So cool you’re here. My great uncle Barney Ross, 2nd Marine Division, was at Guadalcanal until 1943. He was a boxer in the marines, and saved his men under enemy Japanese fire. Lobbing 20 hand grenades at the enemy. I’m so proud of him.
My Father served in the 1st Marine Division and his best friend was a GREAT boxer and he was so great with a throwing knife, I can't remember his name but he was Italian,
@thEannoyingE my Father fought with this Italian man and daddy said he was a GREAT boxer and he had a throwing knife and was so accurate with it. So my Father and him were clearing out this pillbox and they saw this Jap bayonet and before my Father could pull the trigger on his M1 Gurrand he was dead by a knife through the heart.
Great video thanks. My Father in law was a Marine on the Canal. He would never talk about it. Lest we forget the suffering and sacrifice of those Brave Men.
My Dad was on Guadalcanal as a Scout Sniper, fought on several other islands including Tarawa. Like many he didn't say much about the war but was the kindest, most decent man I ever knew. What little he did say about the war gave a hint about what was underneath it all.
Sounds like my Dad as well--a gentle giant who saw horrible combat. Didn't mention anything other than his best buddy got "cut in half by a machine gun."
My Father, Alfred Johnson, was a Marine fighter pilot in the South Pacific - and such stories were definitely told. His engine cut out once and he almost hit the water before he restarted it. When asked why he didn't use his parachute, he said they all knew what the Japanese did to prisoners... far better to die quick in the plane crash.
My uncle married a gal whose Dad had been a Marine on the Canal. Later on I worked as a mail boy at the company he worked in. American Seating in Grand Rapids, MI. He worked in the foundry and his co-workers all looked after him. He suffered from what we now call PTSD. Every one said he was insane and acted like a crazy man some times. It was comforting that his friends took care of him. Most of them were WWII vets too. Bless them for watching out for him and making sure he could make a living and support his family.
That is wild. My grandfather worked for American Seating for 26 years. Every time I would come to visit between deployments he would tell me stories about men he worked with. He would say a name and then add WW2, Korean War veteran. Then he would inquire about my experience (infantryman) and I could only say “absolutely nothing like that”
My uncle was on Kokoda and in northern New Guinea. He didn't talk much about it. He had witnessed the cannibalism of Australian soldiers by the Japanese. In the the area near Popandetta, northern New Guinea He rescued an Australian officer left for dead by the Japanese. He described the torture the officer had suffered. Both my uncles who fought the Japanese carried a deep hatred for them for many decades.
Can you blame them??? Japan is a sneaky treacherous little psychiatric state that pretends to be our ally when in fact they wait patiently for the moment to nuke us back.
I did the Kokoda trial in 2017. It was a very humbling experience to say the very least. Those men (most were essentially home guard troops) fought in the most awful environment with limited arms, massively outnumbered and in a hell on earth jungle at attitude. I left with immense respect for those men and still unable to grasp the horrors they faced. They were the first to stop the Japanese. None were the Chocos that’s for sure. The AIF that came to their relief were astounded. Rightly so.
@Iguazu65 Well done, mate. I've always wanted to do it, but age and health have caught up with me. Mick, my uncle said, the first time he ever saw a Bren gun was 10 minutes before he went up the track, behind the 39th. He got a soldier's "5"on how to operate it and got sent up the track with it for live target practice. So, the first time he got to shoot it, it was in battle with front line Japanese troops. The 53rd battalion was the worst trained battalion of the reserve units. They lost approximately half the battalion on the track, dead and wounded. I could go on. They did the best they could in spite of their massive lack of training. They showed enormous courage. They were fighting for their families and their mates and didn't run away. The 53rd unit history should be mandatory reading at Duntroon as a guide of what not to do. Especially regarding administration and training. I'm afraid that we shall repeat history in the near future. I hope I'm wrong.
Thank you for keeping history alive. It is vital that this history of the greatest generation is told. Especially the little known battles and struggles of WW2. Lest we forget. Cheers 🍻
Thanks again JD for spotlighting a part of the battle that in many ways carried over until the end of the war. Those horrific stories fueled the Americans. I have long said that the Japanese underestimated the American's will to fight and things like this and the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor gave the Americans all the will they needed to win in the Pacific. Great job as always.
And what is unfortunate to the sands of time is contemporary people, most Americans and nearly all Japanese know nothing of the atrocities committed to prisoners of war. And atrocious events need to be remembered and condemned.
