The Pacific | First Time Watching | Part 1 | HBO

[@JBASH2011]

Apparently Leckie had a brother who died before the war, and his Dad was never the same- thus the "cold" sendoff for Bob.

[@2104dogface]

My Grandfather was on the "Canal" when ever he talked about it , it was mostly about the funny moments and food, growing up any time we said we didn't like something and we weren't going to eat it, he would be like When i was on the Canal we were lucky to have maggots in our rice and we ate it cause we were hungry" then he would laugh "but thank God they had plenty of Soy Sauce " he got hooked on that stuff and would put it on everything, when i was older i found his Combat knife when i brought it too him to ask about it, he wasn't happy to see it and told me to put it back, After i enlisted and came back from basic i found it and took it out, this time he sat me down as i pointed out some damage on the skull crusher (bottom of the handle) he opened up talking man to man about how during the night he "had a visitor in his hole" and told me about killing someone in the dark in a hole up close, then the stories just flowed out. i was taken back as all my life i knew him as the most gentle man, always going to church, prayed every day never drank booze or swore. but that night was eye opening on the amount of killing he had done and what he saw. and that was the 1st time i heard him swear and show hate toward anyone "them F .....G JAPS"

[@catherinelw9365]

Leckie said “They killed sleep.” Burgie said for years after the war he’d start shaking if he saw an Asian person. It was incredibly traumatizing.

[@Jelperman]

My grandfather told me that one of the cooks tried to cheer up men in the chow line by pointing out that the things crawling in the lumps of rice were weevils (which feed on plants), not maggots (which feed on dead flesh). One of the other Marines said "Because we'd have to have some MEAT to have maggots!"

[@iKvetch558]

Well...yes, the fighting on the islands was much more to the death than the fighting the Americans did in Europe, at least for the Japanese. But the goal was pretty much always to set up bases on the islands that were taken, that was part of the island hopping campaign. Not all the islands had to be taken, a lot could be bypassed and left to waste away once their supplies ran out, but the islands that were taken were almost all used to build bases on of one kind or another. Each new base extended the ability of the US to take more islands, cut off major enemy positions, and bring the US supply chain ever closer to Japan's home islands.

[@Ao-pj1mc]

The Japanese strategy went from winning to purposefully making sure to inflict maximum casualties for the marines with a goal to demoralize the US so much that they would not invade the home Islands.

[@catherinelw9365]

After seeing their brothers in arms captured, tortured, mutilated and killed, a seething hatred was born in their hearts. Suicide grenades, bombs, and even worse, as you’ll see in future episodes, made this a grim, gutter knife fight to the death.

[@RKnights]

It feels ruthless

[@rocker966627]

Yeah I mean just from this first episode you see what the Japanese did to the American soldiers with the mutilation and putting their private parts in their mouths and cutting them to pieces. Sledge mentions this in his book because he seen it first hand and I can only imagine the rage that would bring to you towards the enemy.

[@tommcdonald5958]

@@RKnights my one grandfather was airborne in Europe during WWII. My other grandfather was in the Army (some folks seem to believe it was all the Marine Corps, but Army outnumbered them) in the Pacific. He was a medic who got shot in the head by a Japanese sniper while tending to another wounded soldier. He chastised my parents when they bought a Japanese car, he never got over his hatred for his former enemy.

[@catherinelw9365]

@@rocker966627 Bergie wrote that he found a buddy of his who was captured and tortured by the Japanese. His body had a circle drawn on his chest, around where his heart would have been, and the Japanese proceeded to bayonet him everywhere, except in the circle, so he would be alive while they stabbed him over and over again. Can you imagine how it would feel to find that happen to your friend? It was sickening.

[@crowttubebot3075]

John Basilone and Chesty Puller are legends in the Corps. Learning about them in boot camp led to my interest in history, military history in particular.

[@michaelblack9484]

This is a great miniseries but be prepared for some pretty brutal stuff. After Episode 3 is where it starts to get very intense right up until the end. Unlike Band of Brothers where there was a lot of character development and "downtime", this series is unrelentingly brutal and will take you on a moral rollercoaster. A whole other kind of warfare these boys in the Pacific were fighting, against an enemy who would rather die than be captured. Excited for the rest of your reactions to this and keep up the good content!

[@jp1170]

Theres a lot of downtime for character building in this series too.

[@ichbinich8738]

Honestly speaking, aside from the brutality and gore here in the pacific… I found a lot of unnecessary scenes here to the point that I grew bored and just skipping to the action. Band of Brothers kept me always hyped to each and every seconds of the series.

[@jp1170]

@@ichbinich8738 everyones entitled to their own opinion, but I think youre dead wrong. The non-combat portions of this show is exactly what its about. A series filled with nothing but action just lacks depth. The soldiers in world war 2 spent 90% of their time not in combat. The character building and emotional struggle of these men are truly shown in the “down time”. This show is elite.

[@ichbinich8738]

@@jp1170 I’m glad you feel that way.

