My great Grandad was one of the construction workers on Wake Island! Was captured and moved to Shanghai (after moving a few other times prior) to work in a labor camp. We have letters from when the US bombed the facilities he was working in trying to knock out enemy infrastructure. Luckily he survived and when the war was over and he was submitted to the hospital he was 6'2" and 135lbs. After a week in the hospital he was released and lived a long life afterwards. The letters we have go from him being happy, asking about my grandad's school, and describing the pig they had on wake island as a pet. To being captured and all the communication changed to, "I am alive. I hope you are well. Goodbye." -- the letters appeared to be screened and transcribed by someone other than my great grandad. The spelling was different, handwriting was slightly different, and postmarked from multiple areas. Anyway, great reaction!
@@Erik-zh7rk Elrod did not survive. The final Wildcat fighters were knocked out in the battle and Elrod formed his unit into a ground force to support the other Marines. Aren’t all Marines riflemen first? He was killed in ground combat while leading his air unit, now turned into infantry.
@@tyramirez6628 This is part of his Medal of Honor citation: “Captain Elrod shot down two of a flight of twenty-two hostile planes and, executing repeated bombing and strafing runs at extremely low altitude and close range, succeeded in inflicting deadly damage upon a large Japanese vessel, thereby sinking the first major warship to be destroyed by small caliber bombs delivered from a fighter-type aircraft. When his plane was disabled by hostile fire and no other ships were operative, Captain Elrod assumed command of one flank of the line set up in defiance of the enemy landing and conducting a brilliant defense, enabled his men to hold their positions and repulse determined Japanese attacks, repeatedly proceeding through intense hostile fusillades to provide covering fire for unarmed ammunition carriers. Capturing an automatic weapon during one enemy rush in force, he gave his own firearm to one of his men and fought on vigorously against the Japanese. Responsible in a large measure of the strength of his sector's gallant resistance, on 23 December, Captain Elrod led his men with bold aggressiveness until he fell, mortally wounded.” Total devotion to duty…..
The situation at Wake made the Navy realize it needed its own construction corps and led to the formation of the SeaBees. This is another group you'd like looking into; amazing in their own right.
Nick has several videos about UK military. Sir Percy Hobart, Sir Douglas Bader, and I can't remember the guy's name but the title is about trolling the Germans with wooden planes. They are all great stories!
@@hurricaneace143 Mad Jack Churchill was a legend, but I dont think they were related. it was brought up in a video bout him, but I haven't watched it in awhile.
@RamblingGin Lieutenant Colonel John Malcom Thorpe Fleming Churchill, DSO (Distinguished Service Order) & Bar, MC (Military Cross), aka "Fighting Jack Churchill" or "Mad Jack" was not related to Sir Winston Churchill, you are correct. He was, however, briefly an actor, rode his motorcycle all over Burma (Myanmar), was at one point a newspaper editor in Nairobi, Kenya, and was also a male model for a time. He took second place at the Aldershot Tattoo (a military bagpiping competition) and competed one behalf of Great Britain in the World Archery Champions, in Oslo, in 1939, though he did take 26th place. All of this without even counting his military achievements, or education, is on its own quite fascinating.
I think the Royal Marines who rode on the side of Apaches to assault a Taliban fortress would make a pretty great video for Fat Electrician. It's called Operation Glacier Two and is pretty undercovered by military RUclipsrs.
Mr. Ballen has a wild short story about a British Soldier in WWI (ended up being Britain’s most highly decorated Soldier of WWI). You’d really get a kick out of it.
There’s a quote from some UN peacekeeper (I think French but not sure) that when soldiers lose their officer they usually lose initiative and withdraw but when Americans lose their officer they go on the attack. American officers aren’t there to prod their guys to fight, they’re there to hold them back. So no communications means keep on fighting.
My grandfather fought in world war II his name was John Elmer Shegogue. He was in the Navy. He died before I was born from all the chemicals and just all the bad things that they use during that war however from the stories and the diary / journal he kept while he was there the stories he told were absolutely just utter insanity. To be clear he did not die during the war he died from complications due to the war. But like always the US military said his injuries weren't war related or military-related😂😂. Isn't that the famous align the VA likes to use.
My paternal grandpa was in the navy during WWII, as well! I don't know what kind of action he saw, he only talked about the stuff he and his friends got up to on leave. Always got the impression that his ship was on clean up detail after the fighting was over. Dad told me that Grandpa straight up told him that was the case. I do know that he was in training for a land invasion of Japan when they got news of Japan's surrender, though.
"It's not about the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog" - Mark Twain. Marines especially those of the United States have earned the moniker "Devil Dogs" for a reason, they are the embodiment of aggression and efficiency despite being one of the most poorly funded branches in the U.S. military they are one of the highest performers when it comes to low cost high body count solutions.
These was a rescue fleet detailed for Wake. But when Adm. Pye got word that Wake had fallen, he turned around. Lots of pissed off Marines and sailors. Many historians claim that was the closest the US Navy had come to a mutiny since the War of 1812.
Remember that the carriers were coming back from Pearl. All of their pilots were combat experienced. So those two Buffaloes shot down 21 experienced pilots.
There is a rock on Wake Island where it reads, 98 US PW 5-10-43. The story behind it is sad. An American prisoner escaped from the Japanese massacre and wrote the message on the rock. He was later found and beheaded. Nobody knows his name.
The Japanese left 98 US civilian contractors who were POW's on the island, after two years the US had stepped up random bombing raids on the island just as a nuisance and the Japanese executed all 98 POW's in retaliation. That is what the 98 means. Also, one person escaped the mass execution and two months later the Japanese dug up all the bodies and counted them, realized one was in fact missing and they eventually found him and beheaded him. This resulted in two Japanese officers being convicted of a war crime and being summarily executed after the war.
