Even Aussies don't really see this much. The most WW2 history that Aussies see is the generic stuff that is put in the rsl. Like service rifles, uniforms, knives, and some other stuff, so this is awesome for even Aussies to see.
From a very proud Aussie, thanks you soooooo much for showing some of our very important involvement in WW2. Doesn't get recognised enough. Again thank you guys , loved it ❤️👍😉
Great video JD. I live in Brisbane and woke up this morning amazed that you had visited and documented this museum. I've been there multiple times and you showed it perfectly. Great job 👏
JD, I hope you know what an incredible service you're providing to vets and their families from all over the world. So many of our departed heroes never spoke much about their wartime experiences, but you've helped to fill in visual and historical gaps that we may never have experienced otherwise. Your presentations are always respectful and dignified, something that's in pretty short supply these days. Well done, good sir, and thank you! (US Navy vet, and son of a USAAF WW2 vet) PS: I had the privilege of visiting Australia's "far side" around Perth back in the early 1980s when I was in the Navy. Without a doubt, the friendliest and most hospitable people I've ever met.
Finally you've touched down in the great southern land. Welcome. And thank you for saying Brisbane correctly. The PNG natives were affectionately known by the soldiers on Kokoda as "fuzzy wuzzy angels". They saved many many lives.
As an Australian living overseas, I admire the tributes you pay to all who participated in the South Pacific campaign. I always enjoy your presentations and learn something from each one. I'm really looking forward to following this latest journey.
As a Brisbane citizen who’s passionate of our military history thank you for uploading this. Aussies should also never forget or downplay what American intervention in WW2 meant for our nation. Bit of trivia for you, in you went to Southbank on the other side of the river, the maritime museum there has a decommissioned frigate HMAS Diamantina that saw service in the Solomon archipelago in WW2 and accepted the Japanese forces formal surrender there in September 1945.
On the whole, relations were very good while Americans were here in Oz. Many servicemen billeted in private homes, marrying our women...my father was adamant the US help saved us (he served in the navy)..
Bout time you came to Australia JD, Brisbane's got a good wartime history to it. It ain't no Gettysburg but we love Brisbane and South East Queensland.
Thank you for covering parts of the Pacific Theatre. As a Brisbane Boy who has been to the MacArthur Museam in Brisbane, I would assert any visitor need about one to two whole days in it to properly read and see the exhibits. There are do many 'little' facts to learn. For example MacArthur had employeed 30 Public Relations Staff. Certainly his image is demigod like, a super star, to us Brisbane locals, especially those who lived in the period like my father who saw him as the "American Caesar". MacArthur left a similar impression in Japan and Korea too, the "Gaijun Shogun".
Aussies did not think MacArthur was a demi god lmfao, most hated him, he was a good battle planner but absolutely sucked when tactics needed t be changed during battle when thigs did not go to plan, and if not for many more battle experienced Aussie commanders who disobeyed him in the field and did their own tactics many battles would of been lost.. He would lie about Aussie only wins and tell USA high ups they were American only, why Americans think did it all and Aussies only did the mop up, when was Aussies doing the most in South Pacific. Battle of Brisbame ww2 500 people fought in streets of Brisbane because sick of Yanks and especially MacArthur. 400 fought in Melbourne and once word got out fights broke out all over Australia.. Aussies went to Macrthurs HQ to kill him, lucky was only few times dug out Doug was actually near the battle front. Why we called him Dug out Doug, useless leader...
Very proud Aussie here, veteran and descendant of veterans of WWI and WWII and son of an RAAF aircraft electrician from '48-'65. I live in South Australia and the tiny little nondescript country town in our mid north called Terowie where Macarthur made his famous "I shall return" speech on a train at the station there Great video mate, so glad you got to make it downunder to show our little country's contributions to past conflicts. Very well done, love your channel a bit more for this one.
My ex-husband's aunts married American soldiers. My great-uncle served at Kokoda and my grandfather was in the RAAF. He flew in bombing raids over Papua New Guinea.
I'm an Australian living just south of Brisbane, and I had no idea that this museum existed. It is now definitely on my bucket list of places to visit. Have recently followed all your stories about Gettysburg and the Civil War. Compulsive viewing!
My mother was in the Australian Army in WW2 52nd special wireless unit - codebreakers and reported directly to General Macarthur. I never knew as she was sworn to secrecy, and I only found out when she was 82 and she had a stroke. She started telling me about translating Japanese pilots. I thought the stroke had done brain damage. After she passed, I researched her army record and found out the truth.
Awesome video mate .as a young kid I've been inside city hall building but never realised how much history it has thanks for making our history known.😮
If you get a chance, visit Terowie in South Australia, where McArthur first spoke the famous words "I shall return". There is a monument at the train station in Terowie to the momentous event. Its a very historic semi- ghost town and worth a look by itself.
Hello from Brisbane, very close to me is a road called "Spitfire Ave." It was the main runway of a US / Australian wartime airfield. My late father served overseas in the A.I.F. He was at Port Moresby and Morotai, both US / Australian bases. I grew up in a suburb called Chermside. It had been a huge US army base and a few remanents still existed in the 1960's.
Great to see you in Australia. So much to see. You need to come to Melbourne to see the Shrine of Remembrance and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
General Macarthur's first Australian HQ was in Melb, also in an insurance building on the main street. There's also a road named after him because nearby was a US Army camp
Aussie here, just north of Brisbane. My son received his enlistment at ANZAC square, the only time it was done there. I recently did a 5 week European trip which included a Band of Brothers Tour, and I have been to Guadalcanal in 1995. Walked Bloody Ridge and went to Alligator Creek. Oh, be very careful in the Solomon Islands... not safe at night.
