Hi, Paul Woodadge, WW2TV host here. If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here ua-cam.com/channels/UC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA.html. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full UA-cam description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html
one of the best war diaries I've ever read. Thanks to Richard now we know how gallant and resolute those 1st Marines boys were in Guadalcanal. God bless America!
One of the great folklores of the American experience throughout all media in the Solomons Campaign is the effectiveness throughout the War of the Australian Coast Watchers. It's where American's fondness for Australians begins.
One of the reasons it has taken years for you to deal with your experiences was the poor welcome home that so many Vietnam veterans went through. I would like to express my humble respect and thanks for what you did for our country, even if it is belated. I was just a generation behind yours and it was the bravery of your generation that inspired me to serve as well. All of the best leaders I served with in my early years in the Army were Vietnam veterans. They molded me in so many ways that even today I am a better person for it. God bless you.
I read Guadalcanal Diary in 1971 in the 6th grade. Heavy stuff for a kid, but I got it even back then. I had no appreciation of who the author was or what he had seen and done. Knowing the rest of the story gives me a much greater sense of what kind of man he must have been.
Thanks for a unique and informative lecture WW2TV. As a soldier from the modern era we are trained to somewhat distrust the media. The fact that we learned how Richard Tregaskis was able to adapt during three very different wars that he reported on is testimony to his ability to relate to the people he was with throughout his life. He seems to be a person that Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen could trust to report the truth.
Hi gents, glad you touched on Guadalcanal Diary. Anthony Quinn plays my grandpa "Frank Few" in the Guadalcanal Diary movie where we see the ill fated Goettge Patrol played out. He was interviewed by Tregaskis...
Another excellent program Paul. Any program that teaches new things is a success, and this one certainly did that. I had no idea of Richard's career in Korea and Vietnam. I am still amazed that he can publish two books during the war with all the censorship. Excellent content accompanied by period photos. Thanks for sharing your passion. If you decide to do more programs on correspondents, I would love to see one on Bill Mauldin. His 'Willie and Joe' cartoons are great. Thx again!
Due to the racism of America, there were only 2 afro Americans war correspondents reporting during WW2. I had 3 uncles and my father who fought for racists USA when they couldn't even sit at a cafeteria but they could take a bullet for Uncle SAM,. AMERICA HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR...African Americans have fought for this country since day 1, but have not received their full measure of gratitude, respect or recognition.. I had a father and uncles who fought in both the European and Paciific theaters, but see how many you tube videos are out there detailing their sacrifices.
Learn something vabout the contributions and sacrifices of non white Americans and educate yourselves. Japanese Americans fought along African American combat troops in Italy because the white units from Texas were segregated...
This was an excellent presentation on Richard Tregaskis! I had watched the film Guadalcanal Diary as a kid and it became one of my favorites. It was great to learn more about the man behind the book and his commitment to the service men he saw in action.
Another decent book from a reporter on Guadalcanal is Into the valley by John Hersey. It's a short book and just covers one Company on a short 2-3 day operation in October 42.
Just catching up. Always love when the channel discusses correspondents, please do keep covering them when appropriate. I’ve got some more books to acquire after this show
I do love your concentration on the late 1941 and 1942 conflict as the pivotal point in the war. It was from a military history standpoint the most dynamic period of maneuver warfare in that it required combined arms of land, sea, air, amphibious, and airborne forces in all operations. From my viewpoint as an American, all of WWII is told in what had come before. Poland, France, the Battle of Britain, Manchuria, and then China. What happened next was the War in the Atlantic and then Pearl Harbour. What is so fascinating about the New Guinea and Solomons campaign is the symbiotic relationship and unprecedented coordination of the ANZAC forces in the face of annihilation, or the Imperial Japanese advance. Propaganda and reality had a happy convergence there, but the reality is that unless the United States Navy, Australia, and New Zealand got really serious about the South West Pacific Theater things would have been very different in the Pacific.
Also there is Guadalcanal Remembered by Herbert Metillat who was the press officer for 1st MarDiv. Very interesting account of how the Division and Marine Corps looked at reporting about Guadalcanal.
Is that a P-61 Black Widow model on Ray's top shelf just to the camera-right of his head? I usually recognize the Widow's silhouette since my Dad's WW II unit, an antiaircraft searchlight battalion, worked in close cooperation with two 9th USAAF night fighter squadrons that flew them, the 422nd and 425th, beginning as early as late June 1944 once the battalion and their gear (including SCR-268 gun-laying radars) were completely ashore and set up to defend numerous advance landing grounds as they moved up the Cotentin, then to Brittany, and back across Northern France, into Belgium, and eventually Germany, ending up on a former Luftwaffe airdrome a few miles south of Munich when they got the news of the German surrender.
Kinda hard to avoid carbs when the only food available from fairly early on was captured Japanese rice until the USN could re-establish itself in that AO after getting run off by the JN.
