The Carrier Raids on Rabaul with guest co-host Jon Parshall-Episode 221

This week Seth and guest co-host Jon Parshall maneuver their way through the two aircraft carrier raids on the Japanese fortress of Rabaul. The team goes through the personal stories of some of those involved, discusses the impact of the raids on the almost mythical Japanese complex, and discusses the ships used in both raids. Tune in and see how these two raids impacted the overall campaign not only in the Solomons area, but the war as a whole.
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[@TomSmith-lf8tr]

As an 70 yo Australian who lost two uncles as pilots in WW2, I thank you for the care you have taken in explaining the Pacific War to the world. We still argue with the USA but we remember your sacrifice.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Families argue from time to time. Australia deserves more recognition for her acts of courage on behalf of herself and the Allies. God Bless

[@davidelliott5843]

Australia was (and is) about 1/10th the size of USA with a considerably smaller economy per capita. They punched well above their weight.

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

It wasn’t a sacrifice it was standing with brothers in arms against a common enemy. We haven’t always treated our Australian allies as well as we should have, but that doesn’t mean we US veterans don’t appreciate everything the Australians have done for and with us.

[@bughunter1766]

I think the rest of the world tends to overlook the contributions of the lesser partners in the war as a whole. In the grand scheme of things maybe the Australians contributed more than the Canadians just due to proximity, but everybody, the Poles, the Norwegians, and countless others contributed an incredible amount considering what they had to offer. When you think about it, even today people might think of Australia as a great big place that should have had a great impact on World War II, and they did, but they've only got about three times the population of New York City. And that's today. So when you consider the contribution to the war versus the size of the country, I'm not sure anybody contributed quite as much as the Aussies. At the end of the day it took everybody to win.

[@kilcar]

My father had leave in Brisbane in the middle of his tour of duty. He didn't want to stay in a Seabee Camp, so he took a bus to Toowoomba. There a wonderful older couple took him in for a few days. It was the best moment of a terrible war for him. Upon leaving he presented them with a fifth of Johnny Walker Red.

[@joelkirby3430]

My father became an Ace on November 2 on the Rabaul raid. It is known as Bloody Tuesday! Marion F Kirby flying a P-38.

[@flparkermdpc]

So Dad owes his opportunity to Admiral Halsey's radically new decision to use land based air power to cover a fleet action. Your comment is the only confirmation of Seth's mention of land based air group participation early in the episode. That comment centered on a Marine squadron of F4U's, but apparently some Army P38's got into this raid?

[@shaftf16]

I may have met your father in 2005 at Kunsan Air Base in Korea during an 80th Fighter Squadron reunion. I just happened to be the newest pilot in the squadron that week. There were several well known Headhunter pilots there, so I might be mistaken. Either way, your father is definitely remembered in the squadron to this day!

[@joelkirby3430]

@@shaftf16thanks He is a Headhunter and he loved his squadron! What is your call sign?

[@shaftf16]

@@joelkirby3430 SHAFT is my callsign

[@shaftf16]

@@joelkirby3430 I have decals of your father's plane in the 431st and I'm planning to build a model eventually. Also working on a whole collection of Headhunter aircraft from 1942 to current day. Take care!

[@richardbennett1856]

The Supreme Commander is in the house. John is a great storyteller and is in his element. Thanks Seth...We could hardly wait for this episode.

[@flparkermdpc]

So true! Don't you just love when John uses words like "festooned" when describing the numbers of antiaircraft guns on new American cruisers and refurbished older BBs and the aircraft carriers that rejoin the fleet after major repairs and refit. Festooned! Such a descriptor !

