In 1997 my brother and I hired an off shore fishing boat to spend the day catching Red Snapper off South Padre Island. When we arrived shortly before dawn we were sad to see we would be sharing the boat with a group of old men. I thought we had been swindled and almost had a few words with the boat owners. Soon after the boat left the dock, however, we realized this was not a nursing home outing. These old men were smoking cigarettes, one cigar, and popping open beers - and the sun had not even risen yet! They drank continuously throughout the day and not one ever got sick. We caught a ridiculous amount of fish and one small shark. It turned out we shared the boat with a reunion of old World War II Marines, who shared with us their adventures. Those guys spilled so many "F" bombs hahaha. Hard as nails and didn't give a sh!t anymore. We felt honored by their company. I will never forget it.
I have been watching the entire Guadalcanal Campaign videos over the last few weeks. These were some of the most interesting, informative and educational discussions I have ever listened to. Thanks for all the effort by Seth, Bill and all their expert guests for informing us about what I feel was indeed the true turning point of the war. I'm going to go back and watch the recordings from Pearl Harbor onwards.
My grandfather was Brig. Gen. Edmund B. Sebree, who commanded Americal Division in the end stages of the campaign. Great episode; Dave Holland is a fabulous resource!
Bill responding: Wow! We talk about the establishment of Americal and why it's called that in one of our Guadalcanal episodes. My great uncle Joe was a member of the division.
So happy to hear from a direct descendant of a notable person of the war and US history. Often when direct family descendants don't keep the memory alive, stories of such people are often lost forever, despite the efforts to keep them alive by the likes of museums and the awesome people putting up great content on this channel. So please keep the memory of your grandfather alive through your children and grandchildren and on. God bless.
Great episode. My dad was part of the U.S. Army in Guadalcanal. He never talked about his experience there. He enlisted in 1939 and was stationed in Pearl Harbor and was Medically discharged in January 1943? As a result of having contracted malaria in Guadalcanal. Thank you for all your hard work and information on this channel
This spring I’ll collect all the hand written and drawn documents, orders, maps, and photos in our possession passed down. There’s bound to be some pieces to a puzzle mixed in. I will get that stuff to Dave. My grandad would have liked him. Semper Fi
That's a very great and unselfish thing to do and you know that Dave will treat it with respect and reverence and pass that information on down the line! This is how history and the memories of your ancestors stay alive
In the book “Shots Fired in Anger” National Guard Officer George discusses his experience on Guadalcanal. The Army units had M1 Garands and thus a lot more firepower than USMC units at the time. The joint operations extended at times down to squad level. He describes going on a reconnaissance patrol, with fire support from a Marine mortar platoon.
My uncle was a marine on Guadalcanal and got shot twice there.. my father was a radar operator on b24s in the panama zone and Solomons later on. Ive always had an interest in the pacific war. You guys keep up the good work.
Love the opening dialog. That comment about PT at 0500 was priceless. I remember being in command, standing in front of my troops at 0500 in PT gear and freezing rain one morning... and thinking to myself, "What asshole came up with the idea of doing PT at this hour and under these conditions? Oh, wait a minute... that was ME!" 😆
Dave Holland is able to recite such detail. Almost as if he was at each battle. While engaged in solidary sabbaticals on the Guadalcanal battle fields, I bet he was there with them. What a treasure this man is.
You guys are tremendous! I have been interested in Guadalcanal since I saw the 1943 movie "Guadalcanal Diary" in the 3rd grade. I have read a number of books, but you guys still bring up some material that I haven't seen, or you and your guests explain the actions in a more concise way. Thank you for your efforts. As long as you talk, I will listen.
Thank you.. I’m in the process of catching up. I started from episode one. I started this after visiting the museum in Fredericksburg. I live in Georgetown Tx, retired, and catching up will take some time…
P.S. It was U.S. Army Veterans who showed up at our Marines funeral with a gun salute and a huge show of respect in waterbury CT. They all knew his story and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I’m glad you’re highlighting the Army’s contributions.
I feel that Dugout Doug Macarthur got a Medal of Honor for deserting the Philippines, that Chesty Puller should have got at least one Medal of Honor for defending Guadalcanal. Another Outstanding video.
Chesty puller is the most decorated Marine in US history wiki has an extensive review of his awards how they were earned. Criticizing MacArthur is just plain ignorant. His commanding officer the president of the United States ordered him to leave provided a sub for him to do it he turned to the sub down and left on PT boats which was much more dangerous. MacArthur was greatly admired by Americans and then again in WWII after he retired in 37 was recommisoned in 41. I suggest you do some background reading before you take cheap shots at soldiers whose history you don't seem to understand or appreciate.
@@refuge42 He was also a grandstanding SOB whose press greatly exceeded his actual accomplishments. The fact MacArthur received a Medal of Honor is an insult to every other person that has ever been awarded the same award.
One of my great uncles was in the Bataan death march. The local paper did a big story on his ordeal when he got home after the war and one of my great aunts cut it out and saved it. He hated MacArthur more than the Japanese
McArthur was nominated for the Medal of Honor after the Veracruz mission, and after a patrol during WWI. He had , many many faults but cowardice was not one of them.