[@Ao-pj1mc]

Which is why this as an amazing series it pushes the audience through more difficult things as the series goes on Just as the actual Pacific campaign Campaign became increasingly brutal as the war went on.

[@denroy3]

The heart murmur was Eugene Sledge, and his book forms part of the basis of this miniseries...'With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa' From my home town, Mobile, Alabama.

[@C-Russ]

Have a great time watching this guys! Enjoy the ride!

[@RKnights]

We will!

[@howardbalaban7051]

My grandfather fought in the first wave at Iwo Jima w/the 4th Marine Division. The stories my dad and uncle have told about him, and the stories my grandmother told about him before she passed away in 2010, just make him out to be a legend in my mind. Unfortunately, he died when I was 3 months old. That said, of all the people in my life, I point to him as the blood relative of mine that I'm most honored to call family. This series is more difficult to get through than BOB because it's such a mental drain compared to what the Army did in the European theater of war. Brace yourselves, as there are some heavy eps in this series.

[@wv4673]

“Battle 360: USS Enterprise” is a fantastic documentary about the naval battles between the U.S. and Japan during WW2. The Battle of Leyte Gulf is still considered the biggest naval battle in the history of warfare. As a Filipino who was born during The War, the American island hopping was significant for us in the Philippines. My family fled to the mountains to seek refuge but were always avoiding Japanese patrols. I was a yearling but could have had my family killed if my mother hadn’t stuck my fingers into my mouth to keep me from crying out when one Japanese patrol passed by our hideout. If discovered I’d have been one of those babies tossed into the air and caught with a bayonet. Whenever the American planes came closer my parents would remember with a great deal of emotion that liberation was near and our prayers for freedom would soon be answered. Ken Burns’ “The War” and “Ghosts of Bataan” are excellent documentaries. I’ve also seen “Unsurrendered 2: The Hunters ROTC Guerrillas,” which I highly recommend.

[@catherinelw9365]

Gosh, your story nearly brought me to tears! My Dad’s cousin was a Navy pilot who fought in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

[@mikecarson9528]

My grandfather was taken as a POW, along with all the rest of the the Americans who were left at Corrigidor and continued fighting after the fall of Bataan. Three and a half years of horrific brutality. He wrote a book about it. He was a quiet, serious man that I don't recall him ever saying anything to me. After reading his book, I understand why. I wished I could have known him better.

[@wv4673]

@@catherinelw9365 God bless him. Victory Joe ✌️This was after the war had ended but the Twin Mustang (we called it the double-body plane) was an exciting sight for a little kid like me. Also I can never forget the air drops of chocolates, Chiclets, and Chesterfield cigarettes, or even lining up in class to get KLIM. My wife also remembers the kindness of the American soldiers. She was playing near a group who were cooking pancakes. They called her over and gave her a stack of 25 big 🥞 to take home. She went on to study at the University of Santo Tomas, which had been used as an internment camp during the war - a blessing in disguise because UST was one of the few historic sites that was spared during the Battle of Manila.

[@mikecarson9528]

@UCtIQmpc3aCoqcB4eZzh6pRQ My Time In Hell by Andrew D Carson

[@wv4673]

@@mikecarson9528 What is the name of his book? I would love to read it. I’ve read Unwavering Valor: A POW’s Account of the Bataan Death March and the Florence Finch biography. My wife’s uncle served with the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts. He was part of the Death March but managed to escape at night and disappear into the jungle. She had another uncle who was a Lt. Col with the Panay Guerrillas. He served under Col. Macario Peralta’s 6th Military District of the Philippine Army (“Free Panay Guerrilla Forces”). They shared their amazing stories with family but never wrote about them. Her great-uncle was General Adriano Hernandez - so Filipino patriotism ran strong in her family and those who joined the Philippine Resistance Movement.

[@roddyjo.76]

That thing with the grenade is one of the many reasons the Marines grew to hate the Japanese soldiers.

[@catherinelw9365]

Yup, and using white flags then ambushing them. It was alien and hateful to the Americans. Even the Germans never did any of this.

[@RKnights]

Its apparent that this part of the war was hell

[@catherinelw9365]

@@RKnights Yes, this kind of stuff damages you mentally and emotionally.

[@Santino3989]

​@@RKnightsguys... I'm here just for this series reaction... but let me tell ya ima be checking out all your content... I recommend ' not that u asked ' midway ( new version) and the thin red line

[@nickstansell7700]

This series is going to be tougher than Band of Brothers so brace yourselves. So happy you’re doing this one now too!

[@RJKookie]

Finally!! I've been waiting for this one ... btw whatever happened to the last Twilight Zone upload with Alex?

[@RKnights]

We got hit with a copyright. I'm in the middle of disputing it

[@RJKookie]

@@RKnights After watching Ken Burns "The War" documentary, one of the Guadalcanal veterans described the U.S. Marines & Japanese soldiers as the two toughest combatants of WW2. I've recommended it before but "The Ghosts of Bataan" documentary provides great insight into the Japanese soldiers' perspective.