[@innovationsurvival]

This series is a golden gift to history students of any era. I had no concept of what actually happened in the Pacific war. This series fills in many blanks. Thank you, thank you, thank you

[@flparkermdpc]

I am somewhat amazed at the amount of amazement demonstrated in the numbers of commenters to whom this is ALL NEWS. "No IDEA" and Fills In Blanks" is an enormous black mark on our already underperforming education system. But if your mission is keeping your population ignorant of how great a history our country owns so that they, WE, CAN kept eternally IN FEAR of paper tigers, and RULED. THE TRUTH is very different. When our governments acted, not just the USA's, with policies of fear that gave evil a chance and a big head start, free people responded with a righteous fury that decisively defeated, albeit at great cost, all the enemies of freedom that had caused the situations that existed AT THE TIME. That should be on the plus side of the ledger. But fear and evil are always with us. Great service and well presented positive history that all Americans should know and wear proudly, and as useful knowledge going forward. The challenges will always keep coming. Great work, Seth and Bill., and guest personnel.

[@PalleRasmussen]

Jon is here! I had a plan to listen to something else, but I can never say no to Jon or Alex. Very nice guys. Drinking game and challenge; every time Seth says "To that point" or "To your point" take a shot. Then pop over to WW2TV and have one every time Paul says "rabbit hole". Which will get you unconscious fastest?

[@tonypegler9080]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm its a tie

[@bughunter1766]

As an avid homebrewer, I pretty much took that challenge today with a Citra Pale Ale. I'm pretty sure for every time he said it, I drank a 14 oz beer. I'm still standing!

[@73Trident]

Don't forget Drach with "whilst".

[@morganhale3434]

This is going to be special! I do not remember very much about these raids other than that they occurred. Super Jon Parshall to the rescue!!!!

[@tacitdionysus3220]

Hard to overstate the value of this series. This clip in particular treats a not well known, but very significant, event with great clarity. Huge appreciation guys.

[@flparkermdpc]

"Not well known" is a such an indictment of our government school system. This is the stuff that should be on tee shirts. Great job Seth and Bill!

[@rusty14706a]

Jon got highly technical when describing the anti-aircraft gunnery of the Essex class. He said "That's allota Boom Boom. Always great to see you Jon, whether with Seth and Bill or Drach or whomever.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

Man, you guys are on a roll with this second series! Great shows coming out every week, it's really great. I've learned so much about actions that get passed over a lot in order to get to The Big Fights. Thanks for all your devotion.

[@cf453]

Thank you for painting such a vivid and compelling picture. Those were some smart, brave, and capable folks, and they deserve to be remembered. The most amazing part of the story is that after ALL this death and destruction, we and the Japanese have managed to forgive each other and become phenomenal friends and allies. Such a strange goddamn species we are, but so far, very lucky.

[@emilrydstrm3944]

My favorite podcast with my favourite guest covering a part of WW2 I know little about. This is gonna be good later today after work!

[@jeffreymartin8448]

The first dose is free.

[@lt.petemaverickmitchell7113]

The opening of this podcast amazes me every time!

[@ph89787]

Takao: SARATOGA!!!! Saratoga (picks up Princeton): Run for your lives!!!

[@tingey539]

Geeat stuff, you guys. I'm the author of the Todd Ingra series. This is about the USN, destroyers in the pacific war. It's all historical fiction. So, I get a lot from you. Many thanks. JJG

[@hdfoster5507]

John, your analogy of MacArthur and the 'second coming' was right on, at least in his own mind. Great presentation, as usual, guys. TY

[@willl7780]

im so glad they are not MAC fan boys...ive never liked mac i thought he was vastly over rated..

[@chadcasale4216]

Eugene Fluckey in his book Thunder Below mentioned the exact same thing to Lockwood about damaging vs sinking. He actually said that damaging was better because it would overload the shipyards. Great point.

[@bughunter1766]

Never thought of it that way but that's an interesting point. There is a limitation on how many dry docks you can have.

[@CorePathway]

Just like ground-pounders; takes 1-2 guys to carry each wounded guy off. Unless you’re Russian.

[@oceanhome2023]

Finally some conversation about Rabaul , it is perfect harbor , a Huge crater with one side missing, deep water port with perfect anchorage ! Best diving spot ever !!

