UNCOMMON VALOR " DEATH PLAN FOR AN ISLAND" RABAUL USMC TV SHOW w/ GEN. HOLLAND SMITH 66694

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Hosted by General Holland "Howlin' Mad Smith, the gritty UNCOMMON VALOR TV series documents the U.S. Marines in combat in the Pacific theater during World War II and then during the Korean conflict. Created by Bill Karn, a Hollywood TV director best known for his work on "Gang Busters", "Uncommon Valor" was one of several military-inspired shows of its era (including "Navy Log", "Victory at Sea" and "Silent Service") that celebrated the WWII generation and their exploits.
This episode from 1957 looks at the battle for Bougainville and Rabaul in 1945. The Marine Corps. outmaneuvers the Japanese to isolate Rabaul, the key to the defense of the Central Pacific.
Bougainville, situated at the northern end of the Solomon Islands, is the largest island in the chain, and in 1945 was part of the Australian mandated territory of New Guinea. It is 190 kilometres in length and 60 kilometres at its widest, and in March 1942 was occupied by the Japanese. On Bougainville, the Japanese established a series of bases and airfields as defensive outposts for the large and heavily-defended Japanese naval base at Rabaul, on the nearby island of New Britain. The most significant of these was located at Buin, on the southernmost tip of the island, which was occupied by the Japanese 17th Army.
The US Marines landed on Bougainville at the beginning of November 1943 as part of an overall strategy that had been developed to isolate Rabaul. The strategy of "island hopping" was thus evolved, in which strongly defended Japanese positions were bypassed and isolated by establishing Allied airfields and bases to provide the cruicial air and sea support that was needed to cut off the enemy at bases such as Rabaul.
In late 1944, the Australians replaced American troops on Bougainville and after initially advancing into the interior of the island, the 3rd Australian Division moved south along the coast from Empress Augusta Bay and then south east along the Buin Road. Here they encountered bitter fighting at Slater's Knoll, which lasted from 19 March until 5 April. Meanwhile the 11th Infantry Brigade continued to advance towards the north of Bougainville until the end of January when the Japanese launched a heavy counter-attack near the Genga River. It took hard fighting, with artillery support, to break the Japanese.
The Australians then pushed on and by the end of April had secured the Soraken Peninsula, hemming the Japanese into a small area on the northern tip of the island.
The film includes a lengthy montage of B-24 LIberators dueling with Japanese fighter aircraft based in Bougainville.
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[@jeffstevens156]

I grew up a Marine Corp brat. My Dad was a three war Veteran. WW2, Korea and Vietnam. Great work Dad! I miss You!

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

My father was in the Navy, stationed at Guam and saw action in the Philippines and the Western Solomon Islands. He was on a destroyer and saw some pretty awful stuff and he said it was in his words, a "goddamn nightmare". His Destroyer was pretty much blown out of the water and then he was transferred to a ship called the Norton Sound and they saw action off Okinawa. Their prime mission at Okinawa was to pick up downed American Pilots. He said the waves of kamikaze we're absolutely terrifying and he used to wake up in the night screaming. What those Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen went through we should never forget. Truly the greatest generation.

[@zakarycampbell105]

I volunteer at my local VA. Made a real good friend named frank who had the same job off the coast of Okinawa . They way he described the plane attacks sounded truly horrifying

[@carlbowles1808]

My father fought there he was a black man. Howling mad was howling good. We need men like him today.

[@maineoutdoorsman677]

Carl Bowles how about just a marine or guy

[@carlbowles1808]

@@maineoutdoorsman677 When he wasn't being shot at the Japanese on invasion beaches, we was treated like dirt by white's. Despite the bad treatment by those he fought to protect he never regretted one minute of it. He was the biggest patriot I ever knew. Today's black's and others benefit from his sacrifices, but sadly like you don't appreciate what you didn't fight for. American's have had it to good for too long, and become thankless and ungrateful for the blessings of freedom and prosperity. Give thanks for your blessings before they dissapear.

[@garymckee8857]

@@carlbowles1808 outstanding.

[@carlbowles1808]

@@garymckee8857 Thank you for your positive response. People need to hear the message of gratitude. I'm older and have learned the hard way. It is better to light a candle 🕯️ than to curse the darkness, confucius is still right thousands of years later.

[@jeffstevens156]

Black, White, Red or Green, They were Patriots and Hero’s! GOD Bless Them.

[@funposting8912]

Lost my great uncle in Rabaul in 1942. Great to see how the Yanks recaptured it. Keep up the good work.

[@Triumph2024.]

My condolences.