Even though my first memories are of the Philippines as a young child- I was also raised at Ft. Bragg as a boy- and the European theatre is my strong suit. Thanks for getting me excited about the Pacific 👍
Ever since I was a young boy when my parents purchased their first set of encyclopedias I have been fascinated with the Pacific Theater of WW 2. Now late in life I have been thrilled to discover your excellent Pod Cast on the Pacific war. You are doing a fantastic service digging into the little know details. Since you asked for suggestions have you ever given any thought to doing an episode on the importance of the PBY squadrons in the Pacific campaign, especially in the dark early days of New Guinea and the Solomons
Just discovered this podcast: it is fantastic! Can't wait to see how you talk about the RN carrier seconded to US Navy and how British Pacific Fleet contributed later on
Having only recently discovered your podcast series. I can’t tell you just how much I enjoy your discussions on the Pacific War, which in my opinion, gets far less attention than the ETO. Keep up the great work.
Excellent. Good account of the Army on the Canal. As a lad in the 70s I was learning and reading about the Marines on the Canal, then found the book The Thin Red LIne....it really kept the quest to learn more. The quest continues, like when I discover Dave's YT channel, and you two gentelmen.
Making my way through season one and what can I say but wow. This is amazing. Thank you for doing this gentlemen. I fancy myself a history buff but this channel has put me in my place with so much knowledge crammed into each episode. I know I’m late to the party and am doing my best to catch up
This has been the most interesting video on your channel. Been hoping for a video on the Army on Guadalcanal. I finally got clarity on the unit in The Thin Red Line.
Great podcast and work by everyone and glad I found this channel. Dave Holland is fantastic guest, I've seen every video Dave has produced. I'm older so grew up around a lot of Veterans of WW1 and WW2. The man who mentored me to become a silver smith and gem cutter was a veteran of both 1and 2. Great men who helped shape who I became later in life. 👍
You speak of malaria in the Solomon's; my dad was a CPO with the 20th NCB IN Noumea, Townsville, Then, on to Woodlark Island and Banika in the Russell Islands, in the Louisaides Island Chain 200 miles south of New Ireland, and about the same distance from Bougainville. He suffered recurring malaria and neuritis for the rest of his life, he had and took Atabrine,but he still got malaria. I remembered buying quinine for him even in the 1970's
Dave has been the star of the who Guadalcanal series, and its been an gold mine of insights. BZ Sir. Thank you guys for this podcast. My Dad was in the Atmy and served in the Philippines toward the end of the war as a medical orderly. He helped Survivors of the POW camps. He was in Pasig, the Stadium in Manila and the hospital at Bagio. I wish I knew what unit he was in. I seem to remimber him saying something about the Second Mechanised Calvery, but I dont know for sure. Maybe when you get to it, I'll be able to figure it out. I'm subbed, so I'll be around for that. 😊
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Me too! I was there in the Navy as well. And I wish I had written down all that my dad said about his experiwnces, and adked more questions.
Thank you. Very interesting to hear scholars go into details. I’ve heard from my father and history videos and read a few books. However, these videos make it very personal and almost feel like I gotten to know the soldiers .
Once again you folks have hit one out of the park. I would love to see you do a podcast on Peleliu. It was a horrific battle that many thought was unnecessary.
It was totally unnecessary. But that doesn't take away its ferocity and how the Marines did, what they went thru, and its impact on them. This is one of the very few mistakes Nimitz made in the War because he could have said no, but instead he agreed with MacArthur. But IF they really thought that the airfield on this island was a real threat to the Leyte Gulf landing, they could have simply bombed it over and over with medium bombers and with B-17s. The Pacific series does do this campaign justice.
My dad often regailed my brother and I about his time with a sea bee battalion in the late stages of Guadalcanal. One of his favorite topics was “WASHING MACHINE CHARLIE “ and the trouble those planes caused. Not exactly big topic with strategic implications. Maybe you guys could say a word about it . Keep up the great work 😊
These are great presentation/discussions. However, it would help if you could patch in maps supporting the discussions. I'm learning a lot and erasing some bad info all at once.
Tank you for the pResentations on GC. My uncle was a marine that was there for the campaign. He never spoke about it. I know he did suffer from malaria which he contracted there. But not much else was ever said.
My dad always talked about how the Marines took more casualties than the Army because of their tactics in the Pacific. He said that the Army used their arty and air assets more to soften up the enemy during their assaults. He always gave Peleliu as an example, But he was in the Army.
My dad said the same thing. Particularly later in the war, the leadership of Marine Platoon, Company and Battalions really got weak. My dad talked about Marine Platoons loosing about 1/2 there strength by doing a frontal assaults on Japanese machine gun armed block houses. Maybe they expanded too quickly.
The ARMY says the MARINE CORPS does nothing but frontal assults. Amphibious assult is a frontal assult. In the Pacific between fighting on islands and in jungles, most of the battles become frontal assults. There not a lot of room to move around. So, you charge in, Hang on, and fight like hell. If you don't win, your brothers may die trying to. So, win and make the enemy lose and die.