[@dorkmier]

The Army has medics, the Marines have corpsman and they are Navy. Just so you know. The training in BOB was jump school not basic. If it was basic there would be no officers training with them and they wouldn't have any ranks, they would just be recruits. Great reaction. Keep up the good work.

[@lawrencewestby9229]

The naval battle the marines witnessed was the Battle of Savo Island, a major defeat for the allied fleet. It was the first of several nighttime surface actions of the Solomons campaign that also included two major carrier battles.

[@Crackshotsteph]

Yup unlike the Allied Naval Fleet the Imperial Japanese Navy is trained in nighttime engagements.

[@lawrencewestby9229]

The IJN also had the Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo that could run at nearly 50 kts when launched at 24000 yards, twice that of American torpedoes, and could even travel farther at slower speeds. The American admirals expected torpedoes to only be used inside 12000 yards resulting in many ships being torpedoed as they attempted to close the gun range. The Americans had the advantage of radar but early in the war the USN admirals hadn't the experience yet to fully trust it and un night battles they were afraid of firing on friendly ships.

[@WNC_BUCKEYE]

Most people don't know that nearly 5 Americans died at sea for every 1 on land.

[@Jelperman]

My grandfather fought at Guadalcanal. He said the dysentery, malaria and dengue fever put more Marines in the hospital than the Japanese did. I asked him why their uniforms were so baggy and he said because they just look that way because the Marines lost so much weight from heat, humidity, disease and malnutrition. He lost 30 pounds.

[@frenchfan3368]

Excellent reaction and dissection of episode 1 guys. You are in for a real treat with this series. Yes, it is very different than Band of Brothers" as the war in the Pacific was quite different than the one fought in Europe. The enemy's culture is quite different. The terrain is different. The strategy is different. The only thing really common about both series is that both involve a group of American soldiers that served their country courageously when their country needed them most. No wonder Tom Brakaw labeled the generation who lived through World War II as the ""greatest generation."

[@RKnights]

Greatest Generation is a named well deserved

[@johnwriter8234]

In first few months the of USA in ww2, the Marines were issued old Springfield Single Shot Bolt-Action rifles ( used 25 years earlier during ww1) ... , US Army had the new M-1 Garand Semi - Automatics. (Think about that)

[@Ao-pj1mc]

Thats not a rare thing for the corp...they are underfunded . Marines make due

[@johnwriter8234]

@@Ao-pj1mc First-String Warriors issued Second-String equipment

[@williambranch4283]

My father wanted in in Jan 45, at 17, but couldn't without his father's permission, and as an only son, he didn't get it. So I have heard a few "family" stories. Some other guys committed suicide if they couldn't join up. Consider watching "1917" and "Midway" too.

[@rdramos13]

Skip Midway and watch Tora! Tora! Tora!

[@williambranch4283]

@@rdramos13 Also good. I meant the new Midway. "Isoroku Yamamoto 2011" is also good.

[@rubenlopez3364]

The Marines job every mission is to do D-Day beach assaults

[@JBASH2011]

I have many relatives who served in WWII including my Dad, as well as several of his friends. There was a real hatred of the Japanese by Americans because of Pearl Harbor. 3 of my Dad's friends were at/near Pearl on the day of the attack-one was on the Enterprise which was at Sea and not in the harbor. The other two survived the attack, one in the Navy another in the Army. As a kid, I could hear the disgust and hatred they had whenever Japanese anything came up in conversation- Japanese cars (which were already controversial in the 70s), Japanese food, radios, TVs, a Godzilla movie....whatever. it's easy in retrospect over 80 years later to look at the scene (such as the Marine's "playing" with that Japanese Soldier before Leckie finally puts him out of his misery) and throw our own moral spin on what should and should not be, but things were VERY different for them. I don't condone the hatred and contempt my Father's friends felt, but I understand it- once I was old enough to see what they sacrificed and suffered through physically and mentally every day. Some men were able to put that hatred aside later in life, some men never could. This series really dives deep into the dark immoral realities of war, that BoB only touched on lightly.

[@NeilLewis77]

Yes unfortunately the average Japanese soldier had been brainwashed by propaganda to believe that non Japanese people were beastly people. Less than human. Drug addled godless rapists etc. This resulted in the Japanese being incredibly cruel to anyone and everyone at the time. The Chinese, the Malaysians, the Australians, the Americans, the British. Japan's treatment of people was so barbaric and horrific that it made people be incredibly horrible back. It couldn't be helped.

[@kristymcdowell6185]

So happy you guys are reacting to this series. I personally like this over BOB. I mean I love both so much but this has a slighter edge over BOB. This gets very brutal and raw. And it gets into your emotional and personal side.

[@falsenostalgia-shannon]

Same here. In The Pacific, nobody is perfect, nothing is black-or-white. It’s so *honest*.

[@Junebug2270]

Awesome job on this episode. Will you guys still be doing the band of brothers we stand alone together?

[@peterbrett194]

Hi guys, once you have watched BoB, the Pacific, Saving Private Ryan etc. it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on which one you connected to the most.

[@RKnights]

That is a great idea.

