Victory At Sea - Suicide For Glory - Episode 25

In a last effort at glory, having lost most of their best men in military actions, Japan employs suicide pilots -- the Kamikaze -- men who willingly crash their planes into ships in order to destroy the American spirit. But the U.S. Navy and Marines are ready for them with their guns, and they fought heroically against the onslaught. And on Okinawa, Americans fight a major battle with the Japanese Army.

[@samiam261]

My dad was 17 yrs old serving on LST 729 during this battle. We would watch this episode together when I was a kid, and I could see that my dad was reliving his experience all over again. Thanks pop for your service, love you and miss you everyday.

[@stephenarling1667]

samiam261_My dad was 38 years old, serving on a radar picket destroyer at this battle. A suicide plane hit the ship, spraying flaming gasoline. One crewman was burned over 90% of his body. That crewman spent his last day screaming in pain and praying to die.

[@iamedyson]

@@stephenarling1667 awesome

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@@stephenarling1667 Sir, much is said and written about USS Laffey one of the picket destroyers, but many others deserved to be cited too, not to take out one whiff from this gallant ship glory though ! The Laffey survived but many others didn't. And as one surviving veteran said when called a hero : ''No, the heroes are those who didn't come back."

[@richmcintyre1178]

My father was on an LST as well The Colonial, I don't remember the hull number. Both he and my uncle were at Iwo Jima. Dad said the black sand was clogging the water intakes on the landing craft causing many to overheat and stall. He said that black sand was very fine like glass. A hard day when nature and the enemy are both trying to kill you. I remember watching these shows with my Dad, great memories.

[@user-ln3zh7eu1d]

Dad served in the South Pacific during the summer of '45. There was nothing more frightening to the crew of his ship, he said, than hearing an airplane overhead when they knew US air formations were not operating nearby. Everyone who wasn't on the main guns had and AA station. Dad was a F1C (engine room) but his combat station was a twin .50 installation along with two other crewmen from the ship's mess. Fortunately his ship was never attacked, but so many others were not so lucky.

[@Cheech38]

I was 7 yrs old when my 23 yr old brother's ship was attacked & sunk by one Japanese Kamikaze on Oct 25, 1944. His ship was the ST LO formerly known as the Midway. It was said to be the first American ship sunk by the Kamikaze. The piolet was Yukio Semi who was also 23 & had just got married on May 31, 1944. My brother survived although floating semi & unconscious at times for days before being rescued. He had Malaria, Amnesia, damage to his skull & most of his body severely burned where he needed skin grafts. There were many other injuries n treatments he had to go thru for many years. He just recently passed at 98 a month or two before his 99 birthday. I served in Nam with the Marines & I can't imagine the feelings he and all shipboard sailors must have. Although as said "war is hell" on land - air & sea at least on land we had trees, ditches, tanks or another vehicles and sometimes buildings for cover but out on the open sea there is no cover. God Bless All Naval Personnel - Marines - Army - and Army Air Corps of that time period. I thank them all for their sacrifices. GOD BLESS.

[@robertyoung3992]

The Battle off Samar

[@CaesarInVa]

That's the USS Lexington under Kamikaze attack at 12:23. My dad was an assistant air officer in Flight Deck Control at the time. Dad only spoke of the incident once, one summer's evening at the dining room table. I was about 12 at the time and filed it away in memory. My father was a career naval officer who served from 1934-1964 (he was at Pearl Harbor on a light cruiser on the morning of December 7th). We had one cardinal rule in our family: Never ask Dad about the war. Consequently, I never really knew anything about the Kamikaze incident until that summer's evening. In fact, I didn't even know he had served on the Lexington (which I believe is the second most decorated ship in US navy history, the Big E taking first place). Eight years later, I would be working on the flight deck of the USS Ranger as an Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare technician with VS-21. I remember what dad said about being in Flight Deck Control when the Kamikaze struck. On the Ranger, a Forrestal-class carrier, Flight Deck Control was situated at the base of the forward part of the island, so I thought "well, Dad had a close shave, but not too bad." Then I visited the Lex down in Corpus Cristy a couple years ago and learned that on the old Essex-class carriers, Flight Deck Control, although in the island, was raised up from the flight deck about 3 decks or so and in the after-most part of the island. The Kamikaze hit the starboard side of the island, at about the same deck-level as dad, about 20 feet from where dad was standing. It killed every man in a 20mm gun gallery on the starboard side of the island, but Dad, on the port side and protected by a couple steel bulkheads, was unscratched. When I saw how close he came to dying that day, I said a silent prayer of thanks. Had dad been killed that day, neither I nor my brothers would have been born, nor my 3 nieces, 1 nephew, 5 grand-nieces and 1 great-grand niece.