And what is unfortunate to the sands of time is contemporary people, most Americans and nearly all Japanese know nothing of the atrocities committed to prisoners of war. Atrocious events need to be remembered and condemned. And, for this patrol, command foolishly was ill prepared and failed to listen to the warnings of the Japanese POWs.
Ronwinsford, a different breed of Americans that would accomplish a job regardless of how nasty/brutal it became. They didn't let their "emotions" interfere with what had to be done. The US won't ever see that happening again. Wars and battles aren't won by emotions, they're only accomplished by defeating the enemy with every means necessary!
The husband of a cleaner who worked at my old man's office was a "guest" of the Imperial Japanese. Old Jack was blind from malnutrition by the time he was repatriated, and even at 90 still woke up screaming. One tale he told was of an Aussie at the camp who grabbed some leaves on the way back from a slave labour detail for his mate who was dying in what passed as a hospital in the hope it would help him. The Guards found out and he was beheaded after being tortured by the Japanese in front of all the POWS. For a handful of leaves.
Thank you and Dave Holland for such a powerful episode and series. You both, have made The Battle of Guadalcanal jump off the page and become real as you describe the events and show the places they occurred -quite powerful indeed-much respect, honor, and remembrance to all who served and are serving now❤️🇺🇸
Brutality really began with the Japanese occupation of Nanking , probably the greatest atrocity of the last century. It carried on to a lesser degree during the Japanese invasions of Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines etc and as you say got rougher again at the canal
Yeah, for the Japanese, their brutality was already well established. It was this incident that set the tone for how the U.S. soldiers and Marines would respond. I should have made that more clear.
@TheHistoryUnderground hmmmm in that case you better go back to the American civil war and the Indian wars what will Andersonville and wounded knee etc i think the Americans take the prize . At least the Japanese had a marital code which kept them fairly honourable and the didn't make tobacco pouches out of women breasts and hat bands from vaginas
@p.moore: Actually back up to the invasion of Manchuria in 1933. Nanking was just an add on (footnote) to the Japanese conquest of Asia and the Pacific in general. If the Japanese weren't forced into a pause at the Coral Sea no telling when they would have stopped but probably Hawaii. Midway was a decisive victory that turned the tide but the Coral Sea set the stage. If they weren't stopped at the Coral Sea we would have lose the Canal & the Solomons for sure. The Pacific war was very brutal for sure.
Wow !! I have never heard of this story before this video !! What an eye opening tale !! Your channel is "The Absolute Best History Channel on UA-cam... Bar None !!" Thank you for all your hard work !!
My Dad was a Marine Raider. After The Canal, he said they (Marines, not just the Marine Raiders) took very few prisoners. He never talked about the fighting. He did say once when I expressed disappointment that my friends Dad told war stories of fighting the Germans: "Anyone that has seen and experienced real combat has nothing to say about it. They just wish they could forget it."
My father was of the same opinion. US Army Infantry in the Pacific from beginning at Guadalcanal to waiting to land on Kyushu in the first wave. Solomon Islands, New Guinea and Leyte. The only things he was willing to even mention was being in New Zealand and Australia when they got replacements and a bit of R&R. He would say anyone who talked of his combat exploits was most likely a REMF who never heard a shot fired in anger.
Not all combat veterans deal with it the same. It might be cathartic for some to relate experiences. I used to work for a WW2 Marine vet, 2nd MARDIV, who talked quite a bit about combat on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. He didn't talk about any glory, or anything. He was very matter-of-fact when telling his experiences. I think he knew since I was going in the military, he thought I needed to know how bad things can be.
My Father was in the 1st Marine Division during WWII, he missed the Guadalcanal invasion but joined up with the 1st Marine Division in Australia after the invasion and he told me those Marines on Guadalcanal had it ruff, they went through HELL on that island. But he was with the 1st Marine Division on Cape Goulester New Britain, Pelielu and Okinawa and none of them were easy. And he would talk about some of his experiences without a problem and you can't say he never was in Combat because he could talk about it, some people can and some people can't, doesn't make one better or one worse they just do it their way.
@@kennethcaine3402 I agree with you. Dad was at Pelielu and Okinawa. If you ever have an interest. Looking up The Marine Raiders of WWII. They had a little bit different of a job. Everyone is different. I was saying what my Dad said. That's all.