[@bastianmuller4854]

Cool choice guys! Best series of Tom Hanks and spielberg eveer 🔥 Can't wait for the next episode! 👍🏻

[@rubenlopez3364]

The war with the Japanese was much more Brutal for the US than Europe. With more hatred due to racism and the brutality of fighting and the horrible conditions, also the Japanese soldier was still in the Samurai mindset so they showed no mercy and fought to the death because surrender was dishonor to the Emperor

[@andystewart581]

My dad was one of those in the Pacific on a destroyer. Saw some hairy times. Only time he was injured was when they went ashore an island the Marines had already cleared and sat on 2 pieces of shrapnel on the beach. Each about 3 inches long.

[@WNC_BUCKEYE]

Which destroyer.

[@andystewart581]

@@WNC_BUCKEYE USS Chauncey (DD-667)

[@ianrwatson5974]

Guadalcanal was the first amphibious landing by the US military against the Japanese. This is also after the Battle of Midway. A common misconception about Midway was that was the end of the Japanese Navy. The Battle of Savo Island and the subsequent naval battles afterwards proved to the the US Military that Imperial Japanese Navy was still a terrible fighting force. The Battle of Savo Island which you see in the episode showed how uncomfortable and unfamiliar the US Naval Commanders had about using radar and it showed that the Japanese were only second to the British for naval night fighting. This battle wrecked the already small cruiser fighting force in the US navy. USS Chicago, Quincy, Vincennes and other vessels were sunk, hence Iron Bottom sound. With the brutal ground combat on the island was designed to lure the Japanese into a prolong campaign to draw recourses, men, material and ships into the combat zone. If you are wondering were the aircraft carriers are they are being kept at a distance in case the Imperial Japanese Navy sent in their Carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. The US Navy only had USS Enterprise and Hornet left to defend the Pacific as the USS Saratoga was going under repairs from a torpedo strike from a submarine. However what is amazing about the naval battles around Guadalcanal was the first time that a US battleship. USS Washington, sank a Japanese battleship with its guns at night without assistance of torpedo boats and destroyers. The US was still new to this kind of warfare and was learning the hard-way of how to fight it.

[@RKnights]

Thanks for the info. It gives perspective on the event.

[@ryanhampson673]

They set up a base on Guadalcanal. It was a perfect position to base an airfield for the entire solomon island campaign.. Most of the heavily batteled islands were for control or building of an airfield because the Pacific is so vast.

[@richardwhite3041]

The US Navy’s losses around Guadalcanal were higher than the US Marine Corps. The Battle of Savo Island took place after the initial landings, it was depicted in this episode.

[@eric201]

The theme of Band of Brothers was about brotherhood, friendship and bonding, the theme of the Pacific is about the dehumanization of war.

[@eschiedler]

The Marines landed on Guadacanal by coincidence (and some interesting luck) unopposed on my birth date. Far more time has passed since I was born than the time between the battle and when I was born. The timescale of when the war was fought is very odd. It seems both so recent and so far away now.

[@kimyanchus582]

This series was a hard one to watch. Just brutal.

[@kylecasey7010]

I think you are right about men being able to express emotions better these days but I’ve had handshakes from men in my family that I have valued more than a hug.

[@Manolo0528]

The Naval Battle shown where it “looked like the 4th of July” was the “Battle of Savo Island”. At the stage of the war the US Navy was clueless about night fighting. The Japanese were experts. It also didn’t help that at night there could be no air cover or scout planes to tell us where the Japanese were. The Battle of Savo Island was just such an example. The Japanese Navy surprised the American Navy at night & beat the crap out of us. The Japanese withdrew just before dawn to avoid American planes. In order to keep his carriers safe the Task Force Commander withdrew them. Without air cover the supply ships & the amphibious ships left without unloading taking reinforcements, ammunition, food, medical supplies & drums of drinking water with them. The Battle of Savo Island is considered the worst “ship vs ship in the open sea” combat defeats in the history of the US Navy. (Pearl Harbor is considered THE WORST defeat but the fleet was at anchor not out in the open sea doing combat). In the aftermath the Captain of one sunken American Naval vessel was assigned administrative duties back in North America for the rest of his career. He never went to sea or saw combat again. This was in spite of the fact that he was a Navy Cross (2nd only to the Medal of Honor) recipient from WW1, had many years of experience commanding vessels & received the Purple Heart for wounds received at Savo Island. Another Captain of a sunken American ship discovered that his actions would be heavily criticized in an official Naval Inquiry Report on the battle & committed suicide. The careers of the Admirals involved were not negatively affected despite the mistakes they made in battle. The Navy also changed procedures & tactics.

[@WNC_BUCKEYE]

The Chicago wasnt sunk. Captain Bode killed himself after a board of inquiry acussed him of running from the battle. Chicago finally bought it at Rennel Island

[@Manolo0528]

@@WNC_BUCKEYE True. I stand corrected. Chicago spent 6 months in the dry docks being repaired before it back into service where she was sunk at Rennel Island. Brain must have still been on USS Vincennes, the ship that was sunk & mentioned in the paragraph prior to discussing USS Chicago.