[@bobsmith4185]

Fantastic job.. its always a school day watching you guys thank you.. i have my 11 year old grandson watching you guys.. he wants to be a history teacher.. and you fellas are a major part of it.. thank you

[@kilcar]

Earlier raids on Rabaul by B-25 and P-38' aircraft left Woodlark and Kiriwini island in the Louisaides archipelago and other Allied bases on New Guinea on 12 October 1943, almost a month earlier. My dads 20th and Brother 60th Seabees built and maintained the runways on both islands.The runways on both islands were crushed coral with Marsden matting on top. My father was with CB 20 on Woodlark. The Japanese responded in kind bombing Woodlark and Kiriwina day and night from Rabaul, Buin, and other Japanese bases on the southern coast of New Britain.

[@ianwalker404]

Magnificent episode - brilliant bold action by Halsey which saved the day. Look forward to seeing Bill back next week

[@BlitherVids]

Awesome episode as always, guys. Missing Bill, but Jon is a top-tier fill-in and I love seeing his videos every time. Jon, you mentioned that these raids might be considered "overlooked", and I would heartily agree. The content out there that even mentions these raids seem to be few and far between, which is one of the reasons I love this podcast. It seems that the other channels would love nothing better than to focus on Midway, Guadalcanal, Philippine Sea, etc. It's fantastic that you guys drill into the details and don't skip important events like this.

[@gw2058]

The last big volcanic eruption was in September 1994 which covered the town of Rabaul with heavy ash and destroying the town and airport. I was in Rabaul for for just over 2 months in May 1994 diving and exploring the sites, one of the most picturesque town in the pacific, and it's harbour was huge.

[@oriontaylor]

Was there very much left of WWII relics in and around the harbour before that 1994 eruption?

[@BeKindToBirds]

​@@oriontaylorI am not the original person you asked but I highly doubt it. Salvage steel from before the atomic bombs went off is really valuable and I have no doubt that they would prioritize salvaging in harbours. Most of the wrecks under were likely taken out within years of the war.

[@charlesperry6088]

@@BeKindToBirds Nope the only things removed from the sunken ships were the propellers in the late 60s/early 70s by semi professional divers - some of whom ended up with their own dive live aboard tourist operations in PNG. I lived in PNG from 87-99 and in Rabaul 93/94. Myself and a friend are the last people to dive the Hakkai Maru and Kensin Maru the day before the 94 eruptions trashed the town - and sank my boat. In more general terms there was stuff laying all over the place from WW2 although a small fraction of what was there in 1945. We were still finding Japanese skeletons in the deeper reaches of the wrecks and there were unexploded bombs scattered across the bottom of the harbour and decks of the shipwrecks as well as aircraft wreckage from intact Zeroes to just pieces scattered all over the place. Several times a year an unexploded bomb would be washed out onto the road side after heavy rain and need to be taken care of. Sometimes the locals found them first and blew themselves up hacksawing them open to go fishing with the explosives. I had a great collection of ordinance I disarmed and polished up - the brass was something else. All buried in the eruptions sadly.

[@saenole66]

Another fantastic episode. Jon Parshall is a wealth of information clearly presented in an extremely interesting manner. Seth always does a great job on these segments.

[@prosecutor4536]

Wow! Drachinifel and Jon Parshall here in back to back weeks!

[@timihendrix01]

I may be in the minority but I always loved the Hellcat's look. Photos don't do it justice if you have seen one in person, especially in the late war single color paint scheme. It doesn't have the unique factor of the F4U but what it does have going for it is a very powerful, purposeful look - its a plane that is all business and looking for a fight.

[@georgeinfallschurchva6565]

Another outstanding episode - thanks guys! I would like to offer one point about the ongoing comparison of carrier design and build quality of Essex vs. Shokaku vs. Taiho vs. Illustrious etc. The Essex class was by no means unarmored but carried its armor at the flight deck level protecting the ship's machinery and magazine spaces. Thus Franklin and Bunker Hill survived terrific damage and were able to exit the combat zone under their own power. The Essex class also enjoyed unmatched advantages over other contemporary carriers in terms of fuel capacity and crew training.