Love this channel. As of recently Douglas MacArthur Jr was alive and living in New York although shunning publicly and staying private. It's amazing somebody could say their grandfather fought in the Civil War, and father fought in the Philippine Insurrection, Mexican Punative Expedition, WWI and WWII and visited the Korean Peninsula as commander during that war.
My grandfather assembled and gave Macarthur his daily breif here. Grandad was multilingual (read & spoke Japanese,spoke Tagalog and chinese). He followed him overseas and returned to Australia in 1947. As a sidebar he once commented that he "quite disliked the man,but he had a job to do"
As Brisbane residents for most of our lives my wife and I really enjoyed this video. Your descriptions of the park, the shrine and Macarthurs offices were so interesting and informative. For many reasons we have never been able to see the offices because they open only on very specific days.
MacArthur got off the a rocky start. His first office was in Melbourne, but he moved it to Brisbane for practical purposes. His manner rubbed a lot of Australia's high command including the Prime Minster John Curtin up the wrong way who at one stage demanded his dismissal. He was not used to having his ignorance of jungle warfare thrown back at him. He did learn though as the war progressed, to respect the Australians under his command because they kept beating the Japanese. He was used to a officer led army, but the Australian army was and still is an NCO led force, and officers are kept back at HQ where they can do the least damage. I have watched all your excellent productions on the European Campaign, and its good to see you coming down here to see quite a different war. Guadalcanal was when US forces lost their virginity in WW2 and soon respected their enemy with good reason. They lost their arrogance and through soldiers like Chesty Puller, and General Vandergriff, the US command was rudely introduced to enemy soldiers who were not afraid to die.
Thank you for taking us to so many amazing places to see amazing things! A great start and addition to your work as you reach the milestone of 400 episodes!
Thanks for visiting us in Brisbane. I suspect many locals don’t know about McArthur’s presence and its importance in WWII. I had the privilege to work with veterans for many years and have a modest interest in our role in WWII. US soldiers had better rations issued than our forces, and this was a point of tension between the Australian men. The ‘GIs’ had Coca Cola and chocolate and shared them with the girls. They were also able to source silk stockings which were better than our girls could get. Those things were in very short supply here during the war. Our girls weren’t easily bribed, but who doesn’t love a kind gift. In WWI our soldiers fought with the UK as the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF). They fought in WWI as the first division or Ist AIF. The ANZAC title designated that the Australian and New Zealand forces were a single unit under command of the UK. By WWII we had our own army (the Royal Australian Regiment or RAR) and so it was the 1st and 2nd RAR (land and sea) who defended us. The statue to indigenous soldiers is really meaningful for our First Nations people as prior to 1966 they were not recognised as citizens in our constitution. But that didn’t stop many, many men from joining the effort to defend the country.
Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. I am from Brisbane and loved seeing places I've walked by many times and learning something new about my city's history as well.
I’m glad you’re back in the Pacific. I loved your last series. I’m excited about more content from there. Thank you and looking forward to the next episode.👍😄
I’ve been watching your channel for years, and it’s great to see some Aussie history on here. Being Aussie and lived in Bris for a few years I have been to these memorials. I love all of your videos on the US Civil War and the Revolutionary War 😊
JD….I went to Iwo Jima with my brother and to this day we talk about wanting to go to Guadalcanal. I can honestly tell you that that video will be on repeat for me. I hope it’s a series!!! Bucket list location for me for sure.
MacArthur’s first headquarters was in Melbourne. My dad worked as a military courier there for a short time and passed MacArthur as he was leaving an elevator and MacArthur was getting on.
I am Australian and I visited Macarthur chambers before it was made into a museum. Macarthurs own living quarters are on a mezzanine floor in the museum. He also had quarters in the war zone in Townsville where friends of ours lived. It was a bomb shelter with very thick walls. He was there during the battle of the Coral Sea, where my father was taken on board a destroyer to witness events. He was with Australian Army Intelligence in the Torres Strait. ❤😊
You really do make some amazing vids & they are so interesting. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas & a very Happy New Year to you and the family. Keep well & keep safe.
Nice! Thanks for covering this part of the world. A DC-3 that was used as a transport for General MacArthur during this period is preserved at the Queensland Air Museum.
I moved here to Brisbane 6 months ago and literally work around the corner from the building - I think it's an Apple Store and street level. Fascinating that something so significant is tucked away under our noses. I'll definitely be taking a look. My Dad was based in Darwin during the War and lived in Brisbane in the early 60's. love the stuff you put out on the channel. Keep it up!
Great to see you in my home town Brisbane. Thanks for highlighting the history and important contribution Aussies have made to major conflicts. Hope you enjoyed being Down Under
One major source of grievance about U.S. GIs marrying local Australian girls was the fact that the Aussies had been fighting for more than two years by the time the USA entered the War. Many were deployed in Greece and North Africa, thousands had already been killed or captured in the Far East, so when the Americans arrived they discovered a surplus of women of marriageable age. My mother, then in her 20s, was living in NZ, and all the eligible men were fighting too far away to ever get home on leave.
