta kind of think of yourself like a balloon that shockwave traveling through your body messing up your insides with abnormal pressure even worst if your under water most men were prone to friendly fire from the navy , getting shellshock
holding my breath, because I know it's coming. My father still treats me like he doesn't even believe I was over there, but the first night I was back in the house I woke up everyone screaming in the night, I had let out 3 screams, and on the 3rd I had lost my voice because of how loud they were they tore my larynx.
Really hoping this is the one with the father outside of the room, it was my little sister who somehow was beside me by the time I let out the 3rd scream, as if she had teleported from bed
Be prepared, it’s going to get incredible dark in the remaining episodes.
Shut up dude. Respectfully.
Let people experience things on their own
Ye. They haven’t seen the reals tuff hey
They’ve already watched them all. They’re taking forever to upload them to you tube. So I unsubscribed.
These comments are so lame
Dark is putting it mildly
The older Marine that goes "woof" is a World War 1 veteran so he definitely has been through the shit lol
He is the Old Breed
I've toured the caves in Okinawa (they are a battle sight tour). The Japanese high command on the island were committing suicide as the Marines advanced. The Japanese command committing suicide did so by pulling the pin on the grenades and holding it against their heads.
The marks, shrapnel, and some bloodstains are still on the walls in the rooms of those caves today.
They mostly make Harakiri with his Katanas but they also did it by that way
I was stationed there in 1990s; I imagine that clearing out there areas after the battle must have been horrific.
I was on Okinawa in the late 80's for one year. I wish I toured those caves. I know guys that did.
Some of the wiring for the High Commamd is still in the walls.
I've been there. The carnage was unimaginable. I am amazed anyone Japanese or American survived Okinawa. My first navy ship use to pick up Marines there every time we deployed.
According to Burgin’s Memoir, the company never identified who shoveled that marine to death. They kept it all hush and took the truth with them to the grave. It was a terrible situation with little to no good options at the time. What a tragedy.
Which episode was this? I don’t remember this part
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa. The caves they are talking about here are on Peleliu where this episode is set during the Battle of Peleliu.
I don't believe we will be visiting Hacksaw Ridge in particular, but the show does depict fighting on Okinawa. The island where Hacksaw is located.
I thought it was Guadalcanal...
@@andreraymond6860 Nope, he is right it is Okinawa. I have been there on a tour and it was incredibly interesting.
@@andreraymond6860 Nope, Hacksaw Ridge - Maeda Escarpment - is on the southern end of Okinawa. What's also amazing is how small it is. From the famous cliff face to the back of the escarpment is only 150-200m. Somewhere between 4000 and 8000 soldiers died fighting over that tiny strip of elevation.
@@andreraymond6860 ?? 'The Canal' was the 1st Offensive, back in 1942...
Guadalcanal lasted 6 months...
@@chrishayes-kossmann5805 nuke would have saved so many more. Too bad we didn’t have it sooner
I was in Eugene’s unit when I was in the GWOT. 3/5 Kilo Company. Our callsign was Sledgehammer in homer of Eugene
That's cool
My grandpa was a SeaBee on the island adjacent to Peleliu. He never talked about it. I only found out after he died.
I thank your Grandpa for his service!
I always thought 9:00 was one of the most disturbing and powerful moments in the series that goes unnoticed. The audio is haunting. Her reaction shows that here
Just wait till she see's Eugene go into that hut and come upon that woman on Okinawa.
@@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time Oh definitely. I can't wait for their reactions to episode 8 and 9
@@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time I lost it on that scene.
Bunker scene, and immediately after, do it for me.
Omg this is the one I’ve been waiting for! I actually just got through this part in Sledges book, which makes this show look tame by comparison. I’m an Afghanistan veteran and I get a bit queezy reading it.
Some of the things I heard from Dan Carlin "Super Nova In The East" took me on the wildest emotional roller coaster ride of my life. Especially what happened to the civilians in the Pacific it was just awful. Dan quoted Sledgehammer book several times to give a verbal description with what stage he was on covering the Pacific campaign.
I remember our teacher showing this series in highschool. I can only wait to see their reaction to the episode in Okinawa.
Oh man your teacher must have been awesome. What episodes did y'all watch? Im sure the school limited what episodes y'all saw due to the graphic content.
@@jacksonthompson7099 yep, the parents signed a form and we were allowed to watch the whole series.