RE: George HW Bush. After he was shot-down, he was floating towards the Japanese held island of Chi-Chi Jima. BTW, the Japanese troops on that island were eating American prisoners. Good thing for George he was picked up by a US sub. Another interesting note, Bush was also the youngest combat pilot in the history of the US Navy.
I'd love to hear your storytelling about the British Royal Marines! Nic is passionate about American stories; he's told some British tales, but I imagine you have a bit more of the local flavor for the British side of things. 👍
Hope you're feeling better! I agree, TheFatElectrician should definitely make some Royal Marines videos, as well as other branches of the British military.
The reason why the Pacific fleet didn't intervene at Wake Island is because we almost didn't have a fleet to fight with at that moment. Immediately after Pearl Harbor our entire Pacific Fleet was 4 carriers, 5 cruisers, and 27 destroyers plus some submarines that wouldn't be much help in a head-on battle like that. All Battleships were sunk or damaged badly enough that it would take 6-8 months to get them fully battle-ready. Meanwhile Japan had 6 carriers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, and 9 destroyers just for the task force that hit Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had 9 other active battleships (11 total) at the time plus 38 cruisers (mix of lights and heavies) and 80 destroyers. If the Pacific Fleet went out on sortie to relieve Wake Island, it would have meant we would basically have no Pacific Fleet left and Japan would win their decisive battle to knock us out of the war quickly. Their offensive was very well-planned and executed but because we didn't take the bait and give them their desired battle on their terms, we could wear them out with attrition and before we could pin them down and defeat them in detail.
Absolutely, had the US attacked, they would’ve given the IJN the exact thing they had planned for years to happen. Start a war, and wait for the American navy to rush in with a big fleet. They had planned to cripple the navy, consolidate their gains in the South Pacific, and wait for the Americans to decide it wasn’t worth the trouble to try to retake it. So, as sad as it was, it was the prudent thing to do.
@@stephen1991 And more than that, Japan had already brilliantly executed that battle doctrine during the Russo-Japanese War, culminating in the Battle of Tsushima. Our admirals were well-aware of how Japan conducted naval warfare and knew that playing the long game of attrition was the best way to counter Japan's more aggressive strategy.
Absolutely is the best story teller on RUclips. Your gonna have to think of a distinct story to ask him for. Otherwise it will only another video of us throwing tea in the sea
Eh, tied with Mr. Ballen. Or rather, they're both the best story tellers of their genres. Ballen covers the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious, TFE covers military history while he s*its all over communism. Another fun presenter is Casual Geographics. Gives you those zoology lessons as it is, not as the kids shows or Dave Attenborough weaves them as. He's a fun guy to listen to. And by throwing tea into the sea, are you referring to the US and the Boston Tea Party? I hear that wasn't well received by the Brits. "They threw the tea into the harbor claiming it'd be the biggest brew of tea we'd ever seen, but we couldn't drink any of it. There weren't any scones or sandwiches and they put gravy on their biscuits. 0 out of 10, never going to attend ever again." I think that's the accurate Yelp review of the time. Mean while the south was like, "Not enough sugar and the tea was too warm." 🤣🤣🤣
"story teller" being the operative words. That whole story at 19:01 is total bullshit. The communist Chinese MURDERED American pilots. The AVG had to move their blood chits from the back of their jackets to the inside for fear of red Chinese killing them. The communist Chinese were fighting China as much as they were the Japanese. I don't believe for one minute that that filth helped a US Marine.
BTW -- He doesn't just do American stuff (although that is the majority). He's done several on British including Sir Percy Hobart and Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (for his Mosquito) just to name a couple.
I'd love to see your take on historical original content. I would suggest taking heed of Nick/Fat Electrician's progress though... he wasn't doing 20 minute epic stories off the bat, he spent quite a bit of time doing short form 2-3 minute videos at first...but I think those were absolutely instrumental in fine tuning his voice/perspective that is now in use. What I give him so much credit for is authenticity. You know the story is being told as "authentically as possibly" by actual E4-E6's that was there. His voice is so just so true to the enlisted mentality that it gives him an(sp?) higher air of authenticity.
I would love for you to do stories on the British Royal Marines. That would be awesome! Please seriously consider it. Thank you! Love this video, btw. I am a huge fan of the fat electrician, and i really love your reactions to his videos. Thank you for doing these. You are much appreciated. ❤
I'd love to hear stories about our royal British brothers. In USMC boot camp we are taught Marine Corps history. I had always found it incredible that the Corps was in play before the U.S. declared it's independence
Find a good story where the royal marines fought alongside Americans and then talk shit about it and nick will pop up and set the record straight. You just have to make him mad enough to do an entire video rant.
My father enlisted December 8th, 1941 and by February 1942 was in the Solomons, Bougainville, Vela La Vela and told me by the fall of 1942 things were very grim, they thought they would lose Australia, but when the Yorktown CO, even while it was sinking told his men keep it afloat, although he died in the battle and the Yorktown was sunk. This is one of many cases where one man's battle cry motivated men to keep fighting and it worked.
The real reason why it is impossible to successfully invade the US mainland with conventional forces. The Citizens militia aka unorganized militia aka every American 18 and older with a gun who isn't in the military.
lol, I've watch all his videos a while ago. but now im rewatching them all while you react haha. my wife hates the pace of his videos but you're right, he is a fantastic story teller for us who appreciate comprehensive and concise information in a hurry, along with a sense of humor on a dark/dry side 😂
Check out his video on Percy Hobart a British tank commander, and his video on the DH-99 the mosquito, a British plane. Also he talks about the British SAS in his video on the banelli M4
**US Navy's Unluckiest Ship With An Untouchable Crew - USS William D. Porter, by The Fat Electrician** This is probably the craziest story I have ever heard from Nick or anybody else actually. It will 10000000% surprise you haha. You should give it a watch sometime!! Love your videos btw!