Great to see such an important video (400) being here in Aus! So much to see here I hope you return! Canberra has the amazing War Memorial, Melbourne has the Shrine, NSW has the memorial to the Japanese escape in Cowra BUT Brisbane has the German A7V tank Mephisto, the only surviving original A7V! Remember, I have a cold beer and great pub feed waiting at my pub in Victoria! Congrats again on 400!
When I studied to be a teacher in Auckland New Zealand at the Auckland College of Education in Epsom I was pleasantly surprised to find out that MacArthurs NZ bunker was in the College car park. It was his back up if Australia was captured
Thank you. You "got it" about the Brisbane memorials. Aussies are also very pleased to be associated with General McArthur. My FIL served as an accounting soldier during ; he saw that "lemon essence" with ~70% alchohol was missing in great amounts during it rail to the northern ports. ;-)
No we did not, Aussies hated MacArthur, Battle of Brisbane ww2 5000 people rioted, Aussies were so sick of yanks and especially Macrthur who would say ussies were useless and insubordiante and that Aussies refused to fight and Americans did all of it.. when barely no Americans ere fighting in South Pacific. During Battle of Brisbane ussies went to MacArthurs HQ to kill him and damaged the building looking for him, was only one of few rare times dug out Doug was in PNG near the battlefield..
Thanks so much for all your episodes. You can take us places that we only dreamed of visiting. So much can be learned by subscribing. Just saying! Great 400 episodes.
King George Sq, was built in the 1960's. During WW2 the Tivoli Theatre was there. The theatre was turned into a dance hall during WW2. There is a lot of US war history in and around Brisbane. Even some graves of US civil war vets!
I have lived in Brisbane for most of my life. The eternal flame in Anzac Square is where the most solemn day for the dawn service is held, across the country. The area is filled with thousands as the service begins at dawn.
OMG, congrats on #400!! My maternal grandfather served in the U.S. Navy during WW2 and was stationed in Australia and I remember being told that he saw pink snow while he was there. I'm not sure where he was exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was in the vicinity of MacArthur's HQ even though MacArthur was U.S. Army.
I know I'm busy when I can't get to one of your videos until the day after it drops 😅 This is another place I'll probably never get to, except through your videos. I'm looking forward to seeing where you visited on this trip 👍
Mate how good that you came down under!! Awesome video and represented us nicely thanks. Please come back there is ww2 history throughout Darwin right across the top and down the east coast. A lot of navy history through Western Australia as well. We were small in number but mighty in heart. Hope you enjoyed your visit
Thanks again for letting me know about McCarthy and the place where he lived at one time ago, 😮 while he was in the Army of W.W. 2, and I think your podcast is right now very much appreciated and helpful and informative to me. Yessir Mr. JD your podcast is right now being watched by me and my friend who is a male friend.😮
I visited Australia for a few weeks when my sub tied up there. It was on he other side of the continent though, so I did get to see any of these places.
Welcome he Brisbane! I live in an inner city suburb called New Farm and it as discovered a few years ago that MacArthurs secret private residence was a few doors down from my place. They realised this when a renovation occurred on a house and hidden in the fire place were some top secret US war records for his eye only. More digging found that th property had been chased by a front of the US military. Th house is strategically positioned near the story bridge where the naval docks were located. Cooperation between the Aus and US service members all came to halt after the “Battle of Brisbane”, a clash between Australian and US troops near the corner of Adelaide and Creek Streets, which lasted intermittently for days, and during which there were fatalities. Keep up the excellent work an enjoy the stay!
Great video! I'll have to check the museum out. Didn't know it existed. My grand father was in the strange age for that time that he was too young for WW1 but too old for WW2 and he was a carpenter so actually worked on the General's offices.
Wow !!-that control-column,-from the"Betty-Bomber"-that Yamamoto was in,-was fantastic !!--I live in Tasmania now,--years ago,-I worked on ''Melvill--Island"-there was an old Zero wreck there (1971)--I got a small piece of it,--& later turned out to be one flown by Saburo-Saki--at one stage,--one of Japans Top Aces,--The U.S.-Army had a base in Sydney,-in York-st,-the 'Grace-Building"-U.S.flyers would report there for R.&.R.-They had an Apartment in "McClea-st.''-near the docks-& Kings Cross,-& would have some wild parties,-My Grandfather-(W.W.-Vet)-worked at the Grace-Building-& invited a lot of U.S.-Flyers home-for a decent meal & a couple of Beers-we lived at Clovelly,near the beach-& they would love to Surf,-before going back on Duty--one of them got into trouble,-for flying his F4F.Wildcat under the Harbour-Bridge !!--The old Apartment at McClea st-is still there,-& was used by the Vietnam blokes on R.R.-in the 60/70s.
This was an exceptional video. Many thanks for bringing it to us. Just discovered your channel and have now subscribed. BTW I think McArthur had a secondary headquarters in a hotel in Sydney.
The teaching of history in America focuses on mainly just American things. Australian involvement in WW1 and WW2 is widely taught in Europe and elsewhere.
My Grandmother was the only Australian indicted into the American Army. She was Mcarthur's personal Cook. I have her Discharge Papers & her final Pay Docket. On her Discharge she was flown to Townsville, in McArthur's DC3. The plane was also used as a Mail plane. On arriving in Townsville, the wheels refused to come down. The Crew put all the Mail Sacks up to the front Fire wall between the Cabin & the rest of the plane. They put Grandma into the pile of sacks & a big Negro sat her. The plane did a perfect Belly landing. No-one was hurt. As told to me by Grandma.