@@Griggs846 WOW i'm really impressed, wish that was the high school I went to. Did ya classmates like it?
Hacksaw ridge was on Okinawa, was the last battle against japan
Hacksaw ridge, part of the Mazda escarpment was in the first of three ridges on Okinawa
To Arianna… no, this episode is still on the island of Peleliu. Hacksaw Ridge is on the island of Okinawa.
coming from someone in the infantry, that moment when the guys who have been in longer than you bless you with your nickname, it's a different type of feeling and pride. because most new guys just want to prove themselves to the guys that have been in and seen the things they have. that's why when you see Eugene, he has that smile when they call him Eugene
If I'm not mistaken the the explosion that injures Leckie was a Naval shell fires buy the US warships falling short of the airfield, hence the different sound as it falls and the massive concussive force that injured Leckie despite him being away from the main explosion. It was a terrible thing to happen but sadly not as rare as we like to hope.
The shockwave of a large shell blast could kill just as easy as the explosion or shrapnel itself - many soldiers were found dead without a scratch on them - the shockwave either stopped their heart or caused internal organ damage, similar to what happened to Leckie.
It’s gratifying to an old man like myself to see young people see appreciate and respect what these heroic men endure for their country and your future freedom isn’t free!
Hacksaw Ridge was fought by both the Army and later Marines on Okinawa. You'll see that later in this series.
Part of Hacksaw Ridge is now a children’s playground. And Okinawan playgrounds are epic.
@@alanholck7995 Not Camp Gonsalves, haha. IYKYK
They will absolutely not see that "later in this series." TF are you talking about?
Wait what?
@@rollomaughfling380 I think they mean the Battle of Okinawa is later in the series (episode 9).
One of the biggest issues the Marines on Peleliu was the lack of water. Temperatures during the day were in triple digits and there was virtually no fresh water on the island. The operational planners tried to fix this by filling up 55 gallon oil drums with water. This obviously caused a lot of Marines to get sick because they didn't thoroughly clean the oil out of the barrels before filling them up.
And the scene with Leckie on the hospital ship at the end reminds me of a anecdote I read about it where a sailor was asking if anybody had souveniers to trade for. One marine looked at him and said, "I brought my ass out of there swabie. That's my souvenier of Peleliu."
So interesting fact - the oil drums that Eugene was scrubbing were being scrubbed in an attempt to allow them to carry water for this battle. Unfortunately there was no scrubbing it all out and the water was toxic.
This battle is happening at roughly the same time as Market Garden (episode 4) in Band of Brothers.
Fun fact: K company 3/5 is nicknamed sledghammer to this day.
As one who served in the USMC.....RESPECT for the Old Breed. They showed us what courage is. And brotherhood. Semper Fi.
its commendable that you two are continuing this, its really tough to watch, and knowing how emotionally sensitive you are, even if its just a show, i see strength
It does take strength to willingly dive head-first onto an emotional roller coaster
Sidney lied to Eugene's mother so she would ne less worried. 60mm mortar men were part of an infantry unit and right up there on the front lines. Notice the look Eugene's father gives Sidney to him, thank you, for lying so his wife would worry less.
Bob Leckie had a blast injury. Blast injury is caused by the blast wave of the explosion, which is a wave of compressed gas moving faster than the speed of sound. A big enough blast wave can destroy buildings. He wasn't hit by shrapnel, nor did he really hit anything hard enough to damage him, the blast wave did it all.
You guys are in for a very emotional ride on this series. This one gets brutal.
it is. But the Okinawa episode is a crescendo of horror.
@@jamesbirch4400 You got that right. On my first ship in the Navy I was stationed in Sasebo Japan. It was an amphib, we use to pick up Marines from Okinawa. In an area now called White Beach, which I later found out was the scene of some of the most extreme parts of that battle. This was 92 - 95. You could still see a lot of heavy damage from the battle. I was literally shocked anything or anyone on either said was able to survive. If it looked that bad during 92 - 95 imagine in 1945. OMFG I'm shocked anyone Japanese or American survived that. And those that did, had to have severe mental issues the rest of their lives.
@@johnmagill7714 Speaking of PTSD, there are 3 scenes I am waiting for their reaction to. 2 Are at Okinawa.
@@jamesbirch4400 my guess on one of them is the dying woman in the hut.
@@johnmagill7714 no, but now its 4
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa. That island is still to come.