[@Jakal-pw8yq]

So sorry for your loss.

[@johnindo6771]

And another uncle who spent most of World War 2 in a Navy hospital in New York City recuperating from Rheumatic Fever. My deceased husband had a distant relative die at Pearl Harbor. When I was a child of about 8, my 2 sisters and I would visit the homes of people living in a small town in North Texas. This was our mother’s home town. I remember several of the elderly residents had pictures of sons, grandsons sitting out. These young men had fought and died fighting in World War 2. This is Pam Indo. I am the widow of John Indo

[@normanfeinberg9968]

For those of you who have never flown the Pacific it's hard to imagine what they were up against in propeller driven aircraft. thousands of square miles of open sea with very little hope of rescue if you ditch.I have met japanese soldiers during the vietnam war in japan working on our bases.what a tough deal it was.This is no propagander.Appreciate what these men and women fought for or lose your freedom very soon

[@aaronjohn6586]

Really appreciate the posting that you do, amazing the debt we owe to those that stormed beaches under hostile fire.

[@pipperxxx]

My father Ernest Virag, was a corpsman with the recon and attack force. 27 landings, 9 major invasions, 2 with the Army. 11+ bronze Stars. His last was Iwo jima.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

God bless your dad.

[@atthebrink74]

Your Father was just short of SuperMan. God Bless him and all the others that sacrificed all.

[@alperaksu6951]

Thanks for this rare footages 😁😀

[@wayvicle]

Great footage of shore parties on recce

[@scottjoseph9578]

The man who put the tip of the flag into Mount Suribachi was Harlon Block. I've been to his graveside in Harlingen, Texas.

[@AnthonyEvelyn]

I see great footage of Japanese Tony fighters. Also US Navy UDT frogmen in action, my respects to them. Also respect to Aussie coast watchers whose intel were vital for success. Later after the landings and ground action, there was a major naval night engagement involving US Cleveland class cruisers and destroyers against two Japanese squadrons sent to destroy surface vessels and shell USMC units. The US cruisers with advanced radar fire control successfully drove off the IJN ships without having to see them.

[@horatiodreamt]

Holland Smith could have been Marine Commandant but for what he did at Saipan i.e. firing the Army general.

[@gypsyknight9564]

You may be right about General Smith relieving the Army Major General Ralph Smith who was the commander of the Army's 27th Division on Saipan. There was a Board of Inquiry over this incident as it was considered the most controversial combat relief of the war. However, a Lt. Colonel, Wade Markel remarked, "The interesting question is not why Holland Smith relieved Ralph Smith, but why it took him so long." This was covered briefly in a wonderful book "The Generals" by Thomas E. Ricks. Ricks covers the combat experiences and decisions of a great many generals from George C. Marshall in WW II to David Petraeus in Iraq. Ricks argues that there should be more reliefs of senior officers in today's military...He believes that today's general officers are managers rather than leaders.

[@carlbowles1808]

@@gypsyknight9564 Managers rather than leaders it looks that way.

[@raurkegoose5233]

I guess we are just supposed to forget about the 37th INF Div

[@robertsettle2590]

Of course. Typical marine propaganda. Anytime they can lie about the U.S. Army they will do it.

[@jeffstevens156]

I can’t get enough of how Our people did! WONDERFUL! The GREATEST generation!

[@richardwhitchurch1229]

The beginning talks about a plan for an island called Bougainville yet the title says Rabaul. Maybe it should say the way to capture Bougainville through the capture of Rabaul. Just my thoughts given that these are two completely different islands in Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬. Rabaul is on New Britain Island and Bougainville is another separate island near the Solomon Islands.

[@gbe84]

Does a video titled "Air War Salute" shown at the 6th War Loan Salute on Dec 7th 1944 at Shrine Auditorium seem familiar? Do you have access to that video?

[@pierredecine1936]

I have watched a lot of this WWII footage - and find this one quite overly fancy and odd. Someone seems to have been thinking of the War's End and Hollywood - perhaps ...

[@nealskrenes2612]

Hosted by General Holland "Howlin' Mad Smith, this gritty series documents the U.S. Marines in combat in the Pacific theater during World War II and then during the Korean conflict. Two seasons

[@jeffstevens156]

I didn’t mean to diminish the fact that Your Dad was Black. They fought people on both sides. Thank You for Him! Whether it was acknowledged at the time, He did a very big Man sized job. I will pray for Him and Your family tonight. GOD Bless.