I just watched this. I don’t know if you are aware, but under the War Memorial in Anzac Square a tunnel leads to central railway station, just inside the tunnel on the left there is an entry into another war museum. The top picture of the war brides in Macarthur’s museum is of the Cottmans. They returned from the US sometime after WWII and were friends and neighbours of my Grandmother, settling in Mt Gravatt, Brisbane. Lovely people. I really enjoyed your video, thank you, from a Brisbanite.
Great vid. Im an American living in Australia. You absolutely must go to Canberra and visit the War Memorial and in New Zealand in Picton Airport area, their diorama WWi & II museums. They are amazing. Others are the Pacific War Memorial museum on Corregidor and Malinta Tunnel and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
General Macarthur also was present in a town just north of Brisbane called Caloundra. My father told me Macarthur stayed at the Strathallan guest house which was demolished along with the original hotel caloundra at the top end of the main street. MY father often said that for a few weeks Macarthur ran the war in the Pacific from Caloundra. Caloundra was also the northern end of fort Brisbane.
MacArthur's original WW2 Australian HQ was in Melbourne after he fled the Philippines.. My very good friend Peggy Clark who is today 97 years old, worked in a pharmacy that was in that building when she was 16 or 17yo. She remembers seeing MacArthur and Gen Blamey looking up girls dresses as they were on the stairs coming and going to their offices. Peggy's family ran high-class boarding house in Melbourne at the time a few of MacArtur's staff (officers) were boarding with them. One of them made a move on Peggy when she home alone. She was 16yo at the time. She was very scared. That same dude on the day they were leaving Melbourne, swiped Peggy's older brothers (39th Battalion, sent home ill from PNG) slouch hat & badges. Peggy's dad (who was a WW1 AIF vet and didn't take any shit) went down to docks, boarded the ship, found the guy and made him return the stuff. Great stories.
Ha !!! The so beautiful and so clean city of Brisbane. I was there from January to March 2010 for work. Amazing place and outstanding video I must say JD !!! Thank you for sharing this with all of us. Merry Christmas to you and all your RUclips fans !!! A+++
Great & informative vid mate. I live way out in the boonies of Central QLD & rarely get to Brissy & had no idea this museum existed. For those of us of a certain age WW11 is pretty recent history & has directly affected many, myself included. Way further north of Brissy near Emu Park is a wonderful little chapel called St Georges chapel built by the Yanks. They recieved blessings there before heading into the Pacific theatre & battle. Beautiful little spot but sadly there is now a bloody great abattoir right beside it. Aaaaarg!! Not only was there the "Battle of Brisbane" but also the "Battle of Townsville". BoT well worth further research for a future episode. Way further north of Cairns is tiny little settlement called Miallo. An errantJapanese bomb landed near a farmhouse injuring a young girl. Australia...so vast...so much history unknown outside of the country & sadly often unknown within. Keep up the good work buddy. Subbed & look forward to more
One of my relatives was a merchant navy captain from Queensland and worked with General MacArthur advising him of where the deepest water was for the US Navy to keep their ships.
This is something we hardly see in history on WW2, unless you are an Aussie. Thanks for showing it to us .
Even Aussies don't really see this much. The most WW2 history that Aussies see is the generic stuff that is put in the rsl. Like service rifles, uniforms, knives, and some other stuff, so this is awesome for even Aussies to see.
From a very proud Aussie, thanks you soooooo much for showing some of our very important involvement in WW2. Doesn't get recognised enough. Again thank you guys , loved it ❤️👍😉
Great video JD. I live in Brisbane and woke up this morning amazed that you had visited and documented this museum. I've been there multiple times and you showed it perfectly. Great job 👏
Thanks! Thoroughly enjoyed the short time that I had in your city.
JD, I hope you know what an incredible service you're providing to vets and their families from all over the world. So many of our departed heroes never spoke much about their wartime experiences, but you've helped to fill in visual and historical gaps that we may never have experienced otherwise. Your presentations are always respectful and dignified, something that's in pretty short supply these days. Well done, good sir, and thank you! (US Navy vet, and son of a USAAF WW2 vet)
PS: I had the privilege of visiting Australia's "far side" around Perth back in the early 1980s when I was in the Navy. Without a doubt, the friendliest and most hospitable people I've ever met.
🙏🏼
Finally you've touched down in the great southern land. Welcome. And thank you for saying Brisbane correctly. The PNG natives were affectionately known by the soldiers on Kokoda as "fuzzy wuzzy angels". They saved many many lives.
Well done on 400 episodes
👍🏻
As an Australian living overseas, I admire the tributes you pay to all who participated in the South Pacific campaign. I always enjoy your presentations and learn something from each one. I'm really looking forward to following this latest journey.
As a Brisbane citizen who’s passionate of our military history thank you for uploading this. Aussies should also never forget or downplay what American intervention in WW2 meant for our nation. Bit of trivia for you, in you went to Southbank on the other side of the river, the maritime museum there has a decommissioned frigate HMAS Diamantina that saw service in the Solomon archipelago in WW2 and accepted the Japanese forces formal surrender there in September 1945.
On the whole, relations were very good while Americans were here in Oz. Many servicemen billeted in private homes, marrying our women...my father was adamant the US help saved us (he served in the navy)..
Welcome to Australia. I hope you enjoyed your stay.
Bout time you came to Australia JD, Brisbane's got a good wartime history to it. It ain't no Gettysburg but we love Brisbane and South East Queensland.