I have read about many of these events over the years but after following your series from the "Operation Watch Tower", episode. Your great efforts have allowed me to put the events of the Guadalcanal Campaign in much better chronological order in my mind. Well done and thank you very much for that kind gift.
Well, there went this weekend!😂. Found your podcast on 2nd Battle of Savo Isl., and was so impressed, I’ve been binge-watching your whole series on Guadalcanal. Fantastic job! Subscribed and liked. I’ll be going back to the beginning of your series and trying to catch up. An idea: When talking about the locations, it would be great to have a period simplistic map (like US used in its records of the war). Nothing fancy, like circles, arrows, or animation. Just simple map; no harder than putting up a photo, like you do frequently. And a question: Are you going to talk about the Marine Defense Btln. which landed on Guadalcanal?
People make a big deal of our technology but really,it's the ingenuity of our guys on the ground that makes our Army so formidable. The Japanese and the Germans get bogged down in protocol.
Your correct with the 4th Brigade. If the war would have went into 1919 there were plans to form the first ever Marine Division. I was referring to WW2 in this episode.
147th RCT: National Guard (Ohio) separated when the 37th Division was triangularized. The 164th Infantry: National Guard (North Dakota). The two other infantry regiments in the AMERICAL were the 182nd (Massachusetts Guard) and 132nd (Illinois Guard).
Correspondent Richard tregaskis wrote the book Guadalcanal diary which later was made into a Hollywood movie called the thin red line and had an all star cast in 1998.
James Jones wrote the book The Thin Red Line which the movie was made from. Tragaskis book was made into a movie in 1943 with the same title: Guadalcanal Diary.
I was wondering, since the Guadalcanal Campaign is the current topic, do you plan to do something about the period when the Royal Navy carrier Victorious a/k/a USS Robin was sent to the PTO due to the loss of the Hornet and the severe damage to the Enterprise which had her laid up for repairs. Then the only carrier available in the PTO was the Saratoga. FDR and Winston Churchill set it up. I think it would make a great podcast episode, as there is not a lot of written product out there for something that was quite important during the spring and summer of 1943. I found the story extremely fascinating and it led me to look more into the British armored deck carriers, as well as David Hobbs great book about the British Pacific Fleet in 1944-1945.
The USN got an excellent education from the Royal Navy on how to properly vector their CAP fighters and the RN learned a lot from the USN about underway replenishment.
One thing that I never understood, even as a teenager. Why didn't the Japanese use their air assets to supply Guadalcanal? I realize it would be very difficult to supply 30,000 troops 600 miles away from Rabaul, but they could have sent them something. They had bunches of long-range aircraft and many aircrew well trained in night operations. I do know they did some air transport in New Guinea, just not on the scale of the allies.
No C-47s or anything close, not to mention no airfield so they would of had to air dropped supplies. I've never heard of the Japanese attempting anything like that.
@@HeedTheLorax That isn't exactly true, the Japanese license-built hundreds of DC-3s, the military version of which was called the C-47. They also bought a few. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showa%2FNakajima_L2D
DC-3s aren’t exactly the same as C-47s. One is an airliner with passenger seating, one is a cargo plane. Perhaps Japanese military did not see the benefit of time and cost to convert the airliners into cargo planes. Why they didn’t use their knowledge from the license built DC-3s to produce purpose-built cargo planes, I don’t know.
Speaking of mixing US Army and Marine...at I believe New Guinea my father, who was initially a Navy radioman, was assigned to a mixed Aussie / US 6 man (Aussie led) recon team...a JASCO unit (Joint Assault Co.)....packing a radio to comm as needed. He quite enjoyed the cross-national camaraderie. At Guadalcanal (where I believe he also served--post NG...mixing Marine and Navy?)...he recounted: a) packing in 28 miles to reinforce troops in defensive positions and being greeted with the exclamation "fresh meat"; b) sleeping in tombs and waking to find the guy next to him with a slit throat; and c) malaria.
I was watching the second episode of the tribute to The USS Enterprise. I'm surprised Bill wasn't aware of the float planes rescuing pilots off Truk and taxing to USS Tang. Nothing against Bill but has he ever seen the TV series The Silent Service? There was a episode that describes that event, probably not as accurate as what you have though. Like I said NO slam just surprised. I am enjoying the pod cast Keep up the good work Thanks.
The reason Chesty did not get the MOH on Guadalcanal was that the brass despised him because he always told them what he thought and did not hold back. Also you cannot blame Chesty for Peleliu...that was all on Rupterus and his misuse of the 1st Marines. 😡
Good points. Peleliu was complicated and all the commanders are implicated. It surprises me Geiger never gets tainted as he was the overall commander. Puller wasn’t liked by many of the top brass due to a number of issues.
My father and uncle both said that they didn't know anyone who didn't have malaria and discentary. My father went in to the army at over 200 lbs and came home at 140lbs.
US Army and US Navy had wonderful cooperation, or "jointness," during the American Civil War. The River Campaigns would not have been won by the Union without that.
Dave is wrong about the CAM division being the only time that the Army & Marines fought under in combined division. During WW1 the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division included the Marine Brigade and was renamed the 2nd Division of U.S. Forces to reflect their unique formation. The 2nd was twice commanded by Marine generals as well.