[@willl7780]

i did not know that...armored the delicate areas below the flight deck...thats smart thinking...i love the essex carriers..

[@MichaelW.Keller]

George, I read the Essex carriers had about 3 inches of armor below the flight deck. You didn't mention the Essex class has more aircraft (100-110) compared to Illustrious and I think more than Taiho. They had more aircraft than the Shokaku and Zuikaku with 90 aircraft each.

[@51tetra69]

God bless all of the heroic sailors and airmen who boldly put themselves in harm's way during WWII! God bless all the courageous veterans with nerves of steel who risked everything and selflessly sacrificed so much to protect our countries and preserve the freedoms we enjoy today! God bless all the souls - military and civilian - that we have lost in times of war! God bless America! God bless us all and grant us peace!

[@SirLurkALot]

It's always important to keep in mind that many of the combined air ops principles and procedures that we take for granted today (and demonstrated here by Halsey's decision to send land-based air assets to protect the carriers) were really unknown at that time in history. Talk about a shot in the dark thrown together on the fly, this really was pioneering stuff in those days.

[@billwilson-es5yn]

The whole idea of having airbases on land was to provide support for naval forces and supply ships. The IJN and USN couldn't use them during their night engagements. The USN also used those to keep carrier aircraft and crews in reserve.

[@jamesthompson8133]

Man that Harry Thurber saved the day with constructing the attack on that fleet of war ships. Hope he got some kind of love from the navy for his idea. Y’all do such a great job! Thank you!!!!

[@mkaustralia7136]

Love the content. Rabaul was a great harbour, but had had a massive volcanic eruption in the 30s - which my aunt reported on (my uncle was the Australian Patrol Officer there). The last earthquake in the 90s basically covered Rabaul and it was a bit of a ghost town when I visited there a few years ago. The Nip bunkers with the AA guns were still there as were some rusted out Nip landing craft in tunnels around the bay. Just nearby is a very moving cemetery with the graves of the first Australian casualties from WWI - from the capture of Rabaul from the Germans at the start of that war. Immaculately maintained.

[@stuartwilson4705]

We need an episode on coastwatchers of the Solomons Seth! What an insane job, go sit on your own on an remote island somewhere, surrounded by Japanese and radio us back some intel.

[@russfranck3491]

All three of you guys are awesome, love your shows.

[@dansartor5098]

Love it when Parshall joins in

[@buzzyhardwood2949]

Outstanding presentation, gentlemen. Thank you so much.

[@constellation64]

Really love to see John. He meshes so well with you and Bill. Another fantastic episode!

[@cheesenoodles8316]

Excellent program, again. A favorite guest too. I just finished watching "Rings Around Raubal"....a staple for me growing up.

[@Boron121]

Another good episode. While Mac loved ringing his own bell, the fact he was only getting the leftovers does justify some of it. While the Essex class carrier and the F6F were great leaps forward, the proximity fuse is one of the top 3 inventions of WW2. The Allies were lucky Hitler shelved the R&D of the German version in 1941. What would have Okinawa been like if our forces did not have VT fusing to combat the kamikaze attacks.

[@shaunprice3922]

Bloodier. AND.a LOT bloodier....same end result. WW2 comes down to what EVERY war comes down to....logistics. Ultimately the US could throw men AND tech into the fray..... We outBUILT Japan....and Germany...and Italy (well Britain out-built Italy but whatever)

[@thomasgarrison3949]

Good afternoon Mr. Paridon & Mr. Parshall, I'm looking forward to another great video.

[@TrainmanDan]

You just know that any episode with Jon taking part is gonna be great! Thank you.

[@dougm5341]

I again find myself lucky to your posting this evening. Something to listen for the night. Thanks gentlemen

[@lavernedofelmier6496]

Love you guys getting into the nitty gritty of these events. Intro to the navy personnel with balls of steel puts this all in prospective. Thanks

[@treyhelms5282]

Another great episode. Thanks.

