First Time Watching The Pacific - Episode 10 Reaction

[@Uncle_Neil]

"The Pacific" lost HBO money, but it makes people cry out of sorrow, for the living and the dead. Priceless.

[@brendan9868]

Honestly the show was just ahead of its time and I attribute a lot of the shows financial failings to that. Average person doesn’t know much about the pacific front beyond Pearl Harbor, kamikaze attacks and the eventual atom bombs that got dropped, hell I even had someone in a college history class who didn’t even know there was a pacific front of the war. People went in expecting it to be band of brothers 2 basically, but it was far darker, too dark for most peoples tastes at the time really. It was just very different from what the average person was wanting out of a wwii series.

[@cpj83]

Great job with a tough to watch series! My father and all but one of my uncles served in the Pacific. Those men were my heroes as a kid and still are. They’re all gone now, taking their stories and experiences to the grave. They were The Greatest Generation!

[@sandbagger57]

Sledge was stationed in China after the war until 1946. He wrote the book China Marine. Sledge's memoir is a classic and considered one of the great combat memoirs. You did an excellent job. The three parts of this trilogy are Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Masters of the Air. They are all made by the same people.

[@johnmagill7714]

Retired Navy here. Thank you for those kind words and heart felt feelings you shared. Believe me we appreciate far more than you may know.

[@JimFinley11]

Retired Marine here. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings about this series! I loved this, along with Band of Brothers and Masters of the Air, and, for that matter, Tom Hanks's film Greyhound, depicting the experience of the convoy escorts in the Atlantic up against the German U-boats. I can heartily recommend the Ken Burns historical mini-series The War, about America's experience in World War II. It follows service members, civilians, men, women, adults and children, from four parts of the U.S., and interviews the ones who were still alive when it was filmed. Eugene Sledge had already died, but Burns covered his story, and interviewed Syd Phillips and his sister extensively. It's a seven-part history, beautifully done, and it not only explains the war itself, it covers the experiences of the people at home, and it looks at the experiences of Black Americans in a segregated military, those who became prisoners of both the Germans and the Japanese, and the interactions of American service members with those of Allied countries. Thanks again for your reactions to The Pacific! As a Marine, I sometimes wish the Pacific war was as well remembered as the war in Europe, North Africa, and other theaters. Take care! Semper Fi, Jim Finley Captain, USMC, retired

[@tomw324]

As I remember "The War" has several interview clips with the real Sledge.

[@mikealvarez2322]

Amy, you have such a beautiful response to the hell these men went through and what we owe them. We need to do more than just honor them. We need to be sure that what they fought for, freedom and human decency, is not lost. Millions of men and women fought to stop evil from dominating so much of the world. That same evil that wants to rule the world is still with us it just has a different name.

[@hokiedoo]

I used to hunt with a great man he was injured by a Japanese grenade at Guadalcanal,he had metal splinters come through his skin from the grenade for the rest of his life....he loved being a Marine!

[@YN97WA]

I really enjoyed all your reactions to this series, Amy, and I agree with you; everyone needs to see this series, along with B o B and Masters of the Air. This generation paid a hefty price to save the world from tyranny, and it should always be remembered and honored. I think you represented that beautifully, young lady.

[@mikealvarez2322]

It's important to note the difference in how WW2 soldiers went to war and how they came home compared to those who fought in Vietnam. WW2 vets went in units and returned in units while Vietnam veterans returned singularly with no time to readjust with their comrades. I believe we did a terrible disservice to our Vietnam vets. My best friend did 2 tours of duty as a combat Marine in Vietnam.

[@JoshDeCoster]

It’s insane that we required servicemen in the infantry in Vietnam to serve 12 months there, and witness their friends dying and so much death, but yet we immediately put them on a commercial plane for a 24 hour flight. Could you imagine that? Everything must have hit those guys all at once on those planes back.

[@mikealvarez2322]

​@@JoshDeCoster I read somewhere that soldiers in Vietnam experienced 240 days of combat while WW2 soldiers experienced an average of 40. Combat experience includes sitting in a fox hole in the Ardennes or humping the rice paddies looking for Charlie.

[@bg7606]

I grew up in northern New Jersey in the 70s. My friends and I were very interested in history. And we knew who Robert leckie was from his book. Those teams that they mention...used to play our high school. One time Leckie was there. Our history teacher, who was a retired Marine Corps captain in Vietnam, knew him, and pointed him out to us. for history nerds, It was a BIG deal.

[@RichardWelty]

in addition to his memoir, Leckie wrote a number of popular histories after the war. i've acquired copies of a couple of them. he's a good writer, although the books are a little dated as is common with the popular history category.

[@yjb854]

My youth baseball coach in the 90s was a retired career marine. He fought in Okinawa at 17 years old, then in Korea and then Vietnam. He was a gunny and actually reminds me a lot of Gunny Haney. I don’t think he struggled with PTSD too bad, because he would tell us every gory detail about the combat he’d seen, almost with amusement. To him the Marine Corps was a religion and a lifestyle, everything thing he did was the Marine Corps way, from the way he dressed and the way he wore his hat, his pickup truck was always spotless. But he was an open book and would let us ask him any questions about those wars. He would let us have some of his chewing tobacco, because he said it would put hair on our ass! He swore like crazy and was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.