[@jamesparker4471]

Some of that music during landing sounds like Jaws

[@johnindo6771]

I had an uncle fight in the European front

[@richard.j.mcguire9085]

My Uncle Richard James Murphy Was One Of The. Marines To Land On Bouganville From A Submarine, Later On He Fought At The Battle Of CIBEKS RIFGE A ARTICILE SATURDAY EVENING POST MENTION S HIM.

[@dginia]

Just a PR piece for consumption, when, after the war some time? So little detail it imparts to us little knowledge of what went on at Bouganville and Empress Augusta Bay.

[@michaelkramer1774]

WHY DO YOU PLACE RIGHT IN OUR VEIW

[@skipdreadman8765]

The bombers "dueling the fighters" in the montage were B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, not B-24's per the description. Also concur with the comment about this show seeming to forget about the 37th Infantry Division (Ohio), regiments from which also fought on Guadalcanal, Saipan, Iwo Jima and the Philippines.

[@oif3gunner]

Probably because it's a USMC video and not about the Army. Maybe you should look for a video about that unit instead of bitching about it not being in this one.

[@robertsettle2590]

@@oif3gunner typical usmc petty jealousy and smugness. Everything is always about the marines. Their propaganda is legendary.

[@oif3gunner]

@@robertsettle2590 Not as legendary as our combat prowess, especially in the Pacific.

[@garymckee8857]

I don't understand why these old documentaries have to have orchestra music it ruins the program.

[@BeingFireRetardant]

Who was the target audience intended to be? Are the selling war bonds or telling a victorious narrative?

[@lwilton]

This was made after the war. I couldn't read the copyright date under the PF timestamp, but there were 1950 dates showing in the footage at the end. Since it was made after the war, this was likely a historical documentary for the general American public, describing to them a part of the war that most of them would still remember, but not know in any great detail, except for the small parts each person and their relatives played in the war. I would hesitate to call this a "victorious narrative". Clearly we were victorious in the end, but this was about the planning for the capture of Bouganville, and the reasons why we decided to do that. There were many more films that covered the initial landings and the the fight for the island, which in the end was a heck of a lot bloodier than had been anticipated. There were also quite a few books, both official War Department histories, and various biographies by people involved. Many of these were quite popular books in the 1950s.

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

1957. Historical TV show filmed privately for entertainment and historical value.

[@laurencetilley9194]

"The Admirals, the Generals, with their 'sweat' they have prepared the battle". Now with their blood and their lives the Marine corps are required to fight and win the battle. Nothing has changed, Nothing has been learnt.

[@wilshirewarrior2783]

The Battle of Guadalcanal cost the lives of 5000 sailors and close to 1000 Marines..just sayin’. Marines did a good job but not by themselves.

[@laurencetilley9194]

@@wilshirewarrior2783 If you read all of my comment you will see I gave credit to those brave marines you speak of.

[@user-kz8ik8cg2c]

people spoke proper English than

[@willboudreau1187]

Really PeriscopeFilm channel, 2 ads and I'm only 12 minutes in? With this ancient, archaic footage? On a video that has had only 78k views in 2.5 years? You're f*cking kidding me. REALLY???? WTF???????

[@willboudreau1187]

If the youtube algo is listening, then "CUT THE SHIT" or this video gets a thumbs down and I'll skip the channel.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

You have to ask yourself, how do we afford to rescue obscure and endangered films, scan them, and post them on KZbin for free so that everyone worldwide can see them? That effort takes time and costs real money -- and the way we afford to do it, is by monetizing our films. We don't make any excuses for that. If you don't like it, don't subscribe and -- don't watch!

[@willboudreau1187]

Fourth ad at the 23 minute mark. What a shame to see an otherwise good channel with otherwise worthy content go to hell in a hand basket.

[@saifulsidek2724]

@@willboudreau1187 hahaha u r so funny bro...just dont watch it if u dont like....u r just like kids whos first time knows youtube......just pass it if this contant pop up at your feed.....simple right???

[@christie4322]

Nothing like old films from the US Minister of Propaganda.

[@mikecimerian6913]

Some are actual unbiased intelligence. This one is commemorative so possibly for a large audience. They used to show these before the main program at movie theatres. :) The following link is an intelligence document. THE JAPANESE ARMY AND NAVY WWII RESTRICTED U.S. ARMY MOVIE 23514 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH_Kep-sqryYZ9U

[@farmerdave7965]

Nice christian agitprop toward the end. Gott mitt uns rears its ugly head once again.

[@nealskrenes2612]

*Always for every nation,* _no matter which God you believe in._ *Can you say Jhadi?* I knew you could.

[@giovannigeno5433]

The waggish deal prospectively fit because rod intrestingly balance during a nippy priest. cloistered, limping vision