Wow, Brisbane is very impressive, as is their summer weather and their summer daylight! Thanks for taking us there, JD.
And now we know what a Short Snorter is!
Heck of a place. Glad that you enjoyed it!
Come to our City when you can.
Thank you for covering parts of the Pacific Theatre. As a Brisbane Boy who has been to the MacArthur Museam in Brisbane, I would assert any visitor need about one to two whole days in it to properly read and see the exhibits. There are do many 'little' facts to learn. For example MacArthur had employeed 30 Public Relations Staff. Certainly his image is demigod like, a super star, to us Brisbane locals, especially those who lived in the period like my father who saw him as the "American Caesar". MacArthur left a similar impression in Japan and Korea too, the "Gaijun Shogun".
@@CA999 👍🏻
Gaijin
Aussies did not think MacArthur was a demi god lmfao, most hated him, he was a good battle planner but absolutely sucked when tactics needed t be changed during battle when thigs did not go to plan, and if not for many more battle experienced Aussie commanders who disobeyed him in the field and did their own tactics many battles would of been lost..
He would lie about Aussie only wins and tell USA high ups they were American only, why Americans think did it all and Aussies only did the mop up, when was Aussies doing the most in South Pacific.
Battle of Brisbame ww2 500 people fought in streets of Brisbane because sick of Yanks and especially MacArthur. 400 fought in Melbourne and once word got out fights broke out all over Australia..
Aussies went to Macrthurs HQ to kill him, lucky was only few times dug out Doug was actually near the battle front.
Why we called him Dug out Doug, useless leader...
Thank you for featuring Brisbane,
👍🏻
Very proud Aussie here, veteran and descendant of veterans of WWI and WWII and son of an RAAF aircraft electrician from '48-'65. I live in South Australia and the tiny little nondescript country town in our mid north called Terowie where Macarthur made his famous "I shall return" speech on a train at the station there
Great video mate, so glad you got to make it downunder to show our little country's contributions to past conflicts. Very well done, love your channel a bit more for this one.
My ex-husband's aunts married American soldiers. My great-uncle served at Kokoda and my grandfather was in the RAAF. He flew in bombing raids over Papua New Guinea.
I'm an Australian living just south of Brisbane, and I had no idea that this museum existed. It is now definitely on my bucket list of places to visit. Have recently followed all your stories about Gettysburg and the Civil War. Compulsive viewing!
Thanks! Be sure to tell the folks at the museum where you heard about them when you visit.
Welcome to Brisbane mate glad to have you in our part of the world!
Loved the short amount of time that I had there. Can't wait to come back.
My mother was in the Australian Army in WW2 52nd special wireless unit - codebreakers and reported directly to General Macarthur. I never knew as she was sworn to secrecy, and I only found out when she was 82 and she had a stroke. She started telling me about translating Japanese pilots. I thought the stroke had done brain damage. After she passed, I researched her army record and found out the truth.
Wow!
What an amazing thing to find out! Good on your mum she sounds like a tough cookie
Awesome video mate .as a young kid I've been inside city hall building but never realised how much history it has thanks for making our history known.😮
If you get a chance, visit Terowie in South Australia, where McArthur first spoke the famous words "I shall return". There is a monument at the train station in Terowie to the momentous event. Its a very historic semi- ghost town and worth a look by itself.
Hello from Brisbane, very close to me is a road called "Spitfire Ave." It was the main runway of a US / Australian wartime airfield. My late father served overseas in the A.I.F. He was at Port Moresby and Morotai, both US / Australian bases. I grew up in a suburb called Chermside. It had been a huge US army base and a few remanents still existed in the 1960's.
Great to see you in Australia. So much to see. You need to come to Melbourne to see the Shrine of Remembrance and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
i totally agree with u , it is a must see
I've had several people recommend those to me. Definitely need to get back over there.
General Macarthur's first Australian HQ was in Melb, also in an insurance building on the main street. There's also a road named after him because nearby was a US Army camp
Aussie here, just north of Brisbane. My son received his enlistment at ANZAC square, the only time it was done there. I recently did a 5 week European trip which included a Band of Brothers Tour, and I have been to Guadalcanal in 1995. Walked Bloody Ridge and went to Alligator Creek.
Oh, be very careful in the Solomon Islands... not safe at night.
Love this channel. As of recently Douglas MacArthur Jr was alive and living in New York although shunning publicly and staying private. It's amazing somebody could say their grandfather fought in the Civil War, and father fought in the Philippine Insurrection, Mexican Punative Expedition, WWI and WWII and visited the Korean Peninsula as commander during that war.
My grandfather assembled and gave Macarthur his daily breif here. Grandad was multilingual (read & spoke Japanese,spoke Tagalog and chinese). He followed him overseas and returned to Australia in 1947. As a sidebar he once commented that he "quite disliked the man,but he had a job to do"
As Brisbane residents for most of our lives my wife and I really enjoyed this video. Your descriptions of the park, the shrine and Macarthurs offices were so interesting and informative. For many reasons we have never been able to see the offices because they open only on very specific days.
Great informative video. Thankyou!
MacArthur got off the a rocky start. His first office was in Melbourne, but he moved it to Brisbane for practical purposes. His manner rubbed a lot of Australia's high command including the Prime Minster John Curtin up the wrong way who at one stage demanded his dismissal. He was not used to having his ignorance of jungle warfare thrown back at him. He did learn though as the war progressed, to respect the Australians under his command because they kept beating the Japanese. He was used to a officer led army, but the Australian army was and still is an NCO led force, and officers are kept back at HQ where they can do the least damage.