Who knew about this dark closing chapter at Guadalcanal?. I surely didn't. Every sacrifice is significant, and especially tragic in these circumstances. These men were doomed to all be like the last man to die in a war: forgotten. This is awfully painful history. Like ALL of the Japanese men on ALL of their hopeless ill conceived battles. Makes you realize what a failure war is as an option in human relations. 😢
The 25th ID earned its nickname “Tropic Lightning” on Guadalcanal. The 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds”, are still a part of the 25th ID. The “Wolfhounds” earned their nickname with the American Siberian Expeditionary Force (1918-20) against the communists in Russia. The 27th Infantry Regiment sponsored an orphanage, The Holy Family Home in Osaka, Japan. 🇯🇵 beginning in 1949, and still have an association. The Wolfhounds fought in Korea, and Vietnam, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq.
When they asked the Marines, Army and Navy how the Japanese could escape and evacuate with enough forces from Guadalcanal, they probably said "Dunno, they just dissapeared into the sea!", the action of General Patch during the Operation Ke and his conservative ways in conducting the offensive toward Cape Esperance, also the disaster at Rennell Island and the intelligence on when and how the Japanese evacuation plan is kind of lacking.
My Dad was in a army mule outfit, he was a pack master and he said that they hauled ammo they and chow to there own guns and to the Marines. they they also hauled wounded on a stretchers that was attached to the mules backs.
Flying Tigers tried to share how to fight Japanese plaines zoom and boom tactics and never try to turn with them but the Navy and Army would not pass the information along.
I'm going to disagree with y'all in your digs against Carlson. Makin isn't on him. You go where you're sent and do what you're ordered to do. Remember... the Marines didn't get to pick their targets. Also, 20' plus breakers on the coral reef around the island are gonna mess up extraction plans, even to this day. That he got as many out as he did is a rather huge plus. And, as to the long patrol, again, you go where you're sent and follow orders. If the patrol was misused and abused, that's on operational command, not on the tactical leadership. Carlson was a commie pink and a Mao fan. But no one's perfect. Not even Marines, as hard as that might be to believe. Semper Fi. Lifetime Member of the L/Cpl Underground.
In 1997 my brother and I hired an off shore fishing boat to spend the day catching Red Snapper off South Padre Island. When we arrived shortly before dawn we were sad to see we would be sharing the boat with a group of old men. I thought we had been swindled and almost had a few words with the boat owners. Soon after the boat left the dock, however, we realized this was not a nursing home outing. These old men were smoking cigarettes, one cigar, and popping open beers - and the sun had not even risen yet! They drank continuously throughout the day and not one ever got sick. We caught a ridiculous amount of fish and one small shark.
It turned out we shared the boat with a reunion of old World War II Marines, who shared with us their adventures. Those guys spilled so many "F" bombs hahaha. Hard as nails and didn't give a sh!t anymore.
We felt honored by their company. I will never forget it.
You lucky buggers!
You were blessed that day.
This series has been a Master Class on Guadalcanal with Master Historians, thank you very much.
I have been watching the entire Guadalcanal Campaign videos over the last few weeks. These were some of the most interesting, informative and educational discussions I have ever listened to. Thanks for all the effort by Seth, Bill and all their expert guests for informing us about what I feel was indeed the true turning point of the war. I'm going to go back and watch the recordings from Pearl Harbor onwards.
A very complicated campaign, and the podcasts have been outstanding!
My grandfather was Brig. Gen. Edmund B. Sebree, who commanded Americal Division in the end stages of the campaign. Great episode; Dave Holland is a fabulous resource!
Bill responding: Wow! We talk about the establishment of Americal and why it's called that in one of our Guadalcanal episodes. My great uncle Joe was a member of the division.
So happy to hear from a direct descendant of a notable person of the war and US history. Often when direct family descendants don't keep the memory alive, stories of such people are often lost forever, despite the efforts to keep them alive by the likes of museums and the awesome people putting up great content on this channel.
So please keep the memory of your grandfather alive through your children and grandchildren and on.
God bless.
Great episode. My dad was part of the U.S. Army in Guadalcanal. He never talked about his experience there. He enlisted in 1939 and was stationed in Pearl Harbor and was Medically discharged in January 1943? As a result of having contracted malaria in Guadalcanal. Thank you for all your hard work and information on this channel
This spring I’ll collect all the hand written and drawn documents, orders, maps, and photos in our possession passed down. There’s bound to be some pieces to a puzzle mixed in. I will get that stuff to Dave. My grandad would have liked him.
Semper Fi
What a wonderful tribute. And Dave will be VERY grateful. You may be starting something much bigger. I hope so!
That's a very great and unselfish thing to do and you know that Dave will treat it with respect and reverence and pass that information on down the line! This is how history and the memories of your ancestors stay alive
In the book “Shots Fired in Anger” National Guard Officer George discusses his experience on Guadalcanal. The Army units had M1 Garands and thus a lot more firepower than USMC units at the time. The joint operations extended at times down to squad level. He describes going on a reconnaissance patrol, with fire support from a Marine mortar platoon.