If you haven’t seen any TFE videos on British ppl, that’s just bc you haven’t seen the episodes he’s done on ppl like Percy hobo Hobart. That’s a name for example? That I’ll never forget & is as British as Winston Churchill, in fact Churchill spoke up in support of Hobart. You should react to that one for example
As hard as it was, not sending naval reinforcements to Wake Island was absolutely the right decision. The Imperial Japanese Navy was looking for a decisive battle on their terms, and rushing in with what was left of the Pacific Fleet, outnumbered and unprepared, to fight in Japan's back yard, would have given them exactly what they wanted. How much longer would the war have dragged on, had the USN lost its carriers and a number of cruisers and other combatants, so soon after Pearl Harbor? Don't fight to your enemy's strengths, and don't follow his plans.
Do the Brits really think the Americans were that inept? It seems it’s a common theme online that we’re not a country full of warrior tribes. I’m so confused at their civilian population thinking our Marines and Navy were just a joke, but owed us EVERYTHING after July of 1940.
yes do that. all stories should be shared. id enjoy hearing your sides stories of valor. every side has a story to tell. and they are seperate episodes in a bigger story. like a meanwhile over at the north front kinda thing.
For those who don't know, a Corpsman are part the Navy, as they (the Navy) also pay our checks, however Corpsman are given the same respect, actually more, than fellow Marines
There is a town in NE Texas called WAKE VILLAGE so named because most of the young mail population there fought on Wake Island and generation for that area was lost
"21?! There's no way! What were the Japanese doing? Were they putting up recruits?" Here's the thing...the Japanese had to take care and check their targets so as not to shoot at friendly craft. The Americans were under no such restrictions as the likelihood of targeting the other Wildcat was pretty close to zero with the 25:1 odds they were facing. Also, it's highly likely that a percentage of the 21 Japanese casualties in the air were the result of (or at least aided by damage from) friendly fire.
Strategically, sacrificing Wake was Nimitz only choice. If we had risked our 3 carriers at Wake, and lost even one, we would not have been able to cripple the IJN at Midway a few months later,...and Nimitz knew this. Tough call by a brilliant leader who knew we weren't ready for a battle yet.
It was questionable strategy for the U.S. to put small military outposts and forces in places like Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines in the first place. In the event that war with Japan broke out, it was unlikely those forces could be supported or reinforced. They fought with great skill, bravery, and determination, but in the end they had been put out on a limb by politicians and military leaders, and the result was death or years in horrible captivity. It makes me worry about current events. Politicians and military leadership have put U.S. military personnel in small little garrisons and stations all over the world, but particularly in the Middle East.
@dongilleo9743 if you are going to hold territory like the US did with the pacific islands that were under US control then you will have military bases. It was not a questionable strategy. To have forward deployed military bases. Wake island was a stop for the flying boats and made a good forward base. Problem is in wartime bases that are like Wake Island and Guam can easily be isolated and over run. But you would rather have your forward bases over run than have you actual territory attacked. Like having landings done in Hawaii or the west coast.
@@russellcollins52 You make a good point that I don't necessarily disagree with. I think my complaint is just that if politicians and military leaders are going to put military personnel in danger, that they don't do so in a haphazard or irresponsible way. If they are going to establish forward bases, at least give those military personnel the numbers, equipment, and supplies to have a real chance to fight and survive until reinforcements and support can realistically reach them. People who willingly join the military are signing up to potentially risk their lives, but their lives shouldn't be carelessly or recklessly thrown away simply to act as a "speed bump" to slow the enemy down.
What Videos Nic makes is kind of random, but the occasional Brit makes it. Sadly I have not seen any on HMRM but his take on Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart (Hobarts funnies (tanks)) is epic "The Real Tank Genius Of WW2 - Percy "Hobo" Hobart"
I got to know one of the Marines on Wake. Jake Skaggs, manned a 5 inch gun and was the one to take out the first Japanese shop of the war. He was eventually taken captive and went from 180+ lbs to just under 120 lbs when he was released.
I’d like to hear some stories about Royal Marines, though did serve along side some in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion. I think best option would be a collab with you and Nick.
To be honest, yes, you do need to do the videos yourself. The Fat Electrician makes good content because he comes from within our own military culture. You as a Royal Marine have that same direct perspective, you lived it. You know the inside jokes, you know the sarcasm, no reason not to give it go.
Fookin’ US Navy commanding officer pussied out and surrendered. BTW, the Marines nicknamed Major JPS Devereux “Just Plain Shit” for him working them so hard preparing for the Japanese attack.
Just a little side note in case nobody has told you, but playing possum is an idiom in the u.s , it's another way of saying playing Dead. Since possums are notorious, at least here that they, when startled, play Dead.
Reacting and story telling are different, maybe ask F/E for advice on how to story tell, but would love to hear some R/M story. (coming from a USA: USA: USA)
If you thought Wake Island was nuts, check out the Battle of Guadalcanal. Roughly the same number of U.S. Marines had to take, and hold the airfield there, for months, when the navy was forced to flee. Yet they stuck it out and held the airfield. Day and night, until Enterprise and other battleships returned.
As a former American Devil Dog, I would absolutely @#$%'ing enjoy an across the pond story(ies!) as told by one of their own!! Hell, m8... I would even purchase at least one of those British made tankers! So pony up and don't be a W⚓... Lets do this~ P.S. I enjoy and share your content on the regular even with my own sons~
I think if you want him to do a Royal Marine story, you'll have to give him the research. Maybe a script but I think the research would be best. Then he'll write the script in his trademark style.