[@Manolo0528]

BACK STORY (before the series began): The Japanese conquered the British possession of Singapore. It was the largest surrender in British Military history. About 80,000 British soldiers surrendered. The Brits no longer had an effective fighting force in the Pacific. They couldn’t send troops from North Africa. The Canadians, Australians & New Zealanders had most of their military in European and/or Mediterranean/North African Theaters since war began in 1939. England needed them for its defense. The result was a meeting between FDR & the Prime Ministers of Britain (Churchill), Canada, Australia & New Zealand where the US took 100% responsibility for the defense of Australia & New Zealand. In order to do this FDR sent for MacArthur to leave the Philippines & go to Australia & take command of all American, Australian & New Zealander military forces in Southwest Pacific area as Supreme Commander. Most of Australia & New Zealand army remained in England & North Africa. Australian Navy remained in the Pacific under US command either under Nimitz or MacArthur depending on where in the Pacific Ocean the battle took place. This is why the Naval Battle of Coral Sea occurred. Stop the Japanese invasion force headed toward New Guinea & Tulagi which could be used as a springboard to invade Australia. This is also why the Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) campaign (Episode 1 of “The Pacific”) is occurring. Capture the Japanese airstrip & hold it so that Japan can’t use it to bomb Australia. The Solomon Islands, of which Guadalcanal is the largest island & where the capital is located, was in 1942 & today a British possession. They are “independent” the same way Canada, Australia & NZ are: self-ruling but with King Charles III of the UK as the Head-of State. Btw: The “American Industrial Juggernaut” hadn’t kicked in yet. Marines on Guadalcanal were forced to fight with old weapons some of which dated to the WW1 25 years earlier.

[@RKnights]

Wow, was not aware of that

[@specialopssoldier1]

yesss siiiir lets goooo!!

[@riodelizo9120]

Guys are you going to watch the documentary of BAND OF BROTHERS? It like the perfect epilogue of BOB :)

[@RKnights]

We will

[@shabut]

The one thing that Bothers me is the word Airforce, neither the Americans nor the Japanese had a separate Air arm at this point. @ 2.10

[@rdramos13]

In the European theater it was the Army Air Force (AAF), and in the Pacific it was Navy.

[@ranger-1214]

True, but the U.S. Army also was in the Pacific and the AAF as well. The island-hopping set up airfields that the AAF used to move bombers closer and closer to reach mainland Japan. On Iwo Jima, a damaged B-29 landed even before the island was declared secure.

[@victoriadeal5706]

After watching BoB then watching this I couldn’t help but think “Spiers would totally get the Japanese soldier mentality.”

[@jabronidave3612]

Prepare to have your guts ripped out. This series is brutal

[@RKnights]

The first episode was brutal I can only imagine what's to come

[@simonsnaplick895]

At 8:45: The battle of Savo Island. The US and Australian Navy were dealt a huge defeat at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

[@WNC_BUCKEYE]

Admiral Turner really screwed the pooch there.

[@MiaMooreA]

This first battle shows the overconfidence of the Japanese by them still doing suicide charges. Something that work well against the under equipped Chinese forces. This show will show the change in Japanese tactics especially when they become more defensive.

[@boosuedon]

The war in the Pacific was just brutal! Geneva Convention? That only applied in the European theater. The Japanese established what the war perimeters were by their brutality. It got to the point that the only way that HQ could get any prisoners to interrogate was to give direct orders and a mission to get prisoners. Japanese did not usually take prisoners, so, we didn't either!

[@duncanreid9199]

Would love if you reacted to the Band of Brothers documentary. “We Stand Alone Together” is too good to miss. 👍🏻

[@samanderson7745]

Most important thing is to try not to compare The Pacific to Band of Brothers. They were completely different wars and each miniseries has its own character.

[@kuyaks]

cool reactions as always.. although the audio mix on your side is a bit off.. looking forward to ep2 😁

[@RKnights]

I was having trouble with the audio during editing but it is fix now. That issue should be gone from here on out

[@shermanlin5554]

These are based on a couple of different books I think ine was helmet for my pillow by Robert Leckie and With The Old Breed by Egene Sledge everything you see actually happened the good the bad and the ugly it all happened even the little nasty stuff. Great video thanks for the reaction

[@rocker966627]

Couldn’t really get into Leckies book, but With the Old Breed I’ve listened to many times. A very eye opening book. The audio book is great because they have the character who plays Sledgehammer doing the voice and reading so if you’ve seen the series, it really helps with seeing what’s being read to you putting a face to the voice.

[@BrenVta]

I enjoyed both of those books. Excellent reads. Tough at times for sure.