Great book
My uncle was a marine on Guadalcanal and got shot twice there.. my father was a radar operator on b24s in the panama zone and Solomons later on. Ive always had an interest in the pacific war. You guys keep up the good work.
So nice to see the Captain looking so healthy again.
He thanks you!
Love the opening dialog. That comment about PT at 0500 was priceless. I remember being in command, standing in front of my troops at 0500 in PT gear and freezing rain one morning... and thinking to myself, "What asshole came up with the idea of doing PT at this hour and under these conditions? Oh, wait a minute... that was ME!" 😆
That's funny.
Dave Holland is able to recite such detail. Almost as if he was at each battle. While engaged in solidary sabbaticals on the Guadalcanal battle fields, I bet he was there with them. What a treasure this man is.
We agree
You guys are tremendous! I have been interested in Guadalcanal since I saw the 1943 movie "Guadalcanal Diary" in the 3rd grade. I have read a number of books, but you guys still bring up some material that I haven't seen, or you and your guests explain the actions in a more concise way. Thank you for your efforts. As long as you talk, I will listen.
Fantastic as always, guys. I love it when you have guys like Dave Holland or Jon Parshall on to get their expertise as well.
More to come!
I agree Dave and, or, Jon rock. I love them both
Thank you.. I’m in the process of catching up. I started from episode one. I started this after visiting the museum in Fredericksburg. I live in Georgetown Tx, retired, and catching up will take some time…
P.S. It was U.S. Army Veterans who showed up at our Marines funeral with a gun salute and a huge show of respect in waterbury CT. They all knew his story and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I’m glad you’re highlighting the Army’s contributions.
I'm proud of our Seabees defending Henderson field. Could you talk more about them also in the future. Thanks if you can.
Will add to the list!
Dave, thank you so much for being up early to do this. Your knowledge of this is so amazing!
Good morning. Thanks for all the hard work. Great episode. Close to home familiar story’s.
Another great episode Gentlemen, thank you very much for all this work.
Very learnful... and equally enjoyable.
Yet another fascinating broadcast, gentlemen. 28 years in Australia has certainly resulted in a unique amalgam of vowel sounds, Mr Holland. TFP
Alabama mixed with a trace of down under.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Alabama is are down under
Love that messed up accent! 😂❤
@genenoud9048 you meant "OUR" Down Under regarding Alabama
I feel that Dugout Doug Macarthur got a Medal of Honor for deserting the Philippines, that Chesty Puller should have got at least one Medal of Honor for defending Guadalcanal. Another Outstanding video.
McArthur froze when the Philippine's was attacked. The most over rated Military officer in WW2.
Chesty puller is the most decorated Marine in US history wiki has an extensive review of his awards how they were earned. Criticizing MacArthur is just plain ignorant. His commanding officer the president of the United States ordered him to leave provided a sub for him to do it he turned to the sub down and left on PT boats which was much more dangerous. MacArthur was greatly admired by Americans and then again in WWII after he retired in 37 was recommisoned in 41. I suggest you do some background reading before you take cheap shots at soldiers whose history you don't seem to understand or appreciate.
@@refuge42 He was also a grandstanding SOB whose press greatly exceeded his actual accomplishments. The fact MacArthur received a Medal of Honor is an insult to every other person that has ever been awarded the same award.
One of my great uncles was in the Bataan death march. The local paper did a big story on his ordeal when he got home after the war and one of my great aunts cut it out and saved it. He hated MacArthur more than the Japanese
McArthur was nominated for the Medal of Honor after the Veracruz mission, and after a patrol during WWI. He had , many many faults but cowardice was not one of them.
Even though my first memories are of the Philippines as a young child- I was also raised at Ft. Bragg as a boy- and the European theatre is my strong suit.
Thanks for getting me excited about the Pacific 👍
Awesome! A long episode with Dave! Perfect birthday present thanks guys! Learned a ton as usual!
Another stellar episode, glad to see Dave back with his encyclopedic knowledge of the geography.
Ever since I was a young boy when my parents purchased their first set of encyclopedias I have been fascinated with the Pacific Theater of WW 2. Now late in life I have been thrilled to discover your excellent Pod Cast on the Pacific war. You are doing a fantastic service digging into the little know details. Since you asked for suggestions have you ever given any thought to doing an episode on the importance of the PBY squadrons in the Pacific campaign, especially in the dark early days of New Guinea and the Solomons
Just discovered this podcast: it is fantastic! Can't wait to see how you talk about the RN carrier seconded to US Navy and how British Pacific Fleet contributed later on
Armoured carriers and they took some kamikaze hits
You’re going to wait a long time. This series is only about American activity.
"USS Robin" (HMS Victorious) paired with Saratoga first half of 1943 out of Noumea.
Love his answer “you don’t own me” touché.
Having only recently discovered your podcast series. I can’t tell you just how much I enjoy your discussions on the Pacific War, which in my opinion, gets far less attention than the ETO. Keep up the great work.
Thanks
The idea proffered to get to Dave papers, letters, relics for a beginning to a Guadalcanal museum. It's a wonderful idea.
Excellent. Good account of the Army on the Canal. As a lad in the 70s I was learning and reading about the Marines on the Canal, then found the book The Thin Red LIne....it really kept the quest to learn more. The quest continues, like when I discover Dave's YT channel, and you two gentelmen.