He left out an important point in the surrender of Wake Island, those that admitted to the Japanese that they were members of the gun crews were executed.
Man the US military is just made different. I think people often attribute it to our superior tech and budget. There’s no denying that makes a huge difference. But there’s something about the mindset of our brave troops that gives us an edge that’s hard to overcome. We love our incredible military men and women 💙🇺🇸
To be fair to the Japanese aviators, their planes were flying death traps with paper thin armor and vulnerable fuel lines. If a Zero were to fly low enough, a pistol could shoot them down if the shooter was a lucky shot.
Hello mate, first of love Your reaction to the crazy things we Americans did in WW2. Love to see how our buddies on the side of the pond think about our actions. I do wanna clarify something, that a lot of people who see this particular video always make when they hear, 'the US government has left you all to die'. Fatelectrician says this in the beginning, this event happens right after Pearl Harbor. America's fleet is decimated, we didn't have the capital ships to make any kind of counterattack. Our only capital ships we're 2 aircraft carriers with little support vessels and the Japanese greatly outnumbered the US in the pacific to the point any kind conventional attack will lead to a loss to the US. It was simply better to lose a small island we couldn't defend for long and 450 Marines than what was left of the pacific fleet and let the Japanese steam roll the whole pacific.
American military fighting forces have a natural d20 (20) roll when outnumbered. Enemies, walk away because we're still rolling 18-20 without any air support buff.
Those 5 inch guns didn't come from the Old Texas tho..she had 6 inch as her secondaries. ruclips.net/video/eIeoCUgAElQ/видео.html probably from the later Florida class.
The decision to abandon Wake Island was sound military doctrine, although painful to carry out. The projected cost was too high. The possibility of long-term success was too slim. With the fall of other U.S. Pacific possessions, Wake Island was ultimately indefensible.
When he gets through telling all our stories, he will probably tell our Colony's stories, like the northern European islands of Briton we take care of and defend constantly.
The Japanese were the ones that were lucky. If their commander hadn’t forced them to surrender, there’s a good chance the Marines would’ve forced the Japanese soldiers off the island.
![BRASIL vs. URUGUAY [1-1] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 12](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-hWBAuxF1eY/mqdefault.jpg)
My great Grandad was one of the construction workers on Wake Island! Was captured and moved to Shanghai (after moving a few other times prior) to work in a labor camp. We have letters from when the US bombed the facilities he was working in trying to knock out enemy infrastructure. Luckily he survived and when the war was over and he was submitted to the hospital he was 6'2" and 135lbs. After a week in the hospital he was released and lived a long life afterwards. The letters we have go from him being happy, asking about my grandad's school, and describing the pig they had on wake island as a pet. To being captured and all the communication changed to, "I am alive. I hope you are well. Goodbye." -- the letters appeared to be screened and transcribed by someone other than my great grandad. The spelling was different, handwriting was slightly different, and postmarked from multiple areas. Anyway, great reaction!
He doesn’t only do US vids. He has a couple about Brit’s. There’s one about Percy Hobart and another about Sir Douglas Bader.
Been asking for the percy hobart one for ages. He liked it once so he knows.
@@T57Custodian And yet, this isn’t the first time he’s said that, nearly verbatim. Makes me wonder if he doesn’t remember.
In TFE terms, it's still stories about the US. But, instead of the usual US-A, it's the US-B.
He also did the polish mailmen
The .. swedish? ....meth guy as well
He doesn’t say it but both pilots were eventually shot down. Hank was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Know if either survived?
@@Erik-zh7rk
Elrod did not survive.
The final Wildcat fighters were knocked out in the battle and Elrod formed his unit into a ground force to support the other Marines.
Aren’t all Marines riflemen first?
He was killed in ground combat while leading his air unit, now turned into infantry.
@@tvc1848 what a badass
@@Erik-zh7rk Hank did not. And I don’t know the name of the other
@@tyramirez6628
This is part of his Medal of Honor citation:
“Captain Elrod shot down two of a flight of twenty-two hostile planes and, executing repeated bombing and strafing runs at extremely low altitude and close range, succeeded in inflicting deadly damage upon a large Japanese vessel, thereby sinking the first major warship to be destroyed by small caliber bombs delivered from a fighter-type aircraft. When his plane was disabled by hostile fire and no other ships were operative, Captain Elrod assumed command of one flank of the line set up in defiance of the enemy landing and conducting a brilliant defense, enabled his men to hold their positions and repulse determined Japanese attacks, repeatedly proceeding through intense hostile fusillades to provide covering fire for unarmed ammunition carriers. Capturing an automatic weapon during one enemy rush in force, he gave his own firearm to one of his men and fought on vigorously against the Japanese. Responsible in a large measure of the strength of his sector's gallant resistance, on 23 December, Captain Elrod led his men with bold aggressiveness until he fell, mortally wounded.”
Total devotion to duty…..
21 Planes?!
Yes. It was the very definition of "a target rich environment".
The situation at Wake made the Navy realize it needed its own construction corps and led to the formation of the SeaBees. This is another group you'd like looking into; amazing in their own right.
Yeah. I served with some SeaBees. Those guys were pretty dope.
Nick has several videos about UK military. Sir Percy Hobart, Sir Douglas Bader, and I can't remember the guy's name but the title is about trolling the Germans with wooden planes. They are all great stories!
The DeHavlin 98 “Mosquito”
@@RamblingGin YES! Thank you 😊
He needs to do one about Churchill's cousin. The mad brit that fought WW2 with bagpipes and a sword😂
@@hurricaneace143 Mad Jack Churchill was a legend, but I dont think they were related. it was brought up in a video bout him, but I haven't watched it in awhile.