Eugene’s transformation into Sledge is both endearing because he’s building a bond with Snafu, but also heartbreaking because he’s losing that childlike innocence that we saw from him at the beginning of the show. The last episode will deal with that a lot, and it’s also what really sells The Pacific for me.
We won’t see Hacksaw Ridge in particular in this series, but Okinawa does come up. The caves in Peleliu were different, it was really the first time the Marines had to face it. Even after all of the fighting done in WWII, the Marines still refer to it as the “Bitterest battle of the Pacific.” It pretty much set the tone for subsequent battles in the Pacific.
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa. The Japanese dugout caves and tunnels like gophers. They did so on every defensive position they could throughout the Pacific.
Leckie’s injury was from being slammed into that tree from the force of the blast
Peleliu was one of the first Pacific campaigns that the Japanese switched from Bansai charges to defense-in-depth - many of the Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester veterans were thrown off by the change in tactic, and many more US troops died as a result.
Both of my parents volunteered after Pearl harbor and served during WW2. My father was in the navy and served In Pacific. my mother was a clerk in the army and served In North Africa and Italy.
Hacksaw Ridge took place during the Battle of Okinawa that began on April Fool's Day 1945. Peleliu battle took place a year before Okinawa.
3:35 IMO, we were mostly taught about naval battles like Midway and then put all of the land battles under the umbrella of "island hopping"
The war in Europe involved armies with millions of men but the war in the Pacific was mostly on a smaller scale- but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in the ferocity and brutality of the combat.
Love your gut reactions. Only thing, Marines HATE being called soldiers. Trust me ... 🙃
Semper fi
that and being a Marine that was drafted... Those poor bastards must've had nonstop firewatch 😅
Not hating, but marines in other countries, who actually deal with water, still call themself soldiers.
I guess for you guys it's the whole "different armed branches" in the U.S, and wanting to separate themself from army etc, no?
@ Navitus, quite honestly, the Corps is a cult. Anyone who thinks differenty just does not get it. After serving I can say I hate the Corps. I do love the Marines though. If you are confused don't worry. We are all screwed up too.
@@Nativusdes When referring to the United States Marine Corps, the word Marine is always capitalized.
The actor who played Eugene Seldge? The little boy from Jurassic Park did a great job, don't you think?
Yes, and John Deacon in Bohemian Rhapsody.
@@Gromit801 Snafu & Sledge together again
Wow
Two of the cast were also members of Queen in Bohemian Rhapsody. Rami Malik SNAFU/Freddie Mercury, and Joe Mazzello Sledge/John Deacon.
The ridge your thinking of is Shuri. It’s on Okinawa. You will see it in a future episode of The Pacific. 1:27
The Japanese always used their cave system for defense of these islands when they could. The cave and tunnel systems they used on Iwo Jima were the most complex during the war and the Japanese used them to devastating affect on the Marine on Iwo
Talking about Gunny Haney, I feel this quote is perfect:
“They were first sergeants yanked off "planks" in navy yards, sergeants from recruiting duty, gunnery sergeants who had fought in France, perennial privates with disciplinary records a yard long. These were the professionals of that oldest profession of Men, War.
Many had fought “The Cocoas" in Haiti, Banditos in Nicaragua, and French, English, Italian, and American soldiers and sailors in every bar in Shanghai, and they spoke lovingly of the whorehouses of Manila, Tsingtao, Tientsin, and Peking.
They were inveterate gamblers, and accomplished scroungers, who drank hair tonic in preference to post exchange beer, derisively called Horse Piss, cursed with wonderful fluency, and never went to chapel ("the Godbox") unless forced to. Many dipped snuff, smoked rank cigars, or chewed tobacco (cigarettes were for women and children). They had little use for libraries or organized athletics... they could live on jerked goat, the strong black coffee they called "boiler compound," and hash cooked in a tin helmet over a fire of twigs.
Many wore expert badges with bars for proficiency in rifle, pistol, machine gun, hand grenade, auto-rifle, mortar and bayonet. They knew their weapons and they knew their tactics. They knew they were tough and they knew they were good. They knew the sound of Heavy Guns and they cursed the Navy’s lack of marksmanship.