[@BillMiller43]

My grandfather immigrated from Germany in the late 1880's. He bought a section of land in Michigan. I lost two uncles in WWII flying B-17's over Germany. Where their ancestors/Relatives lived. Both are still listed as "Missing in Action". We were "Americans", not German Americans! Both my brother and I served in the military. I served on a "Tin Can" in the Navy. I retired as a "Missile Technician" at Lockheed-Martin. Thanks for all you have done. "Brave men die on their feet, Cowards live on their knees!".

[@francisbusa1074]

CaesarInVirginia My uncle Gene Rocchi was an officer in charge of the after two 40 mm quad mounts that day. I have photos of him standing at attention on the flight deck during burial at the sea service the following day. This was the first week in November '44, I believe. I also have photos of the grim scene in the island's starboard 20 mm gun gallery.

[@Soothsayer-rs5nb]

Great story… god bless your dad

[@Kongoudesu50]

アメリカの兵士も 日本の兵士も皆、国の為に命をかけて戦ったのだ 全ての兵士に敬礼！

[@francisbusa1074]

Thank you Dad for all you did. I'll always remember - and will never forget - the sacrifices you and your great and gallant shipmates made for all of us. You left us a great legacy of selfless service and sacrifice. THE GREATEST GENERATION!

[@davidrobinson8337]

That chaplain giving the man last rites was a medal of honor awardee.

[@custer2449]

The chaplain, himself? Or the man given the last rights? Just asking.

[@minhthunguyendang9900]

Chaplain O’Connor.

[@minhthunguyendang9900]

@@custer2449 The Chaplain. He helped fighting the fires.

[@minhthunguyendang9900]

USS Franklin was hit by bombs & not by a kamikaze, off the island of Shikoku. She didn’t take part in the battle of Okinawa.

[@rayninness6303]

Watched Victory at Sea with our father a WWII Navy Sea Bee Veteran of the War in the Pacific !!😉😉

[@Og-Judy]

My dad was on the DE-406 Edmonds. They rescued 378 survivors off the CVE-95 Bismarck Sea sunk by a kamikaze pilot crashing on its deck setting off ammunition stores. He never talked about it much. Think the memories were too painful.

[@Ben_not_10]

“The battle becomes a duel between gunners who want to live, and pilots who want to die.” There is something about that line that gives me chills everytime I hear it.

[@markpaul8178]

I am now 60 yrs of age now and served also for over a decade.My uncle's on my mother's side all served during WW2.One uncle was on the big E and said once after fighting suicide planes for over 12 hrs straight,that a gunner on a 20 mm turned around and said what a beautiful day it was and jumped overboard to never been seen again.He said that he had fought to his breaking point .In other words,he cracked up!

[@matthewmehegan3475]

The score by Richard Rodgers still gives me chills, especially at the end.

[@Ben_not_10]

Years ago I happened to know a navy veteran who was an gun director on a five inch mount on one of the cruisers at Okinawa and I asked him about victory at sea, he told me the film didn’t give him flash backs, it was the music that reminded him. He told me once during the battle of Okinawa he was on shift for 18 hours straight due to constant attacks.

[@charliesmith4072]

My brother was on a hospital ship off Okinawa. He never spoke of it, but the Japanese refused to recognize the red cross. This episode only shows a tiny bit of the battle, but it makes it easier to understand why the decision was made to drop the atomic bombs. The atomic bombs saved millions of lives.

[@francisbusa1074]

Yes, very fortunate for both the Allies and the Japanese. Two and done.

[@charliesmith4072]

@@francisbusa1074 I detect a bit of sarcasm, but translations of formerly secret Japanese Imperial Army papers make it clear that the bombs did save millions of lives. For starters at the beginning of August the JIA high command had issued an order to all POW and civilian interments camp commanders to kill all POWs and civilian internees (mostly Dutch and Australian internees, totaling about a million people) starting August 22. Other orders indicated that the JIA intended to sacrifice the entire Japanese civilian population in an effort they knew to be futile to slow the invasion of Honshu.