It's kind of strange. Guadalcanal was sort of the United States military's freaky Friday. We were the ones getting shelled from the sea and they were landing reserves. Then the Navy basically ditches the soldiers there and they have problems staying fed and keeping up with ammo. Basically a complete reversal of roles with Japan from most of the battles to come. It's almost like the British situation in North Africa, where before Guadalcanal they had lost and only lost and after Guadalcanal they never lost again. It's not exact because they had had a couple of victories but nothing on the scale of Guadalcanal.
If you take the commitment of the IJN, USN, RAN, and RNZN out of the picture, the total commitment of Imperial Japan, the United States, and the British Commonwealth in the Southwest Theater of Operations was at best a tithe of their strength on all sides. That means from the American point of view that anything that our allies gave us at that time was heaven sent. We got into this war with Japan for our own reasons. Unfortunately, you got involved because of Japan and it's needs for resources, we just had as Americans say a mean-on for Japan since we were not happy with their conquest of China. The United States had its own resources in the western hemisphere.
If I had been in his situation I would have taken a hard pass on going on those bombing missions. Obviously he had gone above and beyond and going on bombing missions over Tokyo or wherever in Japan could have been disastrous. I know the numbers were a bit better over Japan than over Germany but can you imagine being shot down and even if you would parachuted you would have been surrounded by a very angry Japanese population. It might have been better not to parachute down. A very brave man indeed.
Wow , he had Diabetes. How dangerous for him to go into such dangerous situation. He likely had Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adult..LADA diabetes… he was young and very thin …unlikely Classical Type 2 diabetes. As he was living in Boston, I wonder who was his physician? Elliot Joslin was in practice there at the time. If he went into DKA he could have jeopardized the safety of the people around him.
Hi, Paul Woodadge, WW2TV host here. If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here ua-cam.com/channels/UC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA.html.
Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full UA-cam description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html
one of the best war diaries I've ever read. Thanks to Richard now we know how gallant and resolute those 1st Marines boys were in Guadalcanal. God bless America!
One of the great folklores of the American experience throughout all media in the Solomons Campaign is the effectiveness throughout the War of the Australian Coast Watchers. It's where American's fondness for Australians begins.
I have a show planned on this
Survival guilt is one of the symptoms of PTSD. It took me years after Vietnam to get over that.
Yes indeed. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, sir, for serving.
Remember that PTS is not a disorder...it is a normal reaction to abnormal circumstances.
One of the reasons it has taken years for you to deal with your experiences was the poor welcome home that so many Vietnam veterans went through. I would like to express my humble respect and thanks for what you did for our country, even if it is belated. I was just a generation behind yours and it was the bravery of your generation that inspired me to serve as well. All of the best leaders I served with in my early years in the Army were Vietnam veterans. They molded me in so many ways that even today I am a better person for it. God bless you.
I read Guadalcanal Diary in 1971 in the 6th grade. Heavy stuff for a kid, but I got it even back then. I had no appreciation of who the author was or what he had seen and done. Knowing the rest of the story gives me a much greater sense of what kind of man he must have been.
I checked it out of the library during a summer reading program in about 1963. It was an amazing read for a 12 yr old.
I read it when I was quite young also along with " They were Expendable" both books and others were in my grandparents house .
Thanks for a unique and informative lecture WW2TV. As a soldier from the modern era we are trained to somewhat distrust the media. The fact that we learned how Richard Tregaskis was able to adapt during three very different wars that he reported on is testimony to his ability to relate to the people he was with throughout his life. He seems to be a person that Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen could trust to report the truth.
Excellent discussion. Thank you gentlemen.
Hi gents, glad you touched on Guadalcanal Diary. Anthony Quinn plays my grandpa "Frank Few" in the Guadalcanal Diary movie where we see the ill fated Goettge Patrol played out. He was interviewed by Tregaskis...
Hello folks. Huge fan of Tregaskis since I read Guadalcanal Diary as a kid. He set a high standard for journalists. Don’t miss this show.
Another excellent program Paul. Any program that teaches new things is a success, and this one certainly did that. I had no idea of Richard's career in Korea and Vietnam. I am still amazed that he can publish two books during the war with all the censorship. Excellent content accompanied by period photos. Thanks for sharing your passion. If you decide to do more programs on correspondents, I would love to see one on Bill Mauldin. His 'Willie and Joe' cartoons are great. Thx again!
Bill Mauldin is a great shout for a show - thanks
Due to the racism of America, there were only 2 afro Americans war correspondents reporting during WW2. I had 3 uncles and my father who fought for racists USA when they couldn't even sit at a cafeteria but they could take a bullet for Uncle SAM,. AMERICA HAS A LOT TO ANSWER FOR...African Americans have fought for this country since day 1, but have not received their full measure of gratitude, respect or recognition.. I had a father and uncles who fought in both the European and Paciific theaters, but see how many you tube videos are out there detailing their sacrifices.
Learn something vabout the contributions and sacrifices of non white Americans and educate yourselves. Japanese Americans fought along African American combat troops in Italy because the white units from Texas were segregated...