I have watched all your excellent productions on the European Campaign, and its good to see you coming down here to see quite a different war. Guadalcanal was when US forces lost their virginity in WW2 and soon respected their enemy with good reason. They lost their arrogance and through soldiers like Chesty Puller, and General Vandergriff, the US command was rudely introduced to enemy soldiers who were not afraid to die.
Thank you for taking us to so many amazing places to see amazing things! A great start and addition to your work as you reach the milestone of 400 episodes!
Appreciate it! I'm glad you're enjoying the trip.
Thanks for visiting us in Brisbane. I suspect many locals don’t know about McArthur’s presence and its importance in WWII. I had the privilege to work with veterans for many years and have a modest interest in our role in WWII.
US soldiers had better rations issued than our forces, and this was a point of tension between the Australian men. The ‘GIs’ had Coca Cola and chocolate and shared them with the girls. They were also able to source silk stockings which were better than our girls could get. Those things were in very short supply here during the war. Our girls weren’t easily bribed, but who doesn’t love a kind gift.
In WWI our soldiers fought with the UK as the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF). They fought in WWI as the first division or Ist AIF. The ANZAC title designated that the Australian and New Zealand forces were a single unit under command of the UK. By WWII we had our own army (the Royal Australian Regiment or RAR) and so it was the 1st and 2nd RAR (land and sea) who defended us.
The statue to indigenous soldiers is really meaningful for our First Nations people as prior to 1966 they were not recognised as citizens in our constitution. But that didn’t stop many, many men from joining the effort to defend the country.
G'day JD! welcome to Australia!
Thank you for visiting down under and my home town and another valuable video. Learning so much through your videos.
Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. I am from Brisbane and loved seeing places I've walked by many times and learning something new about my city's history as well.
I’m glad you’re back in the Pacific. I loved your last series. I’m excited about more content from there. Thank you and looking forward to the next episode.👍😄
Thanks!
I’ve been watching your channel for years, and it’s great to see some Aussie history on here. Being Aussie and lived in Bris for a few years I have been to these memorials.
I love all of your videos on the US Civil War and the Revolutionary War 😊
Thank you so much for coming to my home town and highlighting our history, visit the mephesto tank next time ,u wert far away
JD….I went to Iwo Jima with my brother and to this day we talk about wanting to go to Guadalcanal. I can honestly tell you that that video will be on repeat for me. I hope it’s a series!!! Bucket list location for me for sure.
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MacArthur’s first headquarters was in Melbourne. My dad worked as a military courier there for a short time and passed MacArthur as he was leaving an elevator and MacArthur was getting on.
I am Australian and I visited Macarthur chambers before it was made into a museum. Macarthurs own living quarters are on a mezzanine floor in the museum. He also had quarters in the war zone in Townsville where friends of ours lived. It was a bomb shelter with very thick walls. He was there during the battle of the Coral Sea, where my father was taken on board a destroyer to witness events. He was with Australian Army Intelligence in the Torres Strait. ❤😊
You really do make some amazing vids & they are so interesting. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas & a very Happy New Year to you and the family. Keep well & keep safe.
glad to see the pacific theater being explored on your channel, bless from miami
Appreciate the support! 👍
Nice! Thanks for covering this part of the world. A DC-3 that was used as a transport for General MacArthur during this period is preserved at the Queensland Air Museum.
Great video JD. Never figured the Aussie would have so much. Thanks and stay safe.
Thanks 👍
Pacific theater… Let’s GO!
Great video. Thanks for sharing!
I moved here to Brisbane 6 months ago and literally work around the corner from the building - I think it's an Apple Store and street level. Fascinating that something so significant is tucked away under our noses. I'll definitely be taking a look. My Dad was based in Darwin during the War and lived in Brisbane in the early 60's. love the stuff you put out on the channel. Keep it up!
Man. You must have one callused, tough saddle with the hours of travel...Thanks for bringing this home to the rest of us.
Ha! Yeah, that one was a long haul.
Great to see you in my home town Brisbane. Thanks for highlighting the history and important contribution Aussies have made to major conflicts. Hope you enjoyed being Down Under
One major source of grievance about U.S. GIs marrying local Australian girls was the fact that the Aussies had been fighting for more than two years by the time the USA entered the War. Many were deployed in Greece and North Africa, thousands had already been killed or captured in the Far East, so when the Americans arrived they discovered a surplus of women of marriageable age. My mother, then in her 20s, was living in NZ, and all the eligible men were fighting too far away to ever get home on leave.
Good point.
Great, the state and status of your men was not our business.
Welcome to Australia! This museum is really cool.
Thanks!
Nice video i enjoyed it. Im a Vietnam vet, im so interested in ww2. Thanks watch you a lot
Thanks for the presentation... Ive lived in Brisbane for 65 years and I have learnt WW2 history i didnt know..
Welcome to Brisbane. It's crazy to think that this location is about 10mins from my front door.
Oh dang. Cool! Enjoyed the limited time that I was able to spend there.
Yes, there is a Cab Rank just infront of the retail entrance that i would use as a meeting point for mates whenever we're in the city.
Always saw the plaque for Macarthur on the corner but never thought it would be so well done in the museum. Must go check it out sometime.
Great to see such an important video (400) being here in Aus! So much to see here I hope you return!