@RamblingGin Lieutenant Colonel John Malcom Thorpe Fleming Churchill, DSO (Distinguished Service Order) & Bar, MC (Military Cross), aka "Fighting Jack Churchill" or "Mad Jack" was not related to Sir Winston Churchill, you are correct.
He was, however, briefly an actor, rode his motorcycle all over Burma (Myanmar), was at one point a newspaper editor in Nairobi, Kenya, and was also a male model for a time.
He took second place at the Aldershot Tattoo (a military bagpiping competition) and competed one behalf of Great Britain in the World Archery Champions, in Oslo, in 1939, though he did take 26th place.
All of this without even counting his military achievements, or education, is on its own quite fascinating.
Bro he told you 😂😂 Percy "Hobo" Hobart... He was enlglish 😅
And Douglas Bader (RAF) 🤘🏼
I been saying percy for ages 😂
0:20 immediately scrolling the comments to see if nick replied
Never be overly confident against an enemy that has nowhere to retreat.
I think the Royal Marines who rode on the side of Apaches to assault a Taliban fortress would make a pretty great video for Fat Electrician. It's called Operation Glacier Two and is pretty undercovered by military RUclipsrs.
That was my troop haha. Just before I joined!
Mr. Ballen has a wild short story about a British Soldier in WWI (ended up being Britain’s most highly decorated Soldier of WWI). You’d really get a kick out of it.
A lot of his war stories are embellished or made up. So was the story you mentioned accurately told?
@@xeldinn86 it actually is a historically accurate story. It’s pretty wild, too.
There’s a quote from some UN peacekeeper (I think French but not sure) that when soldiers lose their officer they usually lose initiative and withdraw but when Americans lose their officer they go on the attack. American officers aren’t there to prod their guys to fight, they’re there to hold them back. So no communications means keep on fighting.
My grandfather fought in world war II his name was John Elmer Shegogue. He was in the Navy. He died before I was born from all the chemicals and just all the bad things that they use during that war however from the stories and the diary / journal he kept while he was there the stories he told were absolutely just utter insanity. To be clear he did not die during the war he died from complications due to the war. But like always the US military said his injuries weren't war related or military-related😂😂. Isn't that the famous align the VA likes to use.
My paternal grandpa was in the navy during WWII, as well! I don't know what kind of action he saw, he only talked about the stuff he and his friends got up to on leave. Always got the impression that his ship was on clean up detail after the fighting was over. Dad told me that Grandpa straight up told him that was the case. I do know that he was in training for a land invasion of Japan when they got news of Japan's surrender, though.
He has a few British military videos
Yeah “Percy Hobart” and “sir Douglas bader” I think those are the only 2 edit: oh and the wooden plane
"You may have a numerical advantage, but we have a target rich environment."
I would love to see you on the Unsubscribe Podcast with TheFatElectrician, I would love yall to compare y’all’s experiences to eachother!
He did one for Royal Air Force about making a wooden fighter jet and trolling the Nazis in WW2
The mosquito 🦟 right? LOL
@@derrickduncanson9253 Yup that one lol
@@ghosti79 that was a good one. I also like the one about the legless fighter pilot, also a brit. Haha
Not a jet, but yes. Great vid/story
@@daltonv5206 my bad if I said jet, it was a plane. Haha
"It's not about the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog" - Mark Twain. Marines especially those of the United States have earned the moniker "Devil Dogs" for a reason, they are the embodiment of aggression and efficiency despite being one of the most poorly funded branches in the U.S. military they are one of the highest performers when it comes to low cost high body count solutions.
I served-as a Navy Seabee. Hell, when fubared. Navy Corpsman. The best thing on Earth. I tear up whenever I see one now.
These was a rescue fleet detailed for Wake. But when Adm. Pye got word that Wake had fallen, he turned around.
Lots of pissed off Marines and sailors. Many historians claim that was the closest the US Navy had come to a mutiny since the War of 1812.
One of my absolute favorite stories from the USMC in World War II, among many others
Mad Jack Churchill seems like the perfect British soldier for the Fat Electrician to cover seems like his kind of dude
Remember that the carriers were coming back from Pearl. All of their pilots were combat experienced. So those two Buffaloes shot down 21 experienced pilots.
They were Grumman F4F Wildcats.
There is a rock on Wake Island where it reads, 98 US PW 5-10-43.
The story behind it is sad. An American prisoner escaped from the Japanese massacre and wrote the message on the rock. He was later found and beheaded. Nobody knows his name.
The Japanese left 98 US civilian contractors who were POW's on the island, after two years the US had stepped up random bombing raids on the island just as a nuisance and the Japanese executed all 98 POW's in retaliation. That is what the 98 means. Also, one person escaped the mass execution and two months later the Japanese dug up all the bodies and counted them, realized one was in fact missing and they eventually found him and beheaded him. This resulted in two Japanese officers being convicted of a war crime and being summarily executed after the war.
RE: George HW Bush. After he was shot-down, he was floating towards the Japanese held island of Chi-Chi Jima. BTW, the Japanese troops on that island were eating American prisoners. Good thing for George he was picked up by a US sub.
Another interesting note, Bush was also the youngest combat pilot in the history of the US Navy.
Love your videos❤ been going through a lot for the past few months, and having your videos to watch brings a smile every day.