There were enough of them to leaven the Division and to impart to the thousands of younger men a share of both the unique spirit which animated them and the skills they possessed. They were like a drop of dye in a gallon of water, they gave the whole division an unmistakable hue and they stamped a nickname on the division: ‘the Old Breed.’ The Japs feared them and their own compatriots didn’t quite know what to make of them, but the younger men loved them.”
- Lt. Col. Samuel B. Griffith
Ian W. Toll wrote a great trilogy of books about the Pacific Theater of WW2.
This series brings out your humanity and with both of your empathy as well...
when you think about it, the time that has past since WW2 is the same amount of time in between the Civil War and WW2. Also, each year WW2 is talked about less and less in history class and fewer pages in the history books
I learned about Peleliu during boot camp, we saw footage of it on the TV [yes, when I went to Parris Island we watched tv, all of it about the Marine Corps.] I was going to be a Marine musician, so that battle was interesting but on several other islands the bands carried the wounded back from the front line, so that always was in my mind. When I moved into the 'ancestral' home in the Southern Appalachians upon the death of my grandmother I had to do something to bond w/the critters she'd left behind. We walked around the fields & the nearby cemetery. 3 WW2 servicemen were buried in it - 2 soldiers, 1 killed in the Philippines, 1 killed in Germany; and 1 Marine, a Platoon Sgt killed on Peleliu. So I studied up on it. The portrayal in the series is horrific, and sanitized. One statement a veteran of used was about decimation. He used it incorrectly. Decimation has the root deci-, like decimal. It was when a Roman general punished a unit which fled the battlefield or another 'traitorous or cowardly' act by grouping the offenders in sets of 10, one of the 10 was selected by lot or another method, & the 9 beat the 10th to death. In this way Rome viewed itself as 'kind'; 1 died so that 9 could live & hopefully redeem themselves. The 1st MarDiv was not decimated on Peleliu, all three regiments, 1st, 5th, 7th plus the cannon cockers in the 11th, took casualties well over 30%. Peleliu almost cost the USMC an entire division as a fighting unit ... and they're going to play a pivotal role in the invasion of Okinawa in roughly 7 months. We see Leckie in the 7th, Sledgehammer in the 5th, Chesty in the 1st. They made it back, in a sense. The amazing thing, the totally American thing about the whole story, is that after the war, they brought as many home as they could. I met some old guys who remembered digging the grave for Plt Sgt Partain, a Marine honor guard escorting the casket to the cemetery, the bugler [ok, a trumpet player] sounding taps as the rifles fired, and my valley, for it's entire length, heard the shots & the echo of taps. That was just one ceremony that echoed around the country for years during and after WW2. You were right, it's not really that long ago. Thank you for suffering through this series. When Marines, sailors & soldiers returned from fighting in the Pacific & Asia, it was completely different that what their brothers in arms experienced/endured in N Africa & Asia. Again, thank you. And as we are wont to say at moments like this, semper fi.
Hacksaw ridge was part of the maeda escarpment on Okinawa. Bloody nose ridge was on pelileu
I've never understood why so little of the battle for the Pacific in WW2 is taught in school. Like you said its Pearl Harbor, maybe MacArthur in the Philippines, and the atomic bombs. Absolutely nothing about how absolutely brutal the fighting was and how monstrous the Japanese were to the people in the lands that they had over run.
Well said
There is a reason why the Pacific war is considered the place where the modern Marine Corps mythos was forged. Europe had a few landing operations, including one really big one, but that was an allied effort; the Pacific war was mostly Marine lead, with a fair amount of Army units also involved, and some help from mainly the British and the Dutch, but the Corps and the Navy really took the lead, and every operation was a landing operation followed by a grind against an entrenched and literally fanatical enemy.
Also, unlike Europe, there wasn't really anywhere to retreat or pull back to; once you landed, you were stuck on that island, and the enemy was also stuck on that island. Each of those battles were knife fights in an elevator.
The Marines were made in the Civil War facing the Confederate Marines and hardened in the Philippines Nicaragua Haiti China and France long before WW2.
the next episode has two of the best scenes when they are relieving the dudes from the front, then when they are being relieved off the front.
Caves and hidden bunkers were common throughout the major islands Japan occupied. They had time and local conscripts to build major islands into fortresses. If it has an airfield it had fortifications to some degree.
This is why you see more flamethrowers used in the Pacific than in Europe. They can burn down foliage, knock out bunkers and suffocate tunnel systems. When you're fighting on an island you'll probably come up against all three of those things.