[@Ben_not_10]

I think outside of early war battles like those off Guadalcanal, this had to have been the most hellish experience any seagoing sailor or marine experienced in WWII. On deck or anywhere near a kamakazie strike, you have the smell of gunpowder, burning gas and oil, burning flesh, heated metal, burnt paint, and fried electronics. Below decks and deep within the ship, all unnecessary equipment has been disabled to provide more power to the AAA mounts on the main deck and super structure. So now your sitting in your battle-station with other men, having no idea as to what’s going on outside, save the thumps and taps of the AAA. You have no concept of what the guns are shooting at and if there is any plane coming at your ship. The entire crew is exhausted and running on little sleep and stretched nerves. And all the Japanese have to do is survive long enough in a tiny cockpit to guide an explosives ridden plane into your ship to make sure you die. Either those service men were made of steel or those men were never the same again. I don’t think I know anyone from the ages of 17-21 that could handle even 1% of what the army, navy, and marines suffered and endured during the Okinawa campaign. Let us never forget and always strive to honor these men and women who stood in the face of enemy fire so that we today may go to bed and sleep in comfort and peace.

[@charleslloyd4253]

Dad was on the Enterprise at Okinawa, Leyte Gulf and Midway. And said that the only time he was really scared was during kamikaze attacks.

[@francisbusa1074]

They were the most terrifying engagements. My uncle served aboard Lexington as a gunnery officer for the two quad 40 mm gun mounts aft of the island. He was injured when they got kamikazed in Nov of '44. This is shown at 12:25. Back in the '60s when I was in high school I listened in on a conversation between my dad and uncle. He told dad that he prayed and told the Lord that if God would allow him to make it home after the war that he would never again ask for anything else, and that he would be willing to dig ditches the rest of his life. Ironically, after the war he became wealthy doing business with Japan in the Honda wholesale parts business. The country that had tried to kill him made I'm a rich man in the end. I miss both dad and my uncle Gene. Both were heroes.

[@yvettebaron7972]

My father was also there , on the USS new Mexico. He lost his left eye during the battle. Kamikaze on may 12. Never did talk much about the war, like ,alot of other veterans

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

USS Franklin was the most heavily damaged heavy carrier to survive the war, even more than USS Bunker Hill. The irony was that the Franklin was not hit by Kamikazes but by a regular Japanese dive bomber ''Judy'' that destroyed 30 Helldiver bombers primed for take off with their full load of bombs and fuel. It was immediately shot down by a Corsair fighter, but the fire was raging out of control aboard the Franklin. That was in March 1945, off the coast of the main island of Shikoku. The real battle to save the Franklin had hardly begun. The 2nd irony was on the Japanese. Smelling blood, the Japanese threw at the crippled Franklin almost everything they could gather. None of their planes could reach the Franklin, and they had to turn back after suffering heavy losses. The valiant Franklin crew went out of themselves to save their ship and they did succeed. Some of the footage was from the Franklin, the most famous being of the steel-nerved, lion-hearted Chaplain O'Callahan administering the last rites to a dying serviceman, before returning to help fight the fire.

[@theheartland1861]

The fly boys from the carriers put a hurting on the Japanese Navy when they attacked and sank the Yamato, and sent that ship to hell sending it straight to the bottom. When that ship exploded the fire could be seen 100 miles away. Excellent job Navy. The Japanese thought the Yamato was going to be a bad ass kamikaze battleship, but the Japanese didn't plan on the US Navy flyers attacking them like an angry swarm of bomb carrying hornets, and destroying their plans

[@larrytischler570]

@@theheartland1861 the Navy pilots did the same to Yamato's sister ship at the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

[@CSRIII]

Charles, thanks for the clarification on Franklin and kamikaze attack. She was hit by a kamikaze in October 1944 in Leyte Gulf temporarily sending her back stateside for repairs, so they appear to have mixed in that footage to create the impression she was hit by kamikaze in 1945 time period of this film.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@@CSRIII In both cases, US Navy boys were of Uncommon Valour.

[@lordscrewtape2897]

Commander O' Callahan ( or to the men just Father Joe) was , as the kids say today, an absolute unit....he also personally recruited a detail to wash down the ammunition magazine, thereby preventing it from exploding. After the war he returned to Holy Cross college to teach mathematics...as though nothing had happened. Also I'm not Catholic but I imagine giving last rites is trying under the best of circumstances.... I can't imagine doing it while someone's trying to kill you...

[@custer2449]

My dad was a soldier on Okinawa. It was a serious, A#1 bloodbath.