Binge watching through season one, this is such an incredible podcast.
Yhis is very informative, as are all of your shows. please keep them coming. Thanks T
Making my way through season one and what can I say but wow. This is amazing. Thank you for doing this gentlemen. I fancy myself a history buff but this channel has put me in my place with so much knowledge crammed into each episode. I know I’m late to the party and am doing my best to catch up
This has been the most interesting video on your channel. Been hoping for a video on the Army on Guadalcanal. I finally got clarity on the unit in The Thin Red Line.
Great podcast and work by everyone and glad I found this channel. Dave Holland is fantastic guest, I've seen every video Dave has produced. I'm older so grew up around a lot of Veterans of WW1 and WW2. The man who mentored me to become a silver smith and gem cutter was a veteran of both 1and 2. Great men who helped shape who I became later in life. 👍
OK I started at 108 now I have to go back and catch up from the beginning! Great job guys!
Excellent work 👍
Another great episode.
Woohoo! Mornin guys! Meanwhile back in Guadalcanal...
Great show gentlemen.
You guys are great !
You speak of malaria in the Solomon's; my dad was a CPO with the 20th NCB IN Noumea, Townsville, Then, on to Woodlark Island and Banika in the Russell Islands, in the Louisaides Island Chain 200 miles south of New Ireland, and about the same distance from Bougainville. He suffered recurring malaria and neuritis for the rest of his life, he had and took Atabrine,but he still got malaria. I remembered buying quinine for him even in the 1970's
Dave has been the star of the who Guadalcanal series, and its been an gold mine of insights. BZ Sir. Thank you guys for this podcast. My Dad was in the Atmy and served in the Philippines toward the end of the war as a medical orderly. He helped Survivors of the POW camps. He was in Pasig, the Stadium in Manila and the hospital at Bagio. I wish I knew what unit he was in. I seem to remimber him saying something about the Second Mechanised Calvery, but I dont know for sure. Maybe when you get to it, I'll be able to figure it out. I'm subbed, so I'll be around for that. 😊
Bill responding-- been to Manila & Baguio while in the Navy. Wish I had the time and inclination back then to visit these sites.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Me too! I was there in the Navy as well. And I wish I had written down all that my dad said about his experiwnces, and adked more questions.
I retired from Texas to the Philippines in 2018, now living in Cavite. Free beer and cheeseburger if you ever swing by. Love sharing stories.
great work ! thank you .
Thank you. Very interesting to hear scholars go into details. I’ve heard from my father and history videos and read a few books. However, these videos make it very personal and almost feel like I gotten to know the soldiers .
Once again you folks have hit one out of the park. I would love to see you do a podcast on Peleliu. It was a horrific battle that many thought was unnecessary.
We'll get there, I promise you that.
It was totally unnecessary. But that doesn't take away its ferocity and how the Marines did, what they went thru, and its impact on them. This is one of the very few mistakes Nimitz made in the War because he could have said no, but instead he agreed with MacArthur. But IF they really thought that the airfield on this island was a real threat to the Leyte Gulf landing, they could have simply bombed it over and over with medium bombers and with B-17s. The Pacific series does do this campaign justice.
@@vincentlavallee2779 I agree. Neutralize and isolate it like they did to Rabaul and Truk.
Thank y'all for another outstanding show.
My dad often regailed my brother and I about his time with a sea bee battalion in the late stages of Guadalcanal. One of his favorite topics was “WASHING MACHINE CHARLIE “ and the trouble those planes caused. Not exactly big topic with strategic implications. Maybe you guys could say a word about it . Keep up the great work 😊
Washing Machine Charlie was in an episode of McHale's Navy. :)
We mention it in a few episodes, including the yet-to-air one on the Cactus Air Force.
These are great presentation/discussions. However, it would help if you could patch in maps supporting the discussions. I'm learning a lot and erasing some bad info all at once.
Heck, the Army and the Navy were doing VERY well in joint operations at least as far back as the Civil War!
You guys led me to reading a biography of Admiral Earnest King. Just finished it. Thanks.
A suggestion for a video, y'all should do a video exclusively about Enterprise especially as she prepares to go home to receive her PUC and her refit.
Tank you for the pResentations on GC. My uncle was a marine that was there for the campaign. He never spoke about it. I know he did suffer from malaria which he contracted there. But not much else was ever said.
My dad always talked about how the Marines took more casualties than the Army because of their tactics in the Pacific.
He said that the Army used their arty and air assets more to soften up the enemy during their assaults.
He always gave Peleliu as an example, But he was in the Army.
My dad said the same thing. Particularly later in the war, the leadership of Marine Platoon, Company and Battalions really got weak. My dad talked about Marine Platoons loosing about 1/2 there strength by doing a frontal assaults on Japanese machine gun armed block houses.
Maybe they expanded too quickly.
The ARMY says the MARINE CORPS does nothing but frontal assults.
Amphibious assult is a frontal assult. In the Pacific between fighting on islands and in jungles, most of the battles become frontal assults. There not a lot of room to move around. So, you charge in, Hang on, and fight like hell. If you don't win, your brothers may die trying to. So, win and make the enemy lose and die.