"Time for the release of emotions." I think you hit on what is so destructive--aside from the physical traumas--of war. We ask combatants to go well beyond their ability to process. Their recourse is to be with eachother then--and later. Sledge was 'fortunate' to have a gift that let some of it out. Without it, those who have never seen combat (I have not) could not begin to know. Thanks for sharing your reactions.
In Europe it was a cake walk compared to what the marines and navy had to go through in the pacific the navy had to deal with kamikaze raids and the marines had to deal with banzai charges from the Japanese army
"You don't know if anyone was going to be OK."
I knew the some of these guys growing up. None of them were OK.
R.V. Said it himself Peleliu is a forgotten battle but he will dedicate the rest of his life to make it memorable
My grandfather was stationed at the Peleliu airfield at 51 years old. Doing his second world war.
I also cannot remember if they showed it in the series or not, but remember the barrels they were cleaning on Pavuvu? Well, they didn't do a very good job cleaning them, because when water did finally arrive it came in those same oil barrels, and the water was tainted with oil to the point that it made many men sick.
Gunny was probably a Marine a Belleau Wood, which was NO garden party
You guys are hardening up a little bit. Proud of ya.
Its not mentioned in the series, but in Sledge's book, he relates that the empty oil drums he and the other FNGs were cleaning were used to transport fresh water to Marine positions on the beach. Sledge's opinion of the quality of his work was very low, as the water they initially received had a harsh taste of benzine.
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa. You will get there later. I visited Okinawa a few years ago when my son was stationed there in the air force. We visited many of the battle sites including Hacksaw. Simply amazing and horrifying to see what must have occurred there during WW2.
I can’t wait for my favorite scene. “Woof..” “What the fuck was that?” Lol
Hacksaw Ridge was the battle for Okinawa, which came a few months after the Peleliu landings.
13:08 "Thanks Sledgehammer" then they smirk about it cockily like that's the most unique & badass nickname anyone has come up with... MF'er could've been a florist with the last name 'SLEDGE' of COURSE 'Sledgehammer' is gonna be the number 1 choice.
I dont mind the name... Just the smirk "Yeah I like that" WELL OBVIOUSLY!!
My father was 17 at Sugarloaf on Okinawa, not far from hacksaw ridge
When you mention the Pacific Theatre as the 'forgotten war', please do not forget the ignored contribution of Australian soldiers on the southern flank of the Allied advance across the western Pacific. New Guinea (Gona, Buna, Lae, Wau), Bougainville, New Britain, New Ireland, Celebes, Borneo campaigns were fought by Australians with (largely green) US forces to destroy Japanese forces and airfields from Bougainville through New Britain, northern New Guinea and across Indonesia to secure supplies to US forces in the Philippines, Peleiu (Palau) and Nauru.
Getting darker...
The Pacific was so incredibly brutal...
As a southern military college graduate ,with a degree in history, and a mother who was German and lived to WW2, I will say, from what I learned in my studies ,62 years of life ,and 15 years at sea, the fighting in all wars is brutal and desperate but the Japanese methods were especially horrific. Capt.Bob, SV ( Sailing Vessel) 27th Chance, Tampa Fl,USA 🇺🇸
Every foot of every island the Marines took were paid with in blood; The Japanese were cunning defenders and could fit into every nook and cranny they found to fire onto advancing Marines. And Peleliu was just grazing the top of the brutality.
It’s not as Brutal and more focuses on the ‘Duality of Man’ in war, but if you guys ever get a chance check out ‘The Thin Red Line’; Easily a classic and one of the best movies on the Pacific theatre. Was over shadowed by Saving Private Ryan but it is a great movie and features some of the best music made by Hans Zimmer (In my opinion) and has a star studded cast; Including Young Woodie Harrelson!
You ladies should watch Windtalkers, it's a very underrated WWII movie and tells a war story that has not been told enough.
Iwo Jima? Okinawa? Never heard of them, ladies?
Doss and his unit were fighting in the Battle of Okinawa, so a little bit after Peleliu.
The island of ChiIchi Jima hidden story that came out of WWII (in the pacific theater) US government finally released this story 2004. Content creator Mr Ballen has this it's under " This Island Kept a secret until 2004" all I can say is wow.
Not normal behavior for Japanese soldiers.
@@williambranch4283 Crazy Eh!