[@discretebear4115]

Many years ago, likely sometime in the 1950s, my parents hosted a Japanese student who was studying in the United States. Surprisingly, he was a kamikaze pilot at the end of WW2 - I guess he wasn't very good at it on account that he survived the war. Regardless, my mother describes him watching the Victory at Sea series and said that he was absolutely transfixed by what he saw. I think it was the first time he had ever seen the war shown from the American perspective. On a happier note, he taught my parents how to make some wickedly-good Japanese dishes that I remember happily eating years later as a kid.

[@francisbusa1074]

That is fascinating to hear and to imagine what he must have been feeling reliving those times during the war. I wonder if he even made it up on a mission. Sometimes they had to return if they couldn't locate the enemy and were lucky enough to not get shot down by the Hellcats or Corsairs.

[@Og-Judy]

I have heard stories that MANY Japanese were clueless as to what was actually going on in the South Pacific and heavy losses. They were fed tons of propaganda and led to believe they were winning all these battles. Well until Tokyo bombing raids and the Ultimate response to Hirohito refusal to surrender was Hiroshima and even a second had to be dropped on Nagasaki before Hirohito accepted defeat!. Japan haa always been culturally aligned with the Shogun warriors

[@francisbusa1074]

@@Og-Judy Yep. It's what evil government does. Lies lies lies.

[@billhuber2964]

The saying once holds true " once was my enemy is now my friend ".

[@steelwheels327]

I never realized as a kid what my dad been through and yet he never mentioned a word of it , always silent . The old me is well aware how foolish and naive we are being young . My dad was strong , silent and proud . I miss him : (

[@lhaviland8602]

The shots starting at 12:13, 14:28 and 15:20 are probably the best camerawork I've ever seen. Not a single flinch on a pitching ship under incredible pressure!

[@granskare]

As a teen, I watched these every week.

[@douglasjohnson8820]

Between Iwo and Okinawa on the ground and the Kamikazes hammering the Fleet off Okinawa, we saw these campaigns as only a very small prelude to what would happen when we invaded the Mainland of Japan. 1,000,000 American causalities, with numbers entering the 3,000,000+ mark for both the soldiers and civilians defending the Homeland. The 2 A Bombs not only ended the war but stopped carnage that would have been unprecedented in American Military History.

[@Mrfrontrow]

My father served in the USN during WW2 and was aboard LCT 1049 during the battle of Okinawa. He was just short of being 19 years old then as his birthday was at the end of June. He related how his LCT was unloading supplies from a cargo ship when attacked by the Japanese and was almost hit by a kamakaze. The plane hit the cargoe ship. After the war he stayed in the navy and served 30 years and eventually retired as a LtCmdr. He will be 98 this June. Love you dad!!

[@Varianna12]

Best of the best. My earliest memory is of these. It is indeed hard to believe , and sad to see how far NBC has fallen.

[@granskare]

oh so sad for you, perhaps you should make videos, instead of complaining

[@Holiday48000]

NBC is not the same patriotic network that it was during the 50's & 60's. Now NBC is under Left Wing Liberal control and are totally un-American and most likly would never be the patriotic network that it was before.

[@Holiday48000]

@Origami Mambo Project...... LOL... Your name says it all... Lol...

[@MrLenny1212]

SO TRUE, ALL MSM HAS GONE FAR LEFT.. @@Holiday48000

[@larrysouthern5098]

Very true.... Very sad indeed!!!

[@clydesuckfinger7097]

I can't imagine trying to shoot down an aircraft flying at 300+ MPH from a moving platform using a simple gunsight as a point of reference. Those men, all whoe served in a combat roll, are heros.

[@stephenarling1667]

Clyde, American scientists had developed the proximity fuze, which was by then used in 5-inch AA shells. It greatly improved the kill rate against aircraft.

[@scottdunn2178]

@@stephenarling1667 True, but it was the 20mm Boffors and 40mm "Pom Poms" that were used mostly as AAA. My dad was on the battleship USS North Carolina and was among those first Kamikaze strikes. Best Regards.

[@BillMiller43]

My Captain knew to only put "upland small game hunters" on the AA guns. I was lucky and could type and was experienced with computers. So I went into the "Radio Shack" and cryptology.

[@eselesser669]

The music in this is amazing, especially during the battle scenes.

[@mjmitz]

My Dad was there aboard the USS Cleveland...wish he talked more about the war but he didnt...I hope the USA survives current crises.

[@lhaviland8602]

Fat chance lol.

[@Og-Judy]

My Dad was on the USS Edmonds DE 406. He never talked about it much . Guess he seen too much horrible stuff while fighting in the Pacific.

[@Og-Judy]

​@@lhaviland8602 People who are ignorant to history are doomed to repeat it!