[@catherinelw9365]

Here I go again: Just a little background. 1942, right after Pearl Harbor, was a terrible year for the US and its allies. Defeat after defeat was handed to us from the Germans and the Japanese. We were so unprepared for war because we disarmed after WWI, "the war to end all wars". What a delusional time. When Germany was secretly arming itself in violation of the Versailles Treaty during the 1930's, Britain and France turned a blind eye, not wanting to accept the terrible fact that war was again looming in Europe. Essentially, WWII was just WWI continued. During the 1930's, the US not only disarmed (with the exception of the Navy), Congress passed a series of laws congruent with the US's isolationist policy. The Neutrality Acts forbade US involvement in foreign wars, even from selling arms to belligerents. When Churchill was asking for us to sell them materiel, Roosevelt wiggled around the Neutrality Acts by using "Lend-Lease", to "loan" ships and other materiel to Britain. After Pearl Harbor, we were so poorly prepared that trainees were using broomsticks at boot camp because we didn't have enough rifles. Our Army was smaller than Belgium's, with about 240,000 men. Roosevelt had to muster an Army of 8 million from there. "1942", a history book by Winston Groom (yes, the guy who wrote "Forrest Gump"), is a great read on what happened that year. The Japanese kicked the US Navy, the British Navy and the Dutch Navy out of Asia, and also took POWs who suffered horribly in the next 3 years if they survived. Same with civilians the Japanese captured. Women were raped and brutalized, children were starved to death... He also goes into great detail about Pearl Harbor - it was a terrible time - the burning sailors we had to fish out of the water, their wounds, the weeks of sorting bodies... I never knew how bad it was until I read this book's account of the bombing. This is partly why the Guadalcanal campaign was so crucial. We needed a victory, and we needed to capture the airfield to prevent the Japanese from attacking our ships by air. Also, the airfield was so important for us (every airfield on every island) in order to achieve air superiority. It's much easier to have air superiority from a land airbase than from an aircraft carrier, as the land ones don't sink and are quicker to repair.

[@trespasserswill7052]

I'm laughing. Finally you & I disagree. I tell folks to steer clear of Groom. He's a storyteller. A cheap imitation of Ambrose.

[@TYinNH]

was hoping yall would have finished BoB with the We Stand Alone Together documentary before you went into The Pacific. That said GREAT JOB guys!!

[@ranger-1214]

The Japanese ideas for racial superiority was deeply ingrained in them. Also that it was glorious to die for the emperor while surrender was contemptible. You can see this demonstrated in their brutal treatment of anyone captured alive and who surrendered. This national attitude drove brutality by them, and to them that led all the way to using the atomic bombs on Japan rather that lose a million or more men taking mainland Japan. Children were trained and willing to strap mines to their bodies and run under tank tracks. That takes a special kind of brain-washing. My uncle, who was awarded a Bronze Star for actions on Tarawa, told of a couple Japanese officers who had a beheading contest with swords. The running scores were posted in Tokyo newspapers, sometimes along with their photos. They each had more than a hundred “heads.” He had no qualms about saying they avoided getting close to any live Japanese soldier. Often when moving forward they’d shoot bodies that didn’t have evident damage or decay just in case any were holding a grenade or weapon waiting to get in a final blow. Brutal treatment for a brutal enemy, and it will be evident in later episodes.

[@catherinelw9365]

What they did to babies in Nanking is unspeakable. Bayonet practice.

[@lizd2943]

Even after Pearl Harbor we underestimated the Japanese. Their navy trained in night fighting and had much better torpedoes so they kicked our Navy's butt in surface actions at first.

[@catherinelw9365]

And the Japanese underestimated Americans. Only those Japanese naval officers who traveled in the US tried to warn Tojo that it would be suicidal to take on the US, but the fanatical militants in the Army turned a deaf ear.

[@lizd2943]

@@catherinelw9365 Yeah, they were never ready for a long term war.

[@DeadDrunk1]

You guys should compare timelines of Band of Brothers and The Pacific.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

The action is called an amphibious landing. Textbook Marine Corps. However we have adapted and improvised so we can overcome. Semper Fi. And it wasn't that we wouldn't take prisoners....it's just the Japanese were such hardened and dedicated adversaries. You really cannot imprison religious zealotry....you only have one choice. Annihilation. Which is very, very sad.

[@RKnights]

I can only imagine the challenges the Marines had to deal with

[@johnwriter8234]

. (PLEASE .. no"spoiler" comments) Thanx

[@mcslashvideos]

No, they are trying to take and hold the Airfield.

[@jayreed3196]

What happen to the other guy who watched Band if brothers with yall is he not gonna watch this series?

[@Ao-pj1mc]

Kind of puts what we think our "bad problems" into perspective doesn't it?

[@catherinelw9365]

It sure does. I have to remind myself all the time when I get annoyed or exasperated, thinking, "this is nothing compared to what those guys endured..."