Excellent as usual gentleman..
I have read about many of these events over the years but after following your series from the "Operation Watch Tower", episode. Your great efforts have allowed me to put the events of the Guadalcanal Campaign in much better chronological order in my mind. Well done and thank you very much for that kind gift.
I grab a swig of beer every time Seth says "abundantly". Not swaying as much tonight, lol.
Haha. We all have words we probably say too much. For Bill, it's "absolutely."
My favourite is ‘Battle wagon’
@@rogerpattube Gosh, I'd be hammered by the end of this vid. "A man's got to know his limitations", lol.
Well, there went this weekend!😂. Found your podcast on 2nd Battle of Savo Isl., and was so impressed, I’ve been binge-watching your whole series on Guadalcanal. Fantastic job! Subscribed and liked. I’ll be going back to the beginning of your series and trying to catch up. An idea: When talking about the locations, it would be great to have a period simplistic map (like US used in its records of the war). Nothing fancy, like circles, arrows, or animation. Just simple map; no harder than putting up a photo, like you do frequently.
And a question: Are you going to talk about the Marine Defense Btln. which landed on Guadalcanal?
Glad you found us.
People make a big deal of our technology but really,it's the ingenuity of our guys on the ground that makes our Army so formidable. The Japanese and the Germans get bogged down in protocol.
But by 1944 we have 4 times the number of ships than the Japanese. Ingenuity isn't going to overcome that difference.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar no it's not I was talking about tech and getting bogged down by military protocal
Great content
Thank-you!
sinply awsome coverage.
thank you
CAM division was the second time a US Division fought that was combined US Army/ US Marines.
The first was the 2cd Division fighting in France in WWI.
Your correct with the 4th Brigade. If the war would have went into 1919 there were plans to form the first ever Marine Division. I was referring to WW2 in this episode.
147th RCT: National Guard (Ohio) separated when the 37th Division was triangularized. The 164th Infantry: National Guard (North Dakota). The two other infantry regiments in the AMERICAL were the 182nd (Massachusetts Guard) and 132nd (Illinois Guard).
The 164th was also the first US Army personnel to see action in WWII in an offensive operation.
Yes when they landed on 13 Oct. I have an entire episode on the 164ths role during the campaign.
Correspondent Richard tregaskis wrote the book Guadalcanal diary which later was made into a Hollywood movie called the thin red line and had an all star cast in 1998.
James Jones wrote the book The Thin Red Line which the movie was made from. Tragaskis book was made into a movie in 1943 with the same title: Guadalcanal Diary.
I was wondering, since the Guadalcanal Campaign is the current topic, do you plan to do something about the period when the Royal Navy carrier Victorious a/k/a USS Robin was sent to the PTO due to the loss of the Hornet and the severe damage to the Enterprise which had her laid up for repairs. Then the only carrier available in the PTO was the Saratoga. FDR and Winston Churchill set it up. I think it would make a great podcast episode, as there is not a lot of written product out there for something that was quite important during the spring and summer of 1943. I found the story extremely fascinating and it led me to look more into the British armored deck carriers, as well as David Hobbs great book about the British Pacific Fleet in 1944-1945.
The USN got an excellent education from the Royal Navy on how to properly vector their CAP fighters and the RN learned a lot from the USN about underway replenishment.
Well done! OMG Well done!
One thing that I never understood, even as a teenager. Why didn't the Japanese use their air assets to supply Guadalcanal? I realize it would be very difficult to supply 30,000 troops 600 miles away from Rabaul, but they could have sent them something. They had bunches of long-range aircraft and many aircrew well trained in night operations. I do know they did some air transport in New Guinea, just not on the scale of the allies.
They actually attempted to drop supply bundles at times especially at the start of the campaign. There are several photos of captured bundles.
No C-47s or anything close, not to mention no airfield so they would of had to air dropped supplies. I've never heard of the Japanese attempting anything like that.
@@HeedTheLorax That isn't exactly true, the Japanese license-built hundreds of DC-3s, the military version of which was called the C-47. They also bought a few.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showa%2FNakajima_L2D
DC-3s aren’t exactly the same as C-47s. One is an airliner with passenger seating, one is a cargo plane. Perhaps Japanese military did not see the benefit of time and cost to convert the airliners into cargo planes. Why they didn’t use their knowledge from the license built DC-3s to produce purpose-built cargo planes, I don’t know.
Their paratroops used the Mitsubishi Ki-57, so those could have been used. So good question.
38:53 - AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A WORK PARTY!!
I add, the next biography you have led me to is that of admiral Willis lee. Again, thanks.
I second that.
My dad was in the 132nd and fought in the battle of Mt. Austin, but never talked about. I found out about it after he past in '65 from his brother.
Great podcast!!!! will you have time to cover the PT boats contribution? I have long thought the same about MacArthur BTW.
YES, the PT boats would be interesting stuff!