@@Roadghost1969 Elective cannibalism in this case. Japanese and maybe others sometime cannibals if there is nothing else to eat.
Y'all smell that fresh baked bread? 0:28
hahaha
3:23 there is a lot to tell about the Pacific theater in WW2, for those countries the war began before 1939, so is a lot to cover
The older fulla was a ww1 veteran as well. One fulla I knew had been thru ww1 and during ww2 was captured by the Japanese early in the war as a pow some of his captors who had served on the same side during ww1 were now his guards. He came across quite a few that had the same or similar ww1 medals to what he had.
Not quite. Elmo "Gunny" Haney did train to fight in WW1, but according to official records and contradicting Eugene Sledge's claim in his memoir, the war ended before Gunny could be deployed to Europe. However, he was a tough mf because he'd been in the military long before any of the other men, because he was from a different generation of men, and because he was a tough mf in general, which explains why the others respected him so much
Enjoyed the reactions,thank ya😊👍✌️
The older guy who you said was crazy is an Australian actor called Gary sweet
Hacksaw Ridge took place during the Okinawa campaign, so after this.
The juxtaposition of watching Japanese charge into American guns and Americans running across an open airfield into Japanese guns is something not a lot of people catch on to
Hacksaw Ridge was on Okinawa.
Pacific war combat hours of boredom interrupted by random moments of terror
The skipper every Marine deserves 10:53
preach
FYI, their Marines not soldiers. We Marines don't take kindly to be referred to as soldiers.
If I can recommend a beautiful follow-up that is unrelated to this series from a production side but touches on the story of the fight in Pelau and on Peleliu is the beautiful documentary To What Remains. Made by the wonderful people at Project Recover, it delves into the battle through a very different be equally impactful lens.
Intense is on the way...
Yup. You ain't seen shit yet.
One comment, with gratitude and appreciation for your watching this, sharing your reactions, and probably letting some people learn about this that wouldn't have otherwise . . . thank you, and PLEASE do not call Marines "soldiers."
My highschool had a WW2 class and a Vietnam class. More school systems need to make it a priority.
They should watch that movie about unit 713 and really learn what the Japanese were all about
Your actually right that old Sargent was in the Great War (world war 1)
You should watch the movie 'Bridge on the River Kwai,' won several oscars.
Peleliu was an island the could have bypassed but it was taken on the behalf of MacAurthur because it has an airfield that posed a threat to the flanks of the Philippines . A total waste of time, blood, and treasure. Hindsight is always 20/20
That's actually very sad hearing that as americand you were not tought about the war in the pacific as this was the main theater of war for you😢
dont worry,it will become EVEN MORE BRUTAL in the comeing episodes,too the point that even i think its getting close to what should be allowed. and thats saying something. kinda saving private rayan stuff 2.0
It was called "Bloody Ridge" on Pelelieu. Then there was Edson's Ridge on Guadalcanal. Hacksaw Ridge on Okinawa.
No ridges on Tarawa.....which is probably just as well. It had a coral reef that couldn't be crossed by anything but amtracs.
The problem with all the Pacific Islands......no room for flanking maneuvers. Even if there was, even if they were outflanked, the Japanese didn't give up ground until they were all dead
They used to talk about Muslim religious fanatics, who wanted to die as martyrs, and have 50 virgins in heaven, and how we had never seen that kind of fanaticism.
Right. At least not since WWII.
Buck up buttercups. It’s what’s Marines do.
You know these are great!
So, guess which airfield the US Military never used in the end? Yep... The intensive battles all over this island, which covers 3 episodes of the miniseries were for the airfield and then they never even used it.
to the scene where the giant explosion happened you gotta kind of think of yourself like a balloon that shockwave traveling through your body messing up your insides with abnormal pressure even worst if your under water most men were prone to friendly fire from the navy , getting shellshock
holding my breath, because I know it's coming. My father still treats me like he doesn't even believe I was over there, but the first night I was back in the house I woke up everyone screaming in the night, I had let out 3 screams, and on the 3rd I had lost my voice because of how loud they were they tore my larynx.
Really hoping this is the one with the father outside of the room, it was my little sister who somehow was beside me by the time I let out the 3rd scream, as if she had teleported from bed
NOOOOOOO IT IS THE NEXT ONE!!!!! NOOOO I CAN NOT WAIT !!!!! I AM GOING TO SNAP!!!!
Just looked, it doesn't happen until part 10 😞