This was an excellent presentation on Richard Tregaskis! I had watched the film Guadalcanal Diary as a kid and it became one of my favorites. It was great to learn more about the man behind the book and his commitment to the service men he saw in action.
Thanks Scott
Another decent book from a reporter on Guadalcanal is Into the valley by John Hersey. It's a short book and just covers one Company on a short 2-3 day operation in October 42.
Just catching up. Always love when the channel discusses correspondents, please do keep covering them when appropriate. I’ve got some more books to acquire after this show
Another great show, I should read Tregaskis original books as well as Ray's book. Always learning.
I really enjoyed this discussion. I learned a lot.
Thanks for letting us know
Fascinating. Thank you
Beautiful interview. A recent subscriber and WOW!
Welcome aboard Thomas, I hope you will stick with us here on WW2TV
Awesome
I do love your concentration on the late 1941 and 1942 conflict as the pivotal point in the war. It was from a military history standpoint the most dynamic period of maneuver warfare in that it required combined arms of land, sea, air, amphibious, and airborne forces in all operations. From my viewpoint as an American, all of WWII is told in what had come before. Poland, France, the Battle of Britain, Manchuria, and then China. What happened next was the War in the Atlantic and then Pearl Harbour. What is so fascinating about the New Guinea and Solomons campaign is the symbiotic relationship and unprecedented coordination of the ANZAC forces in the face of annihilation, or the Imperial Japanese advance. Propaganda and reality had a happy convergence there, but the reality is that unless the United States Navy, Australia, and New Zealand got really serious about the South West Pacific Theater things would have been very different in the Pacific.
I also read Guadalcanal Diary as a much younger person.
That was when journalists were journalists....
Just inspired me to track down a copy of his book and read it again. After 40 years.
Also there is Guadalcanal Remembered by Herbert Metillat who was the press officer for 1st MarDiv. Very interesting account of how the Division and Marine Corps looked at reporting about Guadalcanal.
Should be Merillat
i read his book when i was a young teen.
Is that a P-61 Black Widow model on Ray's top shelf just to the camera-right of his head? I usually recognize the Widow's silhouette since my Dad's WW II unit, an antiaircraft searchlight battalion, worked in close cooperation with two 9th USAAF night fighter squadrons that flew them, the 422nd and 425th, beginning as early as late June 1944 once the battalion and their gear (including SCR-268 gun-laying radars) were completely ashore and set up to defend numerous advance landing grounds as they moved up the Cotentin, then to Brittany, and back across Northern France, into Belgium, and eventually Germany, ending up on a former Luftwaffe airdrome a few miles south of Munich when they got the news of the German surrender.
Great point about diet and managing diabetes out in the Bush - tall order
Excellent episode, Richards dedication was awesome. Great brief by Ray.
Would love to hear someone do a talk on Lee Miller
Kinda hard to avoid carbs when the only food available from fairly early on was captured Japanese rice until the USN could re-establish itself in that AO after getting run off by the JN.
My mother knew Richard from her neighborhood when she was young.
It's kind of strange. Guadalcanal was sort of the United States military's freaky Friday. We were the ones getting shelled from the sea and they were landing reserves. Then the Navy basically ditches the soldiers there and they have problems staying fed and keeping up with ammo. Basically a complete reversal of roles with Japan from most of the battles to come. It's almost like the British situation in North Africa, where before Guadalcanal they had lost and only lost and after Guadalcanal they never lost again. It's not exact because they had had a couple of victories but nothing on the scale of Guadalcanal.
If you take the commitment of the IJN, USN, RAN, and RNZN out of the picture, the total commitment of Imperial Japan, the United States, and the British Commonwealth in the Southwest Theater of Operations was at best a tithe of their strength on all sides. That means from the American point of view that anything that our allies gave us at that time was heaven sent. We got into this war with Japan for our own reasons. Unfortunately, you got involved because of Japan and it's needs for resources, we just had as Americans say a mean-on for Japan since we were not happy with their conquest of China. The United States had its own resources in the western hemisphere.
I've read the book at least 10 times. That fu**ing island.
nov 28 for me also
If I had been in his situation I would have taken a hard pass on going on those bombing missions. Obviously he had gone above and beyond and going on bombing missions over Tokyo or wherever in Japan could have been disastrous. I know the numbers were a bit better over Japan than over Germany but can you imagine being shot down and even if you would parachuted you would have been surrounded by a very angry Japanese population. It might have been better not to parachute down. A very brave man indeed.
Wow , he had Diabetes. How dangerous for him to go into such dangerous situation. He likely had Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adult..LADA diabetes… he was young and very thin …unlikely Classical Type 2 diabetes. As he was living in Boston, I wonder who was his physician? Elliot Joslin was in practice there at the time.
If he went into DKA he could have jeopardized the safety of the people around him.
Bravo Zulu, gents
His third wife was a hottie.