[@alexlim864]

8:45 What was shown was the Battle of Savo Island, which was one of the worst defeats the Japanese Navy inflicted on the US Navy. (Feel free to check this one out, there'll be no spoilers for future episodes of The Pacific.) 15:00 Ah, yes. The song which, in a nutshell, describes fighting in the Pacific (in general) was really like. 19:15 Night fighting is even crazier when you consider that nearby muzzle flashes (such as those fired from your own weapon) can totally wreck what little night vision capability you have. Timeline check: Easy Company (Band of Brothers) began training (and running up Currahee) less than a month before the first day of the US Marine landings on Guadalcanal. Also, just to note: America was, at this time, still two decades away from the civil rights movements of the 1960s. Thus, American soldiers were, by modern standards, racists, so it's no surprise that the American soldiers saw the Japanese as inferior to them, as they were yellow-skinned. The Japanese, for their part, were equally racist at this time, as they believed themselves to essentially be divinely blessed, since their emperor was descended from divinity, which meant that everyone else was beneath them. Good to see you guys are picking this one up. Wonderful commentary. Cheers!

[@catherinelw9365]

Oddly, after the war, we went to China to process the surrendering Japanese army and our boys were not racist to the Chinese... read Sledge's book "China Marine", and how his healing started as he befriended many Chinese people.

[@BrenVta]

Been waiting for this...great reaction! I had 1 uncle serve in the European theater, and 3 uncles and my dad served in the Pacific theater. While all my uncles were involved in veterans groups and would talk about their experiences my dad refused to. He never spoke of it. Ever. After watching this series, several times BTW, it makes me shudder to think what he must have gone thru. 😔

[@falsenostalgia-shannon]

I’ve noticed this as well. My grandfather served in North Africa and Europe, and was very proud of that- had the appropriate tattoo on his chest, liked to talk about everything. Meanwhile, my husband’s grandfather was in the Pacific theater. He did not talk about it at all (all my FIL knows is which islands he was at), not even to his own brothers who were in other theaters in the war.

[@BrenVta]

@@falsenostalgia-shannon yes...I think the Pacific theater was a whole different monster...I literally know nothing about my dad's service other than he served, he lied about his age to enlist, he drove a Higgins boat, and he went thru the Panama canal at some point and always wanted to take my mom on a cruise that went thru it...she went on a cruise a few years after dad passed that did that in his memory. God Bless all those who have served, fought in wars, and saw horrors most of us can't even imagine.

[@matthewcharles5867]

@@BrenVta your spot on there the pacific theatre was a whole different monster, I had numerous great uncle's and grandfather who fought in the pacific with the Australian army. In new Guinea which at the time was part of our territory we sent half trained militia battalion s up there to die they weren't expected to return. They along with the 2nd AIF were the first army in the war beat the Japanese in battle at Milne Bay up till then they had not been defeated in the war.There are instances of the Japanese shooting our unarmed nurses, killing prisoners in every way imaginable, eating prisoners of war (cannibalism) etc. Which is why we took less then 1500 Japanese pows in 6 years of fighting them. The Americans took more of Japanese prisoners in their first battle then we took the entire war. It was human brutality at it worst in some cases. Some of our militia soldiers were sent up there to new Guinea without rifles because there were none left. My uncle Doug went up there as a unarmed signaller came back with a Japanese arisaka rifle he used thru his entire service. Places like buna and gona beachhead were literal slaughterhouses. From hearing there stories makes me appreciate life so much more because it can be gone in a instant.

[@BrenVta]

@@matthewcharles5867 oh wow. How horrific!!! Did your relatives talk about it much? My dad's response reminds me of Shifty Powers from BoB when he said... just figured it didn't need talking about...

[@matthewcharles5867]

@@BrenVta for the most part they would talk about trvial funny stuff like one uncle talked about trading a Jeep of the yanks for some whiskey in Brisbane which his commanding officer wanted which they then painted pink as a practical joke on the officer , that didn't go down well so when they got to new Guinea his officer sent him scouting in a attempt to get rid of him sent him to the western side of the place that had head-hunters and a few unlucky Japanese. Got sick with dsynetry and malaria. Other fun stories like blowing up fish with hand grenades or winning a bet they couldn't smuggle a bren machine gun off a boat ( hid it in the bass drum the band had after disassembled it) etc . There debrief after 5 years away from the government was you've seen stuff you didn't need to see so just forget about it. In other words pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile smile smile to use a popular song line of the time ( the whole song is about coping with ptsd) Because they knew as a kid I was always interested in history etc, when I got older usually by themselves they would start talking about thing's many of which they didn't tell wives their own kids even etc. Like going on a patrol one night they camped up and the next morning one bloke was missing so they tracked him to where a small Japanese camp was they took the camp and on investigating to see what they could find they found a leg bone in a helmet they had been using as a cook bowl over the fire found the rest of him and uncle who was in charge of the patrol said get rid of them no prisoner s not a shot was fired they got into them with bayonets. Later at another area they rescued Indian prisoners of war that the Japanese were taking along on patrol s as Mobile food. Another talked about a certain tree near gona beachhead that was so thick with the dead you couldn't touch the ground could only walk on bodies. It was only way they could unburden themselves off what they had done was to either talk with their mates that were there or later on someone they trusted. I remember when I joined up in the reserves over here years ago when I was young and stupid one of them gives me a strange look like you should know better sorta look. I was always interested in the history after hearing as a young boy from time to time about a uncle Alex that I never got to meet , he was the black sheep of the family went to ww1 as a 15 year old kid survived Gallipoli and France to then join up for ww2 he was a classic case of coming back just messed up lost his son in ww2 as well 😢 But he was quite a character they caused the British allsorts of trouble behing the lines stealing whiskey off them , getting fines for going off sightseeing in France etc. They terrified the Germans and the Turks with what they would do in a fight, entrenching tools were a favourite had a pick one end a small shovel on the other used to use them in raids basically like a sharp club. They were bloody brutal in combat then like schoolboys behind the lines getting into allsorts of mischief. Lone pine for example was a area about 300yards wide and 150 yards deep that was all they managed to take over 7000 killed in that area they fought non-stop for four days and nights to take and hold it one story about a officer being saved when in trouble by a corporal who came in swinging and entrenching tool cleaved up 7 Turks with it in the rescue of the officer who wrote about it in his diary. In France in 1918 when the Germans broke through British infantryman after running out of ammo started using single shot flare guns which they described as lighting them up like Christmas trees. History has to be talked about truthfully to try a stop the same horrible thing s from happening again places like Ukraine vs Russia or Indonesia vs west new Guinea etc 😢 it's just horrible what is happening we need to find a better way alas I don't think we will. These sort of stories also got me interested in how our brains work because most soldiers were just ordinary citizens capable of extraordinary things when needed. And it has caused me to be very careful with how I look at and try to understand people. I remember hearing a story years ago about three criminals that tried to rob a old phillapino man in his late 70s these guys jumped him thinking he was a easy target he landed over 300 knife wounds on them in a couple of minutes sent them all to intensive care it wasn't until the court trial that it it came out he had fought against the Japanese as a resistance fighter which is where he became proficient with a knife he did a demonstration for the court which helped send the criminals to jail instead of him. Humans are capable of great things and need to concentrate on that but also need to be aware of the horrible things that we are capable of. 🍻