[@jackwmith8445]

"To die is to die but to live is to fight and the fleet which came to stay - fights and lives and stays."

[@sroozrloos4284]

Years ago my old boss and I were reminiscing about our respective wars. He WWII and me Vietnam. I remember him telling me he was a 17 year old on cruiser at Okinawa. He was manning an AA gun battery and they were firing continuously from morning till night into the next day against the Kamikaze. The thing he remembered most was being scared shitless and that he had a really bad case of warts on his hands. When the battle was over all of his warts had disappeared! He said it must have been the 24 hour nonstop adrenalin that killed them. RIP Bill.

[@charlessalmans4496]

+Srooz RLoos Isn't it inspiring that the members of "The Greatest Generation" talked about the humorous side of war or had somewhat self-depricating comments such as this one. I suppose it was their way of trying to put behind them the horrible things that they had seen, and to try to move on, in a constructive way, with their lives once the war was over. Only their wives knew of the nightmares (screams in the night, cold sweat, etc.) that many of these men suffered for many years. The culture of the time was for the wives to protect their husbands so those stories of the psychological trauma of war weren't shared, either. My father-in-law saw combat in the Pacific in World War II but all the stories he shared -- and not many -- involved the comradeship of his unit or an effort to put a humorous spin on what had happened. One of these concerned how the cookhouse smoke from the delivery of the first hot food his unit had received in weeks (Thanksgiving 1944) led to shelling from the Japanese, which enraged the soldiers more than anything else that they had seen up to that point in combat. Or the joy of banging out tunes on a piano (he was quite a good player) that they found in the ruins of a house in the Philippines. The piano was loaded on a deuce and a half truck and accompanied them through some battles!

[@2view23]

may I share when was taking Drivers ed High School in the middle 70 s we had classroom . actual driving and simulator time. while in driving part the teacher shared his time in US Navy which was only 20 plus years old his time abord ship and being awaken in early morning to man position in coming Japanese aircraft had to find at night and then shoot them down before making to the ships. that scarred the heck out of me when Mr . P.. described. if was in service have to do job but would write home don t think will make it .those men of that time had great courage as Americans.

[@280StJohnsPl]

My brother in law was at Leyte Gulf and Okinawa on the USS Yorktown III can remember watching this as a kid in the 1950s and him describing what it was like during the kamikaze attacks

[@theheartland1861]

My dad was a 20 yr old infantry SSG, who went on the first wave. He was told by his CO to expect 100% casualties before they boarded the landing craft going to Okinawa. April 1 1945

[@panzerriff]

This one always gives me goosebumps.This was my favorite episode.

[@craiga2002]

The kamikaze score is some of the most thrilling music Richard Rodgers ever wrote.

[@Ben_not_10]

It definitely amplifies a sensation of tension and struggle

[@carolspeer3106]

my dad was on the USS Bunker Hill CV 17

[@sheavepin]

TV was so much nicer back in the day to watch. 3 minutes, 33 seconds of commercials and station identification per half hour. Now it's about 11+ minutes per half hour. Unwatchable.

[@grendelsm21]

True!

[@spikespa5208]

And now,when they come back from commercial break, they waste time recapping what they told us in the previous segment. Like we weren't really watching. A lot less programming effort per half hour.

[@charliegood1967]

I believe I read a few years ago that 75 % of U.S. combat casualties occurred in the last 14 months of the war.

[@PAMIR-1]

Well I suppose when you add desperation with determination you get a fanatical attitude that results in increased combat effectiveness at the expense of the individual. Something like, I'm going to die but I'll take as many with me as I can, a loss of self preservation.

[@SouthBaySteelers]

Okinawa was where one of the greatest war reporters was killed. He made it all the way through VE Day while on the front lines but felt compelled to go to the Pacific to report on the war there. Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper.

[@mjmitz]

My father's ship, the USS Cleveland, was engaged in shelling nearby islands in support of landings around the time Okinawa was taken...later on his ship was at Okinawa in preparation for an invasion of mainland Japan with up to 1 million anticipated American casualties...two rather primitive nuclear devices saved many combatant lives on both sides.

[@MrRobster1234]

The Mitsubishi "Betty" losing a wing at 11:30 has an Oka rocket plane in its bomb bay.

[@jackwmith8445]

Hamlet Act 5, scene 2: "If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come-the readiness is all." Starting fron: 10:51.