@ItsAlwaysRusty: I have lived in SE Asia for close to 23 years now. I have lived in 4 countries total and have visited seven. Over here, the environment is their garbage can. Everything that's discarded is just thrown on the ground or out the window of a moving vehicle or from a moving motorbike. We in the west can't "clean up the environment" until this behavior is stopped.
It's Honiara, the dirty capitol. Get away from the city like in the Western Provinces and things are much cleaner. But those plastic bags are given free at the markets and they are a big problem. They are weak and stretch and tear easily so the locals double or triple bag. They are colored by size, the blue bags are the little ones, the pink bags are medium and the yellow bags are large. They end up in the creeks and rivers and shorelines by the thousands. If they stopped using those damned bags it wouldn't be so bad.
The Goettge Patrol story's told in Richard Tregaskis' book "Guadalcanal Diary" and in a semi-fictional way shown in the WW2 era movie of the same name. The massacre did set the tone for the way the Marines would fight the Japanese for the duration of the war as in: "OK, you wanna play hardball? You wanna play dirty? So be it!" The hate level in the Pacific war was probably only matched by the Eastern Front war in Europe, and don't kid yourselves, from both sides, American AND Japanese.
Thank you for covering this, so very very interesting. I think that the Pacific Theater is soooooo largely overlooked and just as important as the European Theater. My grandfather served in the Pacific the Phillipine liberation and the Okinawa campaign in the Army. He too never talked about his war experiences. Yes the brutality and the hatred of the Japanese definately stemed from Guadalcanal. I have done a lot of reading about the Pacific Theater and I understand why now my grandfather and others didn't talk about their war experiences.
@diabapippin6658: There was still a modicum of civility displayed in the ETO, with the exception being the SS. That didn't exist with the Japanese at all. Their code of "honor" was the fuedel one of 14th Century Japan.
Not really, they took the Philippines and Singapore in early 1942 before Guadacanal in late 1942 and treated those prisoners with absolute brutality. I knew some survivors of the Bataan Death march (the New Mexico National Guard was there).
Eugene Sledge mentions the Goettge patrol in his battle memoir “With the old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. He said it was one of the blaring stand out events of the pacific that brought home truly how brutal & merciless & savage the Japanese were. Great post thanks!
I saved this in my watch later list. Anytime I went back to YT this popped up. It is 3:30 am and I begin watching. The psychological take, what you walk away from this very well told story is “Savagery”. It is as you stated, “this story gets around”, the impact removes the Geneva convention specificity of conduct and we are stripped to basic survival of the fittest. Recently I’ve been greatly admonished for my opinions on the two theaters of war WWII. I said the gentleman’s war was Europe, while the brutality of war was the South Pacific. You clearly have established what I’ve believed.
I’m going to become a Patreon this Saturday. It can’t be cheap for J.D. to travel to give us history most others are not able to. And it’s never a bad thing to show some kindness.
Went up the “Slot” on Nov 10, 1976, USMC birthday, aboard the USS Vancouver. We Marines fired a 21 gun rifle salute. The ships in line dropped a wreath and fired their guns as we passed Guadalcanal. Very moving ceremony.
I went their to train with the NZ Army in 1988. I'm only just learning of the Japanese attocities learning of the horrific things that occurred in that theatre. We found lot's of stuff including US dogtags. They were flown back to the States (special C130 flight) along with other things.
My dad was with the USMC 1st division and a combat veteran of the Guadalcanal campaign. He never talked about his combat experience to anyone other than his fellow leathernecks from his platoon and company at their reunions.
Thank you for this video JD - I don't recall hearing about this particular incident previously, so it is a very good education for me. Sounds like our troops learned, right where you were standing, exactly how the Pacific war was going to be fought.
We have been told : "Do Not Forget," but, I think we have forgotten, especially where the Japanese are concerned. Today, mostly, all that is talked about is Hitler and the Germans, sadly overlooked is the barbarism of the Japanese military. We certainly need more great, informative videos like your JD, so that we are reminded of what was and what can be again should we forget!
Terry, the Japanese were responsible for at least 20M civilian deaths in Asia. When you consider the population of Asia/Pacific back then 20M is a lot.
The sad thing is the Japanese don't teach this history to their kids. They're led to believe the US started the war, and then nuked them, like some Kaiju [radioactive dinosaur], for no reason. Not payback for Bataan, Pearl, and an untold number of other atrocities.
The execution of Lark Force soldiers in the Tol Plantation massacre (approx 160) in New Britain that happened in early Feb 1942 set a pretty low note in south pacific before this campaign.