[@Vaul_Fusbin]

Seth, Jon, and even a Gunther sighting, the best info you can get on the pacific theater, thanks guys

[@morganhale3434]

The more that I see and hear the intro for The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast the more I love it. The music and video clips get you into the mood for some serious sh*t. Sorry for the vulgarity.

[@flparkermdpc]

Getting parity and more with Victory at Sea from early TV Days, but with far superior prose and comment with the accuracy of research and time to reflect what really happened. I haven't reviewed any Victory at Sea episodes in parallel with the Unauthorized Version. I'm almost afraid to take the blooms off the roses. For instance, the fact that our brave spear tips were still being wasted with blunt weapons, and that it was mostly egos that prevented earlier resolution. Criminal. Please paint the names brightly of the offenders as often as you think it is reasonable to hold that against them. That kind of laundry was never aired in VAS to its discredit. Corporate TV was there to wave the flag, in direct contrast to today's sullying all things American.

[@Poverty-Tier]

You had me at Jon Parshall

[@brucelytle1144]

Really enjoy this whole series! Yes, those Essex class carriers lasted long, I remember going past Bunker Hill, tied up @ North Island in San Diego for years, late 70's till early 80's.

[@kenedmisten7995]

My Dad was a mechanic with VF-17. He talked about the tail hooks being installed on the F4Us to land on and sent to provide cover for the Carriers, (as you noted.) These planes had been on the island for sometime and as they landed on the carriers a giant cloud of dirt came of the air planes. They came not long after the main attack planes left. The carrier crews work hard to fix bullet hole that had had quick repairs done on the island correct many repairs on these planes , They refueled the F4Us and sent them out as the main group was returning to the carriers. The Japanese had the torpedo follow the returning strike to the carriers so the land based planes caught the Japanese following torpedo planes. I am not sure if this was the first raid or second raid on Rubal. Thank you for the great information.

[@blank557]

As an avid and invested student of the Pacific war whose father served in the First Marine Division at Peleliu and Okinawa, your presentation tremendously increased my understanding and appreciation of this famous battle. The nuances and details in your colorful and engaging conversation brought the event to life again. Well done!

[@kevinrussell1144]

This was GREAT, guys, and the images of all those US ships, planes, and servicemen at the start of the video make me smile and fill me with emotion. Thanks, and thanks, especially, to those departed heroes.

[@leedeneweth9323]

Gotta add Parshall as a regular! Adds a whole new dimension to the narration.

[@garyrunnalls7714]

Just saw magnificent doc on USS Indianapolis featuring Captain Toti, amazing.

[@robertmoffitt1336]

I'm in the last portion of Thunder Below, and for me, it is such a tremendous book. Exceptionally good book. Race of Aces is on deck next.

[@jimwatts914]

The best thing on KZbin about naval history. Miss Admiral Bill but Parshall is the best substitute ever.

[@joevallez8664]

Ohhhh Yaaa, Ohh Yaaa… Ya Done Made My Day Boys! Great Cast! Thank You! :)

[@GlennJDickinson]

Outstanding treatment, guys, thank you

[@marksherrill9337]

Thank you. My father served on an aircraft carrier during WW2 and appreciate explaining what the pacific war was all about. This is positively the best source of information to those of us who are interested.

[@TheJazsa80]

Thanks guys.

[@drake0074]

Great show fellas, as always! This campaign is my favorite history subject and you guys are doing great work.

[@gregcollins7602]

Another great torpedo Tuesday. Always enjoy what Jon has to say. Great job guys!

[@orlandofurioso7958]

Seth, if you have your German Shepherd out for a walk and see a Chihuahua, don't take anything for granted. Make a very wide birth of it. No breed of dog is more lethal to a German Shepherd than a Chihuahua. They are the very hardest to extract from a German Shepherd's throat.

[@tomtruax6775]

Another great video/podcast. Parshall's insight and commentary are a brilliant addition.

[@stevemolina8801]

Always a pleasure to listen to Jon, thanks to both of you. Go Navy!