Canberra has the amazing War Memorial, Melbourne has the Shrine, NSW has the memorial to the Japanese escape in Cowra BUT Brisbane has the German A7V tank Mephisto, the only surviving original A7V!
Remember, I have a cold beer and great pub feed waiting at my pub in Victoria!
Congrats again on 400!
Great job JD, welcome to the great land down under. Fantastic work as always
When I studied to be a teacher in Auckland New Zealand at the Auckland College of Education in Epsom I was pleasantly surprised to find out that MacArthurs NZ bunker was in the College car park. It was his back up if Australia was captured
This is brilliant, and much appreciated.
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Thanks JD. God Bless you Brother and merry Christmas!!✌️🇺🇲
That was great JD! Thank you 🙏
Looking forward to this next series from the Pacific theater.
Thank you. You "got it" about the Brisbane memorials. Aussies are also very pleased to be associated with General McArthur. My FIL served as an accounting soldier during ; he saw that "lemon essence" with ~70% alchohol was missing in great amounts during it rail to the northern ports. ;-)
No we did not, Aussies hated MacArthur, Battle of Brisbane ww2 5000 people rioted, Aussies were so sick of yanks and especially Macrthur who would say ussies were useless and insubordiante and that Aussies refused to fight and Americans did all of it.. when barely no Americans ere fighting in South Pacific.
During Battle of Brisbane ussies went to MacArthurs HQ to kill him and damaged the building looking for him, was only one of few rare times dug out Doug was in PNG near the battlefield..
I'm a resident of Brisbane. I'm impressed by this very well made video. I have never visited this MacArthur museum, but will check it out.
Thanks! Definitely worth going and checking out. Be sure to let them know where you heard about the museum. :)
Keep up the hard work! Love ur channel much love man, I’ve learned more from u in the past year then I did in 4 years of high school lol
Appreciate the support!
Thanks so much for all your episodes. You can take us places that we only dreamed of visiting. So much can be learned by subscribing. Just saying! Great 400 episodes.
I appreciate that more than you know. Thank you!
Welcome to Australia JD. I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos.
As always incredibly interesting. Thanks JD!!
King George Sq, was built in the 1960's. During WW2 the Tivoli Theatre was there. The theatre was turned into a dance hall during WW2. There is a lot of US war history in and around Brisbane. Even some graves of US civil war vets!
Great video JD!
I have lived in Brisbane for most of my life. The eternal flame in Anzac Square is where the most solemn day for the dawn service is held, across the country. The area is filled with thousands as the service begins at dawn.
OMG, congrats on #400!! My maternal grandfather served in the U.S. Navy during WW2 and was stationed in Australia and I remember being told that he saw pink snow while he was there. I'm not sure where he was exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was in the vicinity of MacArthur's HQ even though MacArthur was U.S. Army.
Lived in Brisbane my whole life. Hope you enjoyed your time here ❤😎
Love the content ✌️
I know I'm busy when I can't get to one of your videos until the day after it drops 😅 This is another place I'll probably never get to, except through your videos. I'm looking forward to seeing where you visited on this trip 👍
Ha! Glad to share the experience. Got some stuff from Guadalcanal coming up next.
It's so good to hear "Brisbane" pronounced properly. Thanks mate.
There's a video of some dude walking through the jungle for like 10 minutes to get to Yamamotos plane, its pretty interesting.
Mate!! You are in my home city 🤙🏼 Ive been to MacArthurs HQ and also visited his HQ on Manus Island up in Papua New Guinea
Brisbane, my home town. Brisbane old bloke born and bred. Glad you had a chance to come to these parts of the world. Take care and enjoy your time.
Welcome to the Land Down Under, mate. Hope you have a great stay here
Mate how good that you came down under!! Awesome video and represented us nicely thanks. Please come back there is ww2 history throughout Darwin right across the top and down the east coast. A lot of navy history through Western Australia as well. We were small in number but mighty in heart. Hope you enjoyed your visit
Thanks again for letting me know about McCarthy and the place where he lived at one time ago, 😮 while he was in the Army of W.W. 2, and I think your podcast is right now very much appreciated and helpful and informative to me. Yessir Mr. JD your podcast is right now being watched by me and my friend who is a male friend.😮
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I visited Australia for a few weeks when my sub tied up there. It was on he other side of the continent though, so I did get to see any of these places.
Quite the place!
FYI US subs used to be operate out of the Brisbane River during WW2.
Wow. Thank you.
Welcome he Brisbane! I live in an inner city suburb called New Farm and it as discovered a few years ago that MacArthurs secret private residence was a few doors down from my place. They realised this when a renovation occurred on a house and hidden in the fire place were some top secret US war records for his eye only. More digging found that th property had been chased by a front of the US military. Th house is strategically positioned near the story bridge where the naval docks were located. Cooperation between the Aus and US service members all came to halt after the “Battle of Brisbane”, a clash between Australian and US troops near the corner of Adelaide and Creek Streets, which lasted intermittently for days, and during which there were fatalities. Keep up the excellent work an enjoy the stay!
Great video! I'll have to check the museum out. Didn't know it existed. My grand father was in the strange age for that time that he was too young for WW1 but too old for WW2 and he was a carpenter so actually worked on the General's offices.
