The Pacific

He got married to an Aussie? That's cool! I was hoping Lucky would to that one and if he did, don't tell me.

I have not yet gotten to watch BoB's because the copy of the box set I borrowed from a friend was BluRay and I don't have a BluRay dvd player. Mine would not recognize the discs at all so there went that idea.
 
The bunker scene in Part Seven actually took place on Ngesbus Island which is a few hundred yards North of the main island of Peleliu. The Marines made another amphibious landing there. They needed to take out some large artillary that was shelling the Americans back on Peleliu.

That "little" battle is just another example of why we never invaded Japan. The Japanese had 493 men on that island, and the Marines had to kill 470 before the remaining 23 surrendered.

They may never know or admit it, but nothing in Japanese history spared as many lives as did our atomic bombs.
 
Regarding the death of "Skipper".


Captain Andrew A. Haldane was company commander of Marines who served in K/3/5 - including Eugene B. Sledge. Loved by his men, Haldane was shot by a Japanese sniper on the 12th of October, 1944, while assessing the area of Hill 140 during the Battle of Peleliu.

Sledge describes what happened to Haldane in his book, With the Old Breed:

At the time of Captain Haldane's death, the bulk of Company K was operating with its parent battalion (3/5) on Hill 140 within the Umurbrogol Pocket. In an attempt to orient himself to the strange terrain his company was occupying, Haldane raised his head and looked over a ridge. A sniper's bullet killed him instantly. First Lt. Thomas J. ("Stumpy") Stanely succeeded him as commander of K/3/5. Stanley led Company K through the remainder of the Peleliu campaign and on to Okinawa the following spring.

The men of K Company thought their commander could never be replaced. In his book, Sledge pays his beloved leader a personal tribute:

Capt. Andy Haldane wasn't an idol. He was human. But he commanded our individual destinies under the most trying conditions with the utmost compassion. We knew he could never be replaced. He was the finest Marine officier I ever knew. The loss of many close friends grieved me deeply on Peleliu and Okinawa. But to all of us the loss of our company commander at Peleliu was like losing a parent we depended upon for security - not our physical security, because we knew that was a commodity beyond our reach in combat, but our mental security.

... So ended the outstanding combat career of a fine officer who had distinguished himself at Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu. We had lost our leader and our friend. Our lives would never be the same. But we turned back to the ugly business at hand. (E.B. Sledge, With the Old Breed, pages 140-1.)


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Photo courtesy U.S. Marine Corps.

Quoted passages from E.B. Sledge, With the Old Breed, pages 140-141.
 
In my opinion this has really taken a turn for the better since the focus shifted to Sledge. The ending of part 7 where they ran into the surf was a very poignant scene.
 
I dunno, I really liked it. I liked the looks of the guys watching Basilone actually die in front of them. They were in shock and it reminded me of the looks on the guys faces when they learned Ack-Ack was dead. It goes to show you how powerful and important a great officer or NCO is and what they can mean to their soldiers.
 
In the narration before part 8 they said that Iwo Jima was the only battle in which American casulties exceeded Japanese casulaties. It was well portrayed in the battle scenes. I can't imagine the intensity of the battle.
 
Absolutely brutal battle scenes in this episode. I thought crossing the airfield was bad, but this seemed worse.

The statement that IJ was the only battle where our casualties outnumbered theirs really shocked me. I guess I always assumed that the attackers suffer more casualties than the defenders, especially in an amphibious assault like we had to do in the Pacific. It just seems logical that going against a defender that is dug in is going to cost you more lives than you take.

How were we able to maintain that advantage in every other battle?
 
Strange that some historical accounts claim Basilone was killed by machine gun fire as depicted in the series, while others say it was by an exploding mortar shell.
 
Haldane got his nickname from his initials A.A.H. (Andrew Allison Haldane). Ack Ack Guns are the nickname for anti-aircraft guns (or anti-aircraft artillary guns) that were typically double or quad barrel guns mounted on the deck of Navy ships. I can't recall hearing the term used for land-based anti-aircraft guns, but maybe it was.

The nickname Ack Ack in military terms comes from the British. It was a WWI alphabetical slang used to for AA much the same as other military alphabetical slang like "Bravo" for B or "Fox" for F because it is more easily understood over the radio or battle noise than saying "double A." I don't believe the term was originally used to describe anti-aircraft guns specifically, because the Brits may have been using it before those guns were even invented.
 
I believe the US had 75,000 troops land on Iwo Jima. Three full strength Marine divisions eventually landed on Iwo Jima (two in the initial invasion and then the reserve division later). Wiki lists 110,000 US troops but this probably includes naval personnel on the ships.
 
I thougt part 9 captured the every day hell the Marines faced-rain, mud, bodies, human filth, stench, etc-very well.
I think this series really took off when the focus switched to Sledge and his squad. Sorry, Lucky......but that follows their respective books. I liked With the Old Breed much better than Helmet for my Pillow.
 
Last night's episode was, IMO, extremely moving.

The scenes depicting the violence suffered by the civilians were particularly tough to watch. The horrors of war are one thing, but seeing them visited upon children is something entirely different.
 
that was a great and very tough episode to watch. it made apocalypse now look like the invasion of grenada.

i didnt read the books but it has been a very interesting series to watch. when you compare the european v pacific theatre, obviously it is like night and day. both areas faced hell on earth scenarios but i would have much rather taken my chances in europe than the pacific. it is interesting to watch the interview clips of the soldiers in band of brothers v. the pacific. it appears the group from the pacific had a much more horrific experience and they seem almost resentful to those that put them there..
 
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