They will definitely come up at some point
Speaking of mixing US Army and Marine...at I believe New Guinea my father, who was initially a Navy radioman, was assigned to a mixed Aussie / US 6 man (Aussie led) recon team...a JASCO unit (Joint Assault Co.)....packing a radio to comm as needed. He quite enjoyed the cross-national camaraderie. At Guadalcanal (where I believe he also served--post NG...mixing Marine and Navy?)...he recounted: a) packing in 28 miles to reinforce troops in defensive positions and being greeted with the exclamation "fresh meat"; b) sleeping in tombs and waking to find the guy next to him with a slit throat; and c) malaria.
I was watching the second episode of the tribute to The USS Enterprise. I'm surprised Bill wasn't aware of the float planes rescuing pilots off Truk and taxing to USS Tang. Nothing against Bill but has he ever seen the TV series The Silent Service? There was a episode that describes that event, probably not as accurate as what you have though. Like I said NO slam just surprised. I am enjoying the pod cast Keep up the good work Thanks.
I find it interesting after 4 or 5 episodes Mr. Holland has lost the Australian accent haha
I'm not done listening when you guys finish talking...
I think the question was about Army working under Marines. In WWI it was Marines under Army.
I was taught MacArthur frequently liked to borrow marine units but didn't like returning them , especially in the Philippines campaign
I love guys.
The reason Chesty did not get the MOH on Guadalcanal was that the brass despised him because he always told them what he thought and did not hold back. Also you cannot blame Chesty for Peleliu...that was all on Rupterus and his misuse of the 1st Marines. 😡
Good points. Peleliu was complicated and all the commanders are implicated. It surprises me Geiger never gets tainted as he was the overall commander. Puller wasn’t liked by many of the top brass due to a number of issues.
My father and uncle both said that they didn't know anyone who didn't have malaria and discentary. My father went in to the army at over 200 lbs and came home at 140lbs.
couldn't find a good map of the guadalcanal campaign on google... maybe someone can help?
I believe that the 2nd Division in WW1 was a combined army/marine Division.
Correct with the 4th Marine Brigade. I’m actually going to Belleau wood and Mont Blanc next month, can’t wait.
US Army and US Navy had wonderful cooperation, or "jointness," during the American Civil War. The River Campaigns would not have been won by the Union without that.
Dave is wrong about the CAM division being the only time that the Army & Marines fought under in combined division. During WW1 the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division included the Marine Brigade and was renamed the 2nd Division of U.S. Forces to reflect their unique formation. The 2nd was twice commanded by Marine generals as well.
Thanks. I should have said WW2. The USMC has been combined with US Army units since the Rev War.
I am looking but I cannot find - is there a Patreon link for podcast?
Who knew about this dark closing chapter at Guadalcanal?. I surely didn't. Every sacrifice is significant, and especially tragic in these circumstances. These men were doomed to all be like the last man to die in a war: forgotten. This is awfully painful history. Like ALL of the Japanese men on ALL of their hopeless ill conceived battles. Makes you realize what a failure war is as an option in human relations. 😢
another great episode. hey bill did you know commander coughlin
Bill responding: I know a captain Coughlin
The 25th ID earned its nickname “Tropic Lightning” on Guadalcanal.
The 27th Infantry Regiment “Wolfhounds”, are still a part of the 25th ID.
The “Wolfhounds” earned their nickname with the American Siberian Expeditionary Force (1918-20) against the communists in Russia.
The 27th Infantry Regiment sponsored an orphanage, The Holy Family Home in Osaka, Japan. 🇯🇵 beginning in 1949, and still have an association. The Wolfhounds fought in Korea, and Vietnam, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq.
Is there going to be a focused discussion of the air battle of Guadalcanal ?
Yes-- already recorded and scheduled for release in about a month.
When they asked the Marines, Army and Navy how the Japanese could escape and evacuate with enough forces from Guadalcanal, they probably said "Dunno, they just dissapeared into the sea!", the action of General Patch during the Operation Ke and his conservative ways in conducting the offensive toward Cape Esperance, also the disaster at Rennell Island and the intelligence on when and how the Japanese evacuation plan is kind of lacking.
Thank u
My Dad was in a army mule outfit, he was a pack master and he said that they hauled ammo they and chow to there own guns and to the Marines. they they also hauled wounded on a stretchers that was attached to the mules backs.
Margaritaville... 2/5/1st.
Are you gentlemen going to do Boganville? And also my favorite, The Battle of Bismark Sea???
We are.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Good! The Battle of the Bismark Sea deserves more attention than it has had.
A gross injustice that Chesty Puller never received his Medal of Honor.
Flying Tigers tried to share how to fight Japanese plaines zoom and boom tactics and never try to turn with them but the Navy and Army would not pass the information along.
I'm going to disagree with y'all in your digs against Carlson.
Makin isn't on him. You go where you're sent and do what you're ordered to do. Remember... the Marines didn't get to pick their targets.
Also, 20' plus breakers on the coral reef around the island are gonna mess up extraction plans, even to this day. That he got as many out as he did is a rather huge plus.
And, as to the long patrol, again, you go where you're sent and follow orders. If the patrol was misused and abused, that's on operational command, not on the tactical leadership.
Carlson was a commie pink and a Mao fan. But no one's perfect. Not even Marines, as hard as that might be to believe.
Semper Fi.
Lifetime Member of the L/Cpl Underground.