[@vincentlavallee2779]

Another great video! And it was such a pleasure to see Jon again, but I missed Bill too. Your videos are just terrific, with so much detail, and always the real story too. I believe in your last episode you had Drach as a guest, and he is also great. So, keep up with the guests! I knew very little on the carrier raids on Rabaul, so this was very interesting.

[@bobjones8864]

Thank you gentlemen a wonderful explanation of this operation in precise detail. As a 75 year old I grew up learning about WW2 on American television, a shame that it is disregarded by corporate media.

[@Antmann71]

Gentleman, brilliant. Am getting a free university level history education each week. Amazing. Thankyou

[@Steve-dg3md]

Good presentation guys... loved it!! 😊

[@parrot849]

Another outstanding episode, as usual. You know you’re spoiling us as far as podcasts available anywhere concerning the war in the Pacific. Jon’s opening remarks about “in the weeds” historical knowledge of the Pacific war in between securing Guadalcanal and the Philippine Sea “turkey shoot” is not something that is relatively easy to find without spending some search time for the average person with any interest in WW2 in the Pacific. Lots are written concerning tactical details of the actual island hopping allied invasions, but the operations of both the allies and the Japanese in between the actual island invasions seems to have fallen through the cracks. Information about the naval operations that pulled the fangs from Japanese fortress Rabaul don’t seem to be as widely documented and available as the other major Pacific War events. This is why your presentation is much appreciated.

[@danincerti8493]

Thank you so very much for another great episode. Well done to you both thx again

[@williamfankboner4206]

Another great video. Looking forward to future episodes: There's a wealth of material to cover. Incidentally, according to Wikipedia, the Atago (愛宕) was the second vessel of the Takao-class heavy cruisers. The debut of the Essex-class carriers with their deck-edge elevators, was a major event in the balance of naval power in the Pacific War.

[@jonparshall]

Yeah, I was blathering there. Takao-class and Mogami-class is correct. Totally muffed that. Cat musta been bitin' my leg, or something...

[@williamfankboner4206]

@@jonparshall A gracious mea culpa and cautionary tale for cat owners. Considering the sensational success of this series, do you know if Seth and Bill are contemplating an "Unauthorized History of the European Theater of Operations"? E.g., the Battle of the Atlantic, Operation Torch, the naval support and bombardment during Overlord, etc.

[@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar]

At present, no, we are not. Our passion is the PTO, not the ETO.

[@cliffsherwood7729]

Again great job… This truly was one of Halsey’s finest moments I own Victory at sea and have tried to the progression of the war in the Pacific. This pod cast is spot on and your doing a great service to tell the tail Just an awesome job Thank you And God Bless

[@scott4475]

I just came across your Channel last week. I've watched 12 episode so far. Seth and bill do a great job. So insightful and entertaining. I love you guys. One thing I think that could add to each episode quality would be to include more maps and Battle plans

[@tonypegler9080]

hoorah its Tuesday and the next podcast from UHOTPW is here.

[@tkraft63]

Thanks for this great description of the resurgence of Naval Air Power that began with the battle of Midway.

[@terryrogers1025]

Thank you gentlemen.

[@robertmontgomery6811]

Both Seth and Jon are excellent narrators and these podcasts are fascinating.

[@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar]

Many thanks

[@mikeat2637]

I think that it is amusing that in the last episode, about Empress Augusta Bay, I asked a question about these very raids as to if they came before or after Tip Merrill's win at Bougainville. And it's always a pleasure to see Jon Parshall imparting his voluminous amount of PTO facts.

[@patrickshanley4466]

Awesome again! I have now made sure to look for your podcast each TUESDAY morning when I walk my dog. 👨‍🚒👍

[@astraltraveler2725]

Jon Parshall is always insightful. Another great podcast. 👍 👍

[@MilBard]

Section 22, the radar hunters in Gen Douglas MacArthur's had done multiple Ferret radar hunting plane sorties to Rabaul plotting Japanese radars in the area. They had nine sites around Rabaul plotted by Oct 1943 and had shared this data with Halsey's Radar Countermeasures intelligence office run by drated New Zealand physicists who later became Section 22's Field unit 13 when 13th AF came under the SWPA. Central Bureau had also been plotting via high frequency direction finding the locations of Japanese coast watchers. Both Central Bureau and Section 22 was under MacArthur's Chief Signals officer General Spencer Akin. Since he had both reporting to him. The low and northern that Saratoga's and Princeton's fighters was a hole in the radar and coastwatcher network spotted by Akin's people and shared with Halsey's New Zealanders.