[@charlessalmans4496]

Not all the Kamikaze pilots were volunteers. A few even turned back, claiming "engine trouble" and such, although these were apparently ostracized in the post war era in Japan if that became known. This was, in terms of the big picture, an ineffective strategy by the Japanese although if you were one of the sailors on board these ships you wouldn't have had much time to contemplate the "big picture": - Most of the pilots had little training and were met by highly trained American pilots - The Japanese were flying "junk" airplanes while the Americans had the best aircraft of the era - The US Navy had radar, had learned to coordinate air defense, and had superbly trained crews in damage control (as seen in this segment). Although it would have been terrifying to be aboard ship and facing an enemy willing to commit suicide, the effect on morale among the Japanese was probably harmful rather than inspiring. Saburo Sakai, one of Japan’s ace pilots, commented on how the Kamikaze strategy lowered morale. “The morale sunk”, he said. “Even if the reasons for fighting mean that you have only a 10 percent chance of coming back, you’ll fight hard for that. The guys upstairs (upper brass) claim morale went up. That’s a flat-out lie.” See the following analysis which contains interesting statistics about the ineffectiveness of the Kamikaze tactic: thefairjilt.com/2014/11/05/kamikaze-attacks-by-the-numbers-a-statistical-analysis-of-japans-wartime-strategy/

[@tazmanbaltimore]

Still effective 47 ships lost and thousands of dead US sailors and marines. Let not lose track of that.

[@Og-Judy]

​@@tazmanbaltimore Yes. Sadly true, but Japanese losses were higher. Just one perspective geologically... the land mass size of the main islands of Japan fit in the area of the US State of California..

[@Juliaflo]

Composed by Richard Rodgers, lest we all forget.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@ 7:03 the adorable puppy. Poignant detail.

[@mgr8993]

These brave soldiers are respected and honored! My grandfather told me as a kid that we should have dropped the bombs on Tokyo. Terrible losses.

[@TheTurk56523]

My favorite episode of the series.

[@cowboys1995able]

Mine to

[@lawrencemyers8329]

Same here. Best book on the subject: "Brave Ship, Brave Men" by Arnold Lott. Covers the ordeal of USS Aaron Ward off Okinawa May 3rd, 1945.

[@badkittynomilktonight3334]

By 1943 the US Navy adopted a rather unique design philosophy which was that if there was any unused deck space on a ship, the Navy would ask, "Why is there an open space on the deck. Put a gun on it" so by 1944 US navy vessels what looked a porcupine's back of gun barrels of all calibers, mostly anti-aircraft guns, so by the time of the Marianas Turkey Shoot in 1944 the Japanese were flying into a floating buzzsaw meat grinder of anti-aircraft weaponry. It's a primary reason most ships lost to kamikaze attack were the outlying picket destroyers that didn't have the overwhelming fleet airfire cover. But the Japanese never had a chance with this desperate maneuver, because for every ship sunk or disabled the navy had 5 ships ready to immediately replace it, so overwhelming was the steel naval juggernaut facing Japan.

[@tonyadams8043]

Japan, a country that can create so much beauty in it's gardens but can show so much barbarism in it's actions. Man can show such differing emotions dependent on what is put inside his head. The military codes instilled upon them took over and nearly wiped them out as a nation.

[@JayJay-qs8nd]

Took 20 years to get over the resentment. still get emotional.

[@64MDW]

The finest blend of music and film ever. Can't conceive of the program without the Rodger's score.

[@custer2449]

In Hamlet, the quote “If it be now, 'tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come” means that if death is to happen now, then it cannot be delayed. We simply cannot avoid death because it is our destiny.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

The most beautiful musical score in the whole series. Epic and sad.

[@fealtyknight1015]

I rewatch to just listen to it lol

[@aaaht3810]

I always thought this was one of the best episodes of "Victory at Sea". The combat footage is riveting and with minimal narration, and Rodger's score which perfectly captures the scenes, it really keeps your attention. And you have to remember that the American public had not seen a lot of this footage. It must have had a great impact. Parts of the narration were so great: "To die is to die. To live is to fight", and the quote from Hamlet "If it be now, tis not to come: if it be not to come, it will be now: if it be not now yet it will come".

[@2Oldcoots]

My father fought on The Aleutian Islands and Okinawa. He told me that without the Atomic Bombs at least one million American Casualties and Deaths would have happened.

[@aaaht3810]

My father was in the Aleutians. He said the same thing. And if the Americans had one million casualties, the Japanese would have had many times that number. Not counting those that might have died after the war due to disease and malnutrition. Men, women, children. The war had to be ended by any means at our disposal. If Truman had not used the Bomb and opted for an invasion, with the war probably ending in 1946, the American people would have demanded his scalp when they found he had the means to end it before the fall of 1945.