Wow !!-that control-column,-from the"Betty-Bomber"-that Yamamoto was in,-was fantastic !!--I live in Tasmania now,--years ago,-I worked on ''Melvill--Island"-there was an old Zero wreck there (1971)--I got a small piece of it,--& later turned out to be one flown by Saburo-Saki--at one stage,--one of Japans Top Aces,--The U.S.-Army had a base in Sydney,-in York-st,-the 'Grace-Building"-U.S.flyers would report there for R.&.R.-They had an Apartment in "McClea-st.''-near the docks-& Kings Cross,-& would have some wild parties,-My Grandfather-(W.W.-Vet)-worked at the Grace-Building-& invited a lot of U.S.-Flyers home-for a decent meal & a couple of Beers-we lived at Clovelly,near the beach-& they would love to Surf,-before going back on Duty--one of them got into trouble,-for flying his F4F.Wildcat under the Harbour-Bridge !!--The old Apartment at McClea st-is still there,-& was used by the Vietnam blokes on R.R.-in the 60/70s.
This was an exceptional video. Many thanks for bringing it to us. Just discovered your channel and have now subscribed. BTW I think McArthur had a secondary headquarters in a hotel in Sydney.
Thanks!!! Appreciate it.
I find it very interesting that we don't hear much about Australia in WW2 and WW1 I've wondered why?
The teaching of history in America focuses on mainly just American things.
Australian involvement in WW1 and WW2 is widely taught in Europe and elsewhere.
This was so interesting. Love it
My Grandmother was the only Australian indicted into the American Army. She was Mcarthur's personal Cook. I have her Discharge Papers & her final Pay Docket. On her Discharge she was flown to Townsville, in McArthur's DC3. The plane was also used as a Mail plane. On arriving in Townsville, the wheels refused to come down. The Crew put all the Mail Sacks up to the front Fire wall between the Cabin & the rest of the plane. They put Grandma into the pile of sacks & a big Negro sat her. The plane did a perfect Belly landing. No-one was hurt. As told to me by Grandma.
I just watched this. I don’t know if you are aware, but under the War Memorial in Anzac Square a tunnel leads to central railway station, just inside the tunnel on the left there is an entry into another war museum. The top picture of the war brides in Macarthur’s museum is of the Cottmans. They returned from the US sometime after WWII and were friends and neighbours of my Grandmother, settling in Mt Gravatt, Brisbane. Lovely people. I really enjoyed your video, thank you, from a Brisbanite.
Thanks! I did dodge down and check out the area beneath the memorial. Wonderful place!
Those signed flags are pretty awesome.
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Did the landscaping in the Anzac square!
Great vid. Im an American living in Australia. You absolutely must go to Canberra and visit the War Memorial and in New Zealand in Picton Airport area, their diorama WWi & II museums. They are amazing. Others are the Pacific War Memorial museum on Corregidor and Malinta Tunnel and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
General Macarthur also was present in a town just north of Brisbane called Caloundra. My father told me Macarthur stayed at the Strathallan guest house which was demolished along with the original hotel caloundra at the top end of the main street. MY father often said that for a few weeks Macarthur ran the war in the Pacific from Caloundra. Caloundra was also the northern end of fort Brisbane.
MacArthur's original WW2 Australian HQ was in Melbourne after he fled the Philippines.. My very good friend Peggy Clark who is today 97 years old, worked in a pharmacy that was in that building when she was 16 or 17yo. She remembers seeing MacArthur and Gen Blamey looking up girls dresses as they were on the stairs coming and going to their offices. Peggy's family ran high-class boarding house in Melbourne at the time a few of MacArtur's staff (officers) were boarding with them. One of them made a move on Peggy when she home alone. She was 16yo at the time. She was very scared. That same dude on the day they were leaving Melbourne, swiped Peggy's older brothers (39th Battalion, sent home ill from PNG) slouch hat & badges. Peggy's dad (who was a WW1 AIF vet and didn't take any shit) went down to docks, boarded the ship, found the guy and made him return the stuff. Great stories.
I love your unique style.
Ha !!!
The so beautiful and so clean city of Brisbane.
I was there from January to March 2010 for work.
Amazing place and outstanding video I must say JD !!!
Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Merry Christmas to you and all your RUclips fans !!!
A+++
Merry Christmas! Thanks!
So glad you were able to make it down under JD! Come back soon! 🤝
G'day guys and welcome to Oz, so good to see a part of home on display for you legends. Cheers mates 😉👍🍻
Great & informative vid mate. I live way out in the boonies of Central QLD & rarely get to Brissy & had no idea this museum existed. For those of us of a certain age WW11 is pretty recent history & has directly affected many, myself included. Way further north of Brissy near Emu Park is a wonderful little chapel called St Georges chapel built by the Yanks. They recieved blessings there before heading into the Pacific theatre & battle. Beautiful little spot but sadly there is now a bloody great abattoir right beside it. Aaaaarg!! Not only was there the "Battle of Brisbane" but also the "Battle of Townsville". BoT well worth further research for a future episode. Way further north of Cairns is tiny little settlement called Miallo. An errantJapanese bomb landed near a farmhouse injuring a young girl. Australia...so vast...so much history unknown outside of the country & sadly often unknown within. Keep up the good work buddy. Subbed & look forward to more
One of my relatives was a merchant navy captain from Queensland and worked with General MacArthur advising him of where the deepest water was for the US Navy to keep their ships.
Great video, well done.
The photo of McArthur and Australian soldiers is back to front.
The pamphlet cover for "Can War Marriages..." I am sure that art work is by Peter Arno! Great American cartoonist!