The Pacific

**SPOILER ALERT**





I'm sure the action gets fast and furious after the Germans bomb Pearl Harbor!
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My dad was a Naval Officer in The Pacific and when I was very small he used to tell me stories about one of the main real life characters in this drama, legendary Medal of Honor and Navy Cross recipient Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone. Talk about heroes ...
 
My dad fought in the pacific late in the war; Phillipines, Ie Shima, Okinawa.

He said none of the movies made about the war were accurate unless you soiled your pants watching them.

They were just "entertainments."

I disagreed at the time but now I have to wonder why we watch this junk. A bunch of actors playing like they are heroes and us sitting on our couches taking vicarious pleasure in watching this gory ****. Why?

Compared to most of what passes for entertainment in this debauched society it may be "well done" but so what?
 
Why do we watch these things. I like to learn from history and take the good and understand what the bad is about.

To understand or get a feeling from what true pressure or fear is like. It may not be the real thing but it is about as close as one can come and I try to learn from it, that's why.

If you have a problem with it, don't watch.
 
its about history to me. you can tell the story in a documentary, but it is just not as emotional. as humans, i think that is pretty normal. we respond to stories.

this is about as good of one as you can possibly have.
 
I recall most of the Band of Brothers had very good things to say about the way Ambrose researched and wrote his book and the way they made the TV series. The veterans met with the actors and enjoyed spending time with them, as did the actors. These shows may be nothing more than money makers to HBO, but to the people involved, they serve as tributes to what these guys did. 20 or 30 years from now when Capt Winters is dead or when EB Sledge is gone, all of us will still be able to relive some of the horror and glory of what these guys went through, as will their children and grandchildren. Obviously we don't **** our pants when we watch it because we know flying pieces of shrapnel aren't going to come through the TV and blow off our limbs, but it's as close as we can come to immortalize what these guys did for us so that we could be free.
 
These shows do give insight to those who weren't there, but I hate to say some things do get left out. I was watching "Shootout" on the History Channel. They were analyzing the assault on the three batteries that were taken by Easy Company during the Normandy invasion. It pretty much covered every detail just like the series did, but there was one difference. When the skirmish was over Captain Winters walked by a wounded or dying Nazi soldier, and shot him while he was still living. Now I can understand why it was left out of the scene, but these things are always left out to make characters more endearing. So what we see is not always what really happen.
 
Longhorn630 said it well. BofB was a very well made and important series. I made my teenage sons watch it several times with me and explained that American generation, the world, the threat (their GF was a Navy Officer in the Pacific) the sacrifice, heroism, etc.

I don't subscribe to HBO so I will have to live this out thru some of you and wait for the DVD like I did with BofB. I am pretty well read on WWII history so I am very anxious to see this series.
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Read a very complimentary review of it in the NYT today.

They made the point that a lot of what happened in the Pacific had been unknown at the time and forgotten since. And that this series addresses that fact in a respectful fashion.

And I sometime forget that I heard a lot of this stuff firsthand from my dad and uncles when I was a kid and a lot of people did not.

I apologize for my condescending attitude.
 
If you get a chance to read Sledge's book, With The Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, I highly recommend it.

Some images in it won't leave your mind.
 
I'd like to see a mini-series focused on carrier-warfare in the Pacific. Maybe set it on the Enterprise for the entire war. It would be like a real version of Battlestar Galactica.
 
There is a documentary on the History Channel called Battleground 360 that does exactly what you described. It follows the Enterprise from begining to end. I think it is 6 episodes.
 
Huisache,

if your dad talked about his experiences in WW2, then he's different from my own dad and other gentlemen that I know who fought in the war. My did NEVER discussed what he did or saw, other than to tell us how his unit pioneered the use of whole blood in combat situations. That was it.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I knew he was sent to the Pacific when Europe was over and that he was recalled for Korea.

He died in 1983, so I'll never get to hear his stories.

Not everyone is as lucky as you
 
Episode 1 thoughts anyone? I was a big fan. I think my biggest worry going in is that it won't come close to matching the incredible depth of character development that they had in BoB. If the first episode is any indication then this is going to be a very well done series that'll join BoB on my DVD shelf.
 
The History Channel show featuring the Enterprise really is well done. They do incorporate characters, some of whom appear on the show. They talk about certain individuals who performed above and beyond and helped influence the battle and follow their path throughout the battle. I can't recall them off the top of my head but they'll follow a squad commander on a bombing run or a lookout pilot who spots a Japanese fleet and talk about how they ended up faring in the war. Really good series.


First episode was great, not as much character development compared to the first BoB but I would assume since they are focusing on 3 main guys they have more time to spend since they aren't developing a whole company.
 
I dont have an opinion on it yet. It looks like this series could be more raw, more racially charged, motivated, etc. So far, there appears to me one character that is a moral compass for the group. There wasnt much background on the characters, a few minutes. B of B spent two episodes on set up before normandy invasion didnt they? They did about 15 minutes for Pacific.
 
I thought it was a bit slow to get rolling in Episode 1, but the production values are high and the last 1/2 was very good. I'll be watching every Sunday night now.

Like others, I have a Grandfather who fought in the Pacific in WWII - he was a B29 Flight Engineer and was stationed on Tinian with the Enola Gay crew. And, like others, he doesn't talk about his experiences, either.
 
I had an uncle who survived Guadalcanal. Like some others said above, he did not elaborate much on events there. He did say he lost alot of friends, it was very difficult and he did not know how he made it. He also remarked about how he was just a kid, and how they spoke differently about the Japanese soldier back in the day.

That last point is something they seem to be going to great lengths to show in this series. I dont really have a problem with it, as long as they are accurate. No reason to whitewash it. It was what it was. However, it would be best if they offered some of the reasons underlying the animosity and there are many (other than just a simplified Americans are/were racist, as Tom Hanks appeared to be saying and which, if so, would be a whitewashing of history).

Anyways -- RIP Rudolph Masters of Odessa, survivor of Guadalcanal. A great guy.


As to the first episode -- they tried to cram alot into 1 hour. I did not feel the character development is near as good as BoB, but maybe that will come. I was able to start to get a grip on them in the final 10 minutes. Like someone else said above, if it is just half as good, that should good enough.
 
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