[@michaelwilber774]

Japanese solders, had a religious view of the emperor of Japan, or something along those lines, a Japanese solder would rather you kill him, than him retreat or surrender, it was seen a dishonor basically, aka comakozies, or however you spell that, there is more too it I'm sure, but that's why that guy was angry, so lackey killing him as bad as it sounds, was honor for him

[@davemeyer1423]

Just wait till you get to episode 5

[@dennisholland8369]

Back in those days if people were not able to go and fight in the war many of them committed suicide because they could not fight for their country.

[@ronstillwell3942]

you guys need to read strong men armed , helmet for my pillow and lots of other books on the US Marines , YOU WILL LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE WAR

[@WraithWTF]

Yeah, the fighting in the Pacific was an entirely different (and far nastier) beast than the fighting on the western front of Europe was...the Japanese had very different rules/tactics for war (medics are high-value targets to be shot ASAP, surrenders are extremely rare and almost always a trap, using civilians as meat shields and/or bait for traps, prisoners are to be interrogated and tortured then killed and desecrated to mess with enemy morale, scorched earth tactics like poisoning water sources and destroying food supplies, etc) as well as a very different mentality (dying in combat or even by suicide was seen as honorable and thus greatly preferred over the dishonor of surviving a defeat or surrendering)...the mentality Spiers talked about in BoB, about accepting you're already dead, this is where you'll see an army that operates under that mentality and just how terrifying that shit is.

[@lup7271]

Y'all have to work on your audio a bit, it's very painful when you use a headset Thanks for the reaction.

[@catherinelw9365]

They're new at this and the more Patreon subscribers they get, the more money they will have to invest in equipment.

[@lup7271]

@@catherinelw9365 yeah, their reactions are great, just painful to my ears at times. not hating, just being honest.

[@sandbagger57]

Japanese were excellent in defense. Offensively they did not combine different military forces like the Americans. They just attacked. This is not a Banzai attack which was a last resort. The Japanese cut the genitals off and put them in the mouth. They used prisoners for bayonet practice. Remember this is based on the memoirs of several combat soldiers.

[@catherinelw9365]

And international law. The Allies did execute some Japanese officers for war crimes.

[@Ryan-dl9uw]

You guys do we stand alone together yet have to finish off b.o.b right

[@acmodelmaster1944]

2:14 the Germans never at any time during the war took over Iceland.

[@ScarriorIII]

"Banzai" is the equivalent to "Seig Heil" but only one gets you banned. Japan did equivalent evils of Germany.

[@Rodrigolecosantos]

That episode was still smooth. It will get worse. Much worse

[@Ao-pj1mc]

Don't go into this thinking band of brothers 2. It is a very different type of series. While Band of Brothers tends to lead toward the "patriotic" vibe. The Pacific portrays the horrible nature of the conflict, and for a very good reason. The war in the Pacific was even as wars go particulary Brutal and Cruel, along with the fighting taking place in some of the most god forsaken place on earth. Its an amazing series, But at times it becomes very difficult to watch.

[@HaveMonkeyWillDance]

The Japanese deserve no pity. Their behaviour was beyond animalistic.

[@boomhaueroo8703]

Situation normal all fucked up

[@williampatience9524]

Join the military if you want to figure it out.