I'd love to hear your storytelling about the British Royal Marines! Nic is passionate about American stories; he's told some British tales, but I imagine you have a bit more of the local flavor for the British side of things. 👍
2 Grumman Hellcats vs 50 enemy planes, I'm sure those pilots called it a "Target rich environment"
A Grumman Hellcat and a B-29 named "FiFi" flew over my house just a week ago and it was so surreal to see
As a Marine infantry leader later in WWII would say when told they were surrounded by Japanese troops…poor bastards. We can attack in any direction.
2 wildcats not hellcats
Ah yes good old wake island. Oh hey when are you going to react to spooky stuff? it's October after all. Maybe you could react to some Mr ballen?
Hope you're feeling better! I agree, TheFatElectrician should definitely make some Royal Marines videos, as well as other branches of the British military.
My mom's uncle was on wake. He survived and survived the pow camp as well. All he ever said about wake was this. "I stood up and everyone was dead"
The reason why the Pacific fleet didn't intervene at Wake Island is because we almost didn't have a fleet to fight with at that moment. Immediately after Pearl Harbor our entire Pacific Fleet was 4 carriers, 5 cruisers, and 27 destroyers plus some submarines that wouldn't be much help in a head-on battle like that. All Battleships were sunk or damaged badly enough that it would take 6-8 months to get them fully battle-ready. Meanwhile Japan had 6 carriers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, and 9 destroyers just for the task force that hit Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had 9 other active battleships (11 total) at the time plus 38 cruisers (mix of lights and heavies) and 80 destroyers.
If the Pacific Fleet went out on sortie to relieve Wake Island, it would have meant we would basically have no Pacific Fleet left and Japan would win their decisive battle to knock us out of the war quickly. Their offensive was very well-planned and executed but because we didn't take the bait and give them their desired battle on their terms, we could wear them out with attrition and before we could pin them down and defeat them in detail.
Absolutely, had the US attacked, they would’ve given the IJN the exact thing they had planned for years to happen. Start a war, and wait for the American navy to rush in with a big fleet. They had planned to cripple the navy, consolidate their gains in the South Pacific, and wait for the Americans to decide it wasn’t worth the trouble to try to retake it. So, as sad as it was, it was the prudent thing to do.
@@stephen1991 And more than that, Japan had already brilliantly executed that battle doctrine during the Russo-Japanese War, culminating in the Battle of Tsushima. Our admirals were well-aware of how Japan conducted naval warfare and knew that playing the long game of attrition was the best way to counter Japan's more aggressive strategy.
Absolutely is the best story teller on RUclips. Your gonna have to think of a distinct story to ask him for. Otherwise it will only another video of us throwing tea in the sea
Eh, tied with Mr. Ballen. Or rather, they're both the best story tellers of their genres. Ballen covers the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious, TFE covers military history while he s*its all over communism. Another fun presenter is Casual Geographics. Gives you those zoology lessons as it is, not as the kids shows or Dave Attenborough weaves them as. He's a fun guy to listen to.
And by throwing tea into the sea, are you referring to the US and the Boston Tea Party? I hear that wasn't well received by the Brits. "They threw the tea into the harbor claiming it'd be the biggest brew of tea we'd ever seen, but we couldn't drink any of it. There weren't any scones or sandwiches and they put gravy on their biscuits. 0 out of 10, never going to attend ever again." I think that's the accurate Yelp review of the time. Mean while the south was like, "Not enough sugar and the tea was too warm." 🤣🤣🤣
@@steeljawX Casual Geographic reminds me of TFE with the way they both throw in random zingers to drive the point home, unlike many school teachers.
😇😇😇😇
"story teller" being the operative words.
That whole story at 19:01 is total bullshit.
The communist Chinese MURDERED American pilots. The AVG had to move their blood chits from the back of their jackets to the inside for fear of red Chinese killing them.
The communist Chinese were fighting China as much as they were the Japanese.
I don't believe for one minute that that filth helped a US Marine.
@@steeljawXBoth storytellers are equal in my mind when it comes to their specific genres. Love both channels
BTW -- He doesn't just do American stuff (although that is the majority). He's done several on British including Sir Percy Hobart and Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (for his Mosquito) just to name a couple.
I'd love to see your take on historical original content. I would suggest taking heed of Nick/Fat Electrician's progress though... he wasn't doing 20 minute epic stories off the bat, he spent quite a bit of time doing short form 2-3 minute videos at first...but I think those were absolutely instrumental in fine tuning his voice/perspective that is now in use.
What I give him so much credit for is authenticity. You know the story is being told as "authentically as possibly" by actual E4-E6's that was there. His voice is so just so true to the enlisted mentality that it gives him an(sp?) higher air of authenticity.
I would love for you to do stories on the British Royal Marines. That would be awesome! Please seriously consider it. Thank you!
Love this video, btw. I am a huge fan of the fat electrician, and i really love your reactions to his videos. Thank you for doing these. You are much appreciated. ❤
I'd love to hear stories about our royal British brothers. In USMC boot camp we are taught Marine Corps history. I had always found it incredible that the Corps was in play before the U.S. declared it's independence
My fave British story he's told is about the Mosquitoes (wooden planes)
Find a good story where the royal marines fought alongside Americans and then talk shit about it and nick will pop up and set the record straight. You just have to make him mad enough to do an entire video rant.
Make sure to add something about how great communism is...
@scottrule480 came here to say that, the surefire way to summon Nick is to praise communism 😂. In all seriousness, it would be a fantastic collab
@@scottrule480😅 lol or just say it 3 times😂😂
My father enlisted December 8th, 1941 and by February 1942 was in the Solomons, Bougainville, Vela La Vela and told me by the fall of 1942 things were very grim, they thought they would lose Australia, but when the Yorktown CO, even while it was sinking told his men keep it afloat, although he died in the battle and the Yorktown was sunk. This is one of many cases where one man's battle cry motivated men to keep fighting and it worked.