[@sneakerset]

Thanks for the share. Collins Radio (US) has a site devoted to the company's electronic work during WW II, including their surveillance net antennas.

[@markballard2442]

My father joined Saratoga 6 weeks after Pearl Harbour and stayed on board until de-mobilisation at the end of the war. A worthwhile contemporary read is "Sara - the Story of USS Saratoga" which covers the story of CV3 during the war - lots of detail from this navy issued book.

[@secularbeast1751]

Seth, John, great work as always. Thank you.

[@flatnose7314]

Great episode! Great guest, and you wore your USS Oklahoma memorial shirt.

[@davidlee8551]

Thank you both for sharing your knowledge!

[@sneakerset]

Found an old photo of (possibly) the Saratoga offshore from Santa Monica pier. Apparently, she was offloading from one of "Magic Carpet" shuttle runs at war's end. If anyone's interested, I'll post the site.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Until today, I had no knowledge of this raid. Great story! Thank you.

[@aviation1776]

AH LETS GOOOO JON PARSHALL IS THE MAN!!!!!!!!

[@jameshannagan4256]

Another great episode love Bill but also love when John is there as well. Yet another action I knew almost nothing about.

[@lurking0death]

The American response to Pearl Harbor and its entry into WWII is simply amazing. The Americans had to retool a huge part of their massive industry and QUICKLY...and they did exactly that. By 1943 American industry was producing high numbers of superior weapons. In 1939 Bulgaria had a larger Army than the United States. By January of 1944 America had millions of soldiers, many with experience in North Africa, the Pacific and Italy, and they were winning encounters with German and Japanese Armies. It's an astounding story. It's a story of some very competent people making great decisions and some serious and maybe, angry, soldiers who wanted to engage the enemy and roundly defeat them.

[@sneakerset]

Even more compelling were the Lend Lease agreements such as Project Hula (Cold Bay, Alaska).

[@robertdendooven7258]

A lot of the preparation for the expansion of the US Military in terms of personnel, weapons, and ships began after the Fall of France in 1940. Thus, it was in 1943 (rather than 1945) that the US Navy began to commission many of the larger ships that were authorized by the Two-Ocean Navy Act.

[@jamesthompson8133]

We just keep beating there ass back to the main islands. Another great job guys!!

[@cosmasgeaney2463]

Great job both of you, fantastic detail, great cool comments by both, thank you both. Miss Bill, cheers from us aussies

[@bobcosby1034]

Rarely do you hear anything about these raids. Excellent video, easily one of my favorites to date. Thank you!

[@paulagrau5494]

Great work as usual gentlemen.

[@stevensparks3126]

That was a great presentation ! Thanks.

[@joebollig2689]

And we remember yours. He who sheds blood with me is my brother. Remember Kokoda Track, Milne Bay, Wau and all the awful places of battle. Australia and N.Z. Deserve greater recognition for their tremendous, incredible efforts in the full spectrum of the war - fighting, logistics, manufacturing, planning, hosting, and much more.

[@johnmccann7546]

Chock full of knowledge and entertainment, I appreciate both and thank you both.

[@mitch8226]

Thank you

[@bobbiecrider6964]

☝☝ Good Morning Gentlemen. This is the I've been waiting for

[@andrewdawson9753]

Great stuff, and always love hearing Jon Parshall's take as well.

[@N2NDF]

I wish I could go back and witness the true patriotism, heroism, and dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors to protect our freedoms. If I could drink. I would raise a glass in praise to those who gave there lives and those who returned. I am in their debt!

[@46bovine]

Another excellent discussion. Thank you gentlemen.