[@michaelstach5744]

You are now qualified to watch “He Has Seen War,” the documentary that follows this series. It show some of these men and men from BoB and their families and how they adjusted to civilian life. There was no understanding of PTSD back then. You might also watch “The Best Years of Our Lives,” a fantastic movie about vets returning home and adjusting or not not to civilian life.

[@terryd757]

I second the suggestion to watch "The Best Year of Our Lives" I think the real impact of that movie is knowing it was made in 1946 and not everyone was even home yet. It was also made in an era when you didn't admit to having problems, so maybe seeing that it was happening to others was helpful.

[@williamivey5296]

I liked Leckie's mom. She's subtle, but when she notices his interest in the girl next door, she casually mentions his dress blues and how good he looks in them. Just nudging him in the right direction to outflank that officer and his car. 😊 My dad fought in the Pacific and Korea, though he had a battery of 155mm artillery and didn't get as close to the front lines.

[@mileschang796]

The train ride never happened unfortunately, Sledge ended up in China as a part of the stablization effort along with processing surrendering Japanese troops for another year. He wrote in his memoir, China Marines.

[@tomw324]

I thought they made that clear when they were talking at the beginning of that scene. That they were coming back well after all the others. Chronologically their return would have been well after the events in most of the episode and I suppose should have come at the very end, but it works how it is done.

[@mileschang796]

@tomw324 Yes, they did. But to my understanding, Sledge was reassigned separately.

[@tomw324]

Yes that may be true, been a while since I read China Marine. Still the train journey is a nice series of scenes, even if it didn't happen that way.

[@mileschang796]

@tomw324 yeah, it's meant to be a fitting send off for them.

[@flatcat6676]

"Band of Brothers" is an amazing series, and is a showcase of the comradery that can develop between men and the importance of good, steady leadership in a time of war. "The Pacific" is an amazing series that showcases the mechanical horror of war as it chews men up, leaving them broken, dead, or walking shells of who who they used to be. The war in the Pacific theatre between the Americans and the Japanese was just as brutal and unrelenting as that waged between the Germans and the Russians on the Eastern front, with no quarter expected and mercy rarely extended by either side.

[@zombiespongebob6903]

still the greatest generation of heroes... there were no drones... there were no satellites... they just had each other and a mission... and just plain bravery and grit. Sad to know that generation of heroes are almost all gone.

[@dedcowbowee]

Thank you, you really put in the effort and made great reactions for every episode. thank you for your reading text, some reactors don't bother, lol.🥰

[@erivej]

With all that Leckie went through, I believe who he ended up with was his biggest accomplishment 😁

[@tomw324]

Another great reaction to an excellent series. Yes some of it was pretty tough but you did a great job with some very thoughtful comments at the end. If you want to watch a really great movie about the experience of WWII soldiers coming back into civilian life, I recommend reacting to the 1946 black and white film "Best Years of their Lives". Wonderful, bittersweet film about three soldiers returning to the same home town and the issues each has getting used to civilian life again.

[@bertieb7811]

Dr Sledge treated WW1 veterans who suffered from PTSD so that makes it even more heartbreaking

[@jim3780]

The Ken Burns Documentary "The War" is a multi part series that everyone should also watch. It ties right in to The Pacific and Band of Brothers.

[@kevinotoole2285]

I think something we don’t mention with Sledge is his father must of been brought back to the First World War with the trauma he experienced treating those boys helping Eugene. The toll of now worrying about his 2 sons being home and idle with trauma.

[@skyhawksailor8736]

Now you need to watch the additional documentary "Profiles in the Pacific". Bob's wife and family along with other families and Marines who were still alive.

[@mikealvarez2322]

The documentary about the Battle of Pelelieu has several clips featuring Eugene and some of his experiences on the Island.

[@Carln0130]

Well done Amy on finishing the series. It is pronounced E-whoa, Iwo that is. Your summation closely mirrors my feelings. Sure it's not feel good T.V., but it is extremely important T.V.. History is ignored at our own peril. Thanks for reacting to this series. My suggestions are Letters From Iwo Jima, which is the fighting on Iwo from the Japanese perspective. A great movie directed and produced by Clint Eastwood and Full Metal Jacket, which is Vietnam, not WW2, but does give some additional insights into the Marine Corps and why members of the Marines are held in such respect in the United States.

[@tmontgomery7592]

One of the shitiest parts of ptsd is that it doesnt really kick in until youre out of the trauma because your system doesnt know how to handle not being there.

[@prodbycinder]

OMG if you get the chance you should check out the documentary Peleliu 1944: Horror in the Pacific on KZbin. It features interviews with Eugene Sledge, Burgie, and other soldiers you saw in here as well as real footage. It's really interesting to hear the actual soldiers describe the landing and crossing the airfield. The documentary follows the same timeline as The Pacific did. Thankyou for the reactions and all the best!

[@jevans.writer]

I enjoyed your reaction to this. Please consider also reacting to "Masters of the Air". It's the most recent WWII miniseries by Hanks and Spielberg.

[@Seadog7981]

Once you marry a man like John nothing will compare.

[@justinm4497]

good series wasn't it? nice kid.

[@jian5568]

Besides American views of the pacific war. The Chinese and the eastern Asian countries were liberated by the Japanese and cause massive destruction. And very least view of the war and China was at war with japan before ww2 offically began.

[@catherinelw9365]

The Japanese didn't "liberate" anyone.

[@catherinelw9365]

No east Asian country was "liberated" by Japan. They were ravaged.

[@jian5568]

@@catherinelw9365 ok fine

[@donhutchison4295]

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