You should watch either “the angels” or the 77th division by him! Or both! They are longer but they are so good
As A Born American I have been shooting a Gun at 8- 12 we are Good Shot's and still shoot. Now at 48 but at much longer Distance.
The real reason why it is impossible to successfully invade the US mainland with conventional forces. The Citizens militia aka unorganized militia aka every American 18 and older with a gun who isn't in the military.
This was an amazing vid bro. You got his volume correct and you did it right with your reaction. Keep it up bro!
lol, I've watch all his videos a while ago. but now im rewatching them all while you react haha. my wife hates the pace of his videos but you're right, he is a fantastic story teller for us who appreciate comprehensive and concise information in a hurry, along with a sense of humor on a dark/dry side 😂
The rug made me instantly think of the line from The Big Lebowski: "That rug really tied the room together."
as retired air force, if a situation was getting sticky, you always held a little comfort if you knew a marine or two was also tagging along.
Check out his video on Percy Hobart a British tank commander, and his video on the DH-99 the mosquito, a British plane. Also he talks about the British SAS in his video on the banelli M4
**US Navy's Unluckiest Ship With An Untouchable Crew - USS William D. Porter, by The Fat Electrician**
This is probably the craziest story I have ever heard from Nick or anybody else actually. It will 10000000% surprise you haha. You should give it a watch sometime!! Love your videos btw!
If you haven’t seen any TFE videos on British ppl, that’s just bc you haven’t seen the episodes he’s done on ppl like Percy hobo Hobart. That’s a name for example? That I’ll never forget & is as British as Winston Churchill, in fact Churchill spoke up in support of Hobart. You should react to that one for example
As hard as it was, not sending naval reinforcements to Wake Island was absolutely the right decision. The Imperial Japanese Navy was looking for a decisive battle on their terms, and rushing in with what was left of the Pacific Fleet, outnumbered and unprepared, to fight in Japan's back yard, would have given them exactly what they wanted. How much longer would the war have dragged on, had the USN lost its carriers and a number of cruisers and other combatants, so soon after Pearl Harbor? Don't fight to your enemy's strengths, and don't follow his plans.
Do the Brits really think the Americans were that inept? It seems it’s a common theme online that we’re not a country full of warrior tribes. I’m so confused at their civilian population thinking our Marines and Navy were just a joke, but owed us EVERYTHING after July of 1940.
The bravery and courage of those Marines brings a tear to my eye every time and makes me proud to be an American
yes do that. all stories should be shared. id enjoy hearing your sides stories of valor. every side has a story to tell. and they are seperate episodes in a bigger story. like a meanwhile over at the north front kinda thing.
US Marine combat veteran (Afghanistan x 3) good content brother. Love from the other side of the pond
For those who don't know, a Corpsman are part the Navy, as they (the Navy) also pay our checks, however Corpsman are given the same respect, actually more, than fellow Marines
There is a town in NE Texas called WAKE VILLAGE so named because most of the young mail population there fought on Wake Island and generation for that area was lost
I was praying for a new Fat Electrician reaction video today, and we got one boys. Love these man. Hope the family is doing well brotha!
Tell your stories! Share them, don't let them be forgotten. People deserve to know history
"21?! There's no way! What were the Japanese doing? Were they putting up recruits?"
Here's the thing...the Japanese had to take care and check their targets so as not to shoot at friendly craft. The Americans were under no such restrictions as the likelihood of targeting the other Wildcat was pretty close to zero with the 25:1 odds they were facing.
Also, it's highly likely that a percentage of the 21 Japanese casualties in the air were the result of (or at least aided by damage from) friendly fire.
Strategically, sacrificing Wake was Nimitz only choice. If we had risked our 3 carriers at Wake, and lost even one, we would not have been able to cripple the IJN at Midway a few months later,...and Nimitz knew this. Tough call by a brilliant leader who knew we weren't ready for a battle yet.
Nimitz didn't make the call. It was Admiral Kimmel. Shortly after, he was relieved by Admiral Nimitz.
It was questionable strategy for the U.S. to put small military outposts and forces in places like Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines in the first place. In the event that war with Japan broke out, it was unlikely those forces could be supported or reinforced. They fought with great skill, bravery, and determination, but in the end they had been put out on a limb by politicians and military leaders, and the result was death or years in horrible captivity.
It makes me worry about current events. Politicians and military leadership have put U.S. military personnel in small little garrisons and stations all over the world, but particularly in the Middle East.
@dongilleo9743 if you are going to hold territory like the US did with the pacific islands that were under US control then you will have military bases. It was not a questionable strategy. To have forward deployed military bases. Wake island was a stop for the flying boats and made a good forward base. Problem is in wartime bases that are like Wake Island and Guam can easily be isolated and over run. But you would rather have your forward bases over run than have you actual territory attacked. Like having landings done in Hawaii or the west coast.
@@russellcollins52 You make a good point that I don't necessarily disagree with. I think my complaint is just that if politicians and military leaders are going to put military personnel in danger, that they don't do so in a haphazard or irresponsible way. If they are going to establish forward bases, at least give those military personnel the numbers, equipment, and supplies to have a real chance to fight and survive until reinforcements and support can realistically reach them. People who willingly join the military are signing up to potentially risk their lives, but their lives shouldn't be carelessly or recklessly thrown away simply to act as a "speed bump" to slow the enemy down.
What Videos Nic makes is kind of random, but the occasional Brit makes it. Sadly I have not seen any on HMRM but his take on Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart (Hobarts funnies (tanks)) is epic "The Real Tank Genius Of WW2 - Percy "Hobo" Hobart"
Hence the advent of "Zulu time" or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for civilians!