[@unitedwestand5100]

The only victory greater than Okinawa, was the two mushroom clouds that came shortly after.

[@groll3859]

that had to scare the shit out of the sailors to see a plane crashing into you

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

And yet, the Navy lads held and won. ''To die is to die, but to live is to fight !''

[@advforops]

Thanks.

[@dreystar16]

Better off the Japanase kamikazes than our soldiers who gave their lives in the defense our beloved US.

[@reginhustedt]

The last great battle of, the great war, was not Okinawa, that was The Soviet Unions attack on Japanese forces in Manchuria. Many old War programs have that mistake, and even some new ones. But i still like it.it has a lot of old movie clips i have never seen before. Thumbs up. c",)

[@280StJohnsPl]

BRAVO ZULU U.S. Navy

[@clydeblair9622]

What a stupendous document to American sacrifice and righteousness.

[@mariagillenn]

does anyone know the music playing behind the video?

[@coolcat1684]

China is in a similar position now ....they want their Empire

[@minhthunguyendang9900]

Of all the episodes of the series this one is the best & the most poignant

[@topgeardel]

Those poor deluded Japanese youth kamikazes. Made chumps by their own people. There is NOTHING courageous or noble in what they did. Putting oneself at risk and risking death WITH the passion to live and win is where real nobility, courage and victory begins. They weren't sacrificial, they were deluded sacrificial lambs. Courage and sanity don't cancel each other out.

[@billhuber2964]

Dad served on the u.s.s. john d. Henley (dd-553). He saw a lot of action.

[@dimasgirl2749]

What's the Japanese word for "demonic"? because that word very much describes the kamikazes.

[@181express]

this was the last great battle for the usa

[@easygoing2479]

😲 8:13 "HEY - You forgot your PARACHUTE! Hey! Your PARA--SHOOT! Where is it???" 😬

[@2view23]

Have seen in print and vintage film som e of the Japaneses pilots where very young 20 years or less with min flight time instructed to fly in to American surface ship ... + RIP.

[@larrysouthern5098]

Classic...

[@laserbeam002]

FDR was one of our greatest presidents. God bless him. He was the right man, in the right place and at the right time. When we needed someone like him.

[@nicolas5780]

Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2: " If it be now, tis not to come, if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man has aught of what he leaves, what is't to leave betimes? Let be.

[@highlander723]

It's basically a cruise missile attack

[@georgeescaped6035]

funny some of these pilots have on a parachute harness...but why?

[@larrytischler570]

Part of his flight uniform i guess. One had an empty strapped on handgun holster.

[@howiesmith1504]

Don't know the specific clip you're referring to, but it might be from an earlier, pre-kamikaze era Japanese film of pilots ready for or leaving on a mission.

[@totokingkong1]

They had a pretty simplistic vision of Japan

[@topgeardel]

Didn't they start having problems with kamikazes during Iwo Jima? It does seem the US should have addressed this terrible onslaught before they set themselves up for it by invading Okinawa. Maybe knocking out the mainland air force to reach the fleet should have been the first priority? The fleet survived simply b/c it was so big. The damage though can't be underestimated. A limited amount of Japanese took out too many men and ships.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

It was much earlier, at Leyte in the Fall of '44 in the Philippines. They sunk the mini-carriers Princeton and Gambier Bay. But at the time there were no attacks on the Okinawa scale. Only when the US Fleet got close to Japan did the Kamikaze have enough range to mount the massive attacks.

[@topgeardel]

@@Charlesputnam-bn9zy That's kind of what I am asking. It seems they would have addressed the mainland first in some fashion. I know they were "prepared" for it, but the devastation a small group did was unacceptable.

[@anneplayzroblox7533]

I want to hear the sound of planes and guns! Not the music!

[@kurtbjorn]

The old hand held films of that era did not record sound.

[@questionauthority7377]

Tough shit asshole

[@larryhrh]

@@questionauthority7377 I bet you walk around with a boombox on your shoulder.

[@AmericanIdiot7659]

The music tells the story, why would you not want it?

[@brianfoley4328]

"Hey, the paint on my plane is wearing thin"...."Yeah, we'll take care of that....later".

[@hccwarriordan5475]

after that rude ad I woul'nt use that glue if they paid me...