I got to know one of the Marines on Wake. Jake Skaggs, manned a 5 inch gun and was the one to take out the first Japanese shop of the war. He was eventually taken captive and went from 180+ lbs to just under 120 lbs when he was released.
I still have and carry, every day, the challenge coin he gave me
I loved that he said "play possum" because im pretty sure they play dead when under attack from my knowledge of animals (not much)
I’d like to hear some stories about Royal Marines, though did serve along side some in Afghanistan, Camp Bastion. I think best option would be a collab with you and Nick.
You should also check out his other channel, The Fat Files. Still great stories just on topics that are also interesting and not a well known.
I read about this in a book called The Burning Sun!!! Excellent book about WW2
To be honest, yes, you do need to do the videos yourself. The Fat Electrician makes good content because he comes from within our own military culture. You as a Royal Marine have that same direct perspective, you lived it. You know the inside jokes, you know the sarcasm, no reason not to give it go.
Love from the US bro. Always loved my Marines, American and Brits alike. Maybe talk about the Falklands sometime?
Fookin’ US Navy commanding officer pussied out and surrendered.
BTW, the Marines nicknamed Major JPS Devereux “Just Plain Shit” for him working them so hard preparing for the Japanese attack.
He has a story that he did about a british tank commander from ww2 it’s titled “The real tank genius of ww2, Percy “hobo” Hobart”
Just a little side note in case nobody has told you, but playing possum is an idiom in the u.s , it's another way of saying playing Dead. Since possums are notorious, at least here that they, when startled, play Dead.
I hope he does one on the Battle if Grytviken, it's fucking wild, and I feel it'd be right up his alley.
What happened to the Wake survivors reads like a horror novel. Heartbreaking.
Reacting and story telling are different, maybe ask F/E for advice on how to story tell, but would love to hear some R/M story. (coming from a USA: USA: USA)
If you thought Wake Island was nuts, check out the Battle of Guadalcanal. Roughly the same number of U.S. Marines had to take, and hold the airfield there, for months, when the navy was forced to flee. Yet they stuck it out and held the airfield. Day and night, until Enterprise and other battleships returned.
Never EVER underestimate the USMC!
As a former American Devil Dog, I would absolutely @#$%'ing enjoy an across the pond story(ies!) as told by one of their own!! Hell, m8... I would even purchase at least one of those British made tankers! So pony up and don't be a W⚓... Lets do this~ P.S. I enjoy and share your content on the regular even with my own sons~
I think if you want him to do a Royal Marine story, you'll have to give him the research. Maybe a script but I think the research would be best. Then he'll write the script in his trademark style.
I would love to hear him talk about a joint operation between the Royal Marines and the USMC
He left out an important point in the surrender of Wake Island, those that admitted to the Japanese that they were members of the gun crews were executed.
Man the US military is just made different. I think people often attribute it to our superior tech and budget. There’s no denying that makes a huge difference. But there’s something about the mindset of our brave troops that gives us an edge that’s hard to overcome. We love our incredible military men and women 💙🇺🇸
You should check the Battle of Yultong By (The Front)it’s about 900 Filipino soldiers against 40,000 Chinese and North Korean troops
To be fair to the Japanese aviators, their planes were flying death traps with paper thin armor and vulnerable fuel lines. If a Zero were to fly low enough, a pistol could shoot them down if the shooter was a lucky shot.
Hello mate, first of love Your reaction to the crazy things we Americans did in WW2. Love to see how our buddies on the side of the pond think about our actions.
I do wanna clarify something, that a lot of people who see this particular video always make when they hear, 'the US government has left you all to die'. Fatelectrician says this in the beginning, this event happens right after Pearl Harbor. America's fleet is decimated, we didn't have the capital ships to make any kind of counterattack. Our only capital ships we're 2 aircraft carriers with little support vessels and the Japanese greatly outnumbered the US in the pacific to the point any kind conventional attack will lead to a loss to the US. It was simply better to lose a small island we couldn't defend for long and 450 Marines than what was left of the pacific fleet and let the Japanese steam roll the whole pacific.
From what I know they also Accept The largest surrender in British history Singapore, 1942 and Malaysia too and not kill them
American military fighting forces have a natural d20 (20) roll when outnumbered. Enemies, walk away because we're still rolling 18-20 without any air support buff.
Those 5 inch guns didn't come from the Old Texas tho..she had 6 inch as her secondaries. ruclips.net/video/eIeoCUgAElQ/видео.html probably from the later Florida class.
He does stories on other countries craziest heroes, best snipers or all around badasses. I think he does have a video on a Brit, pretty sure
He did a few British ones and the French death Vespa
The Fat Electrician, "Old 666" , definetly worth watching.
I noticed that TFE had done a few vids about young American Soldiers and I thought of all the kids that had fought for Great Britain.
The decision to abandon Wake Island was sound military doctrine, although painful to carry out. The projected cost was too high. The possibility of long-term success was too slim. With the fall of other U.S. Pacific possessions, Wake Island was ultimately indefensible.
When he gets through telling all our stories, he will probably tell our Colony's stories, like the northern European islands of Briton we take care of and defend constantly.
😂
dude, would love to hear stories of our brothers from across the pond.
The Japanese were the ones that were lucky. If their commander hadn’t forced them to surrender, there’s a good chance the Marines would’ve forced the Japanese soldiers off the island.
The Marines on Wake knew the island was already lost but went down swinging anyway.
I would love to hear more about the Royal Marines.
Definitely tease us about the badasses of the British military
Bro you gotta do Fat Electricians USS Texas video. Seriously. It's pretty good.
He’s done videos before of British people/groups. Watch and react to his video of Percy Hobart (British WW2 tank officer) can’t wait to see it :)