[@musicalsman66]

ABOUT THE MUSIC: Don't forget that Richard Rodgers only wrote his "twelve themes" at the piano for "Victory at Sea"--all together, they last less than 20 minutes. The credited VAS "arranger" Robert Russell Bennett transformed these tunes for symphony orchestra in a zillion ways in scoring the series, but in the end composed many, many hours of orchestra music all on his own. In this "half hour" episode, you hear just 4-1/2 minutes of Rodgers tunes in total. From 25:09 to the end, for example, is about 80 seconds of Rodgers's "Victory Hymn." All that thrilling battle music, all the atmospheric "Japanese" music? That's Robert Russell Bennett. But who got the "Distinguished Public Service" medal from the U.S. Navy? Rodgers, not Bennett.

[@mariagillenn]

is the piece “Twelve themes” by richard rodgers?

[@davidknight1612]

Damn ,they hurt us good there!!

[@robertstack2144]

So there was a debate why we should or should not have dropped the NO NEGOTIATOR.

[@JayJay-qs8nd]

For every tracer, there's 5 more rounds.

[@robertyoung3992]

Kamikaze- Devine Wind

[@Nimbus495]

13:09 25mm’s going full cyclic.

[@stephenarling1667]

It is an Oerlikon 20mm automatic cannon. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon

[@spankyharland9845]

I wonder if these kamikaze pilots were able to get life insurance policies.....

[@pressureworks]

The Battle of Okanawa was not, as stated here twice, the last battle of WW2, The Russians launched attacks against Japan in Aug 1945.

[@Og-Judy]

The Battle of Okinawa was the last UNITED STATES NAVY fight in the Pacific. The USSR andJapan fighting each other in China had nothing to do with the US Navy Pacific fleets or the US.

[@robertstrovink2532]

It looks like when they shoot the low flying planes they are hitting their own ships. Looks like a total cluster fuck to me with plans burning on the undamaged flight deck. How else could they catch fire?

[@robertstrovink2532]

Yes Jim hit but by who? Friendly fire falling rounds?

[@robertkadow3367]

I had many uncles who fought these idiots. We should have hung Herioto. Still can not understand why we helped them after the war . We should have walked away and let them fend for themselves. Strange how our alley Russia became our foe. Why did we rescue Germany when they betrayed us twice.

[@potempkey]

18:17

[@videomaniac108]

How come there's no mention of the Japanese Kamikaze pilot who flew 29 missions?

[@fealtyknight1015]

XD wtf

[@questionauthority7377]

Your an idiot

[@zarb88]

because he died on the 30th

[@hansmueller3029]

Oerlikon 20mm

[@MrRobster1234]

The "Frances" (Yokosuka P1Y1 "Ginga")* torpedo bomber at 17:09 is not a Kamikaze plane. It was part of a night attack and that one got away. Ginga = Milky Way

[@user-nj4no9py6p]

Battotai

[@telephonetlm]

Keep this up, Mr. Billy, and the Rockefellers are coming to get you. By the way, it was Nelson Rockefeller, not his brother, David, who ran for President. David is the keeper of the family fortune. Seems like you'd find something better to rant about. Have you looked into the Trilateral Council, or maybe the Chem Trails or the Greys.

[@pete9b]

The background? music is far too loud!!....

[@grendelsm21]

Wrong! Richard Rodgers's score can NEVER be too loud! In fact, it should be in Sensaround-3D, 5G, ReboundAround, Massive-Glandular-Sound. Now . . . go sit in the corner wearing a funny hat!

[@questionauthority7377]

Then don’t listen shit head

[@amberola1b]

That's how I feel. Go in the kitchen and bake some cookies or something but don't say this music is too loud. When I was Kid in the 60s my brother would play the RCA Victor records of the soundtrack from this series all the time and I fell in love with Richard Rodgers score. I still play it today and will NEVER get tired of this beautiful symphonic music. Damn snowflakes!

[@christiandietz6341]

The music is too loud! Bite me!

[@daveware3936]

What??? Speak up!! I can’t hear you!!!! The music is too loud!!!

[@lurking0death]

Spiritually Japan aped the Fascism of Italy and Germany, not the "East". This did, however, fit the feudal nature of Japanese society. Oligarchal and elite male dominated, they paid a horrible price for their errant warlike mindset. They sewed the wind and they reaped the whirlwind. Another human tragedy.

[@cqrsonn]

R.I.P

[@taunteratwill1787]

It is everywhere and always the backward to believe they are better than everyone else. 😂

[@user-qe1uv6yq9v]

war is no good

[@daveware3936]

Your name is no good.