History does not repeat itself but it often rhymes. The lost of a Custer in battle is a bad sign for the enemy- it means nothing short of total destruction followed by unconditional surrender.
0:11 and you had me hooked. Another great book “The Village.” Love to come across videos like this. I have been searching for good ones and here I am! Keep up the good work! Edit: The Village is a Vietnam book. I just meant another good military read.
Thank you J.D. the details here are brutal. That being said the Imperial Japanese force's made their brutality crystal clear in China long before the Island campaign.
Excellent videos and research, thoroughly engaging. Always wondered how the ground looked from reading With the Old Breed - your videos bring Sledge’s words sharply into focus with an impression of the terrain and the fighting. Fascinating talks.
This guy’s accent is fascinating. It’s like a mixture of Louisiana drawl, Aussie inflection and a sprinkle of Landan geezer. Pls cure my curiously and reveal what it is.
You're close. He was raised in Alabama, did 8 years in the Marine Corps and then moved to Australia. He's been there for 20 years (I think) and it's resulted in the most unique accent ever.
I have a 1st edition copy of this book. Was given to me by my father-in-law and he got it from is father. His father was prohibited from serving in active duty during the war. He was an MIT grad that wrote his thesis on a little thing called "radar" in 1939 and it was promptly classified by the military. This preventing him from serving in the military. He regretted for the rest of his life that he couldn't fight for his country. Although his work he did during the war aided immeasurably, He was upset that he couldn't fight.
@@Chris...66 He wasn't the only one, there were many young men in vital industries who wanted to go but couldn't. The father of a friend of mine in high school was working for Curtiss-Wright as an engineer, enlisted in the Air Force and was on his way to basic training when Curtiss-Wright had him brought back! As he put it "Man! Was I sore! But there was nothing I could do about it!" The father of another friend was ready to deploy with his National Guard unit and got pulled out. As a Black Seal boiler technician and steamfitter he was needed to keep vital factories going. He wasn't very happy about it either. I'm sure there are plenty of stories like that.
Wow JD just amazing stories and love this type of history (sad but true that it happened) but need to be told ! I know you have been all over but it would be cool ( if it could be done) to show where we fought the Germans through Africa and through that fight ! Thanks for the great history lesson ! 😎👍🏻🇺🇸🦅😇🙏
going into Libya, Egypt, French Chad, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia would not be a good plan for anyone currently. those countries are either a level 3 or 4 travel restriction for Americans. I looked into going to where the afrika corps had action back in 2022 and realized it wouldn't be good to go tramp around a desert just to see whats left which is mostly bulldozer tracks. and well its a desert.
Wow. None of the literature whether in books or online ever mentioned remains being found of the Goettge Patrol, especially that of Custer's. Thank you for this.
Several books mention finding the remains. On The Canal is one. McEnerys book is another. Steel Soldier by Messina mentions it. Richard Franks Guadalcanal history has it. Hammels and Griffiths books along with Stan Jersey’s. Missingmarines website has a detailed write up. Including pictures and the stories of all 25.
Thanks again for sharing our history with Dave at your flank ! Yes “that set a precedent of dealing with Japanese in combat” … interesting that after the bloody taking of Iwo that ammo was turned in except for salty combat Vets that new better and we lost AAC personnel to a last ditch banzai attack . It was stopped but with more loss of life ! SF
Well done. I had believed that the surrendering Japanese were part of a ruse but that wasn’t the case. I had a friend who had served in the Marines in the Pacific. He was looking to buy a new car. I suggested a Honda and he said “I fought on Iwo Jima and I’ll never buy anything made in Japan.”
My Aunt (who just died at 104), remembers seeing US personnel who had been at Guadalcanal, at a dance in Coolangatta (which is a beach town in on the Queensland New South Wales border, Australia), she said a lot of them were wild and traumatised, not surprised.
Everyone copies America and everything is plastic. Going around the world in 1975, it started about 30 miles out from any port....Garbage. Most cultures just toss garbage on the ground. No one ever cleans it up. Africa, South America, Pacific basin...everywhere.Mass insanity? Group suicide? Something is very wrong with the human genome.
Great episode. I read the book you mentioned. It's a very good read. I spent time in the south pacific during the 70s at Okinawa. Thanks for sharing. Great story.......
Great video and I highly recommend reading reading With the Old Breed, its one of the best novels about the Pacific and the Marines,definitely not a book for the faint of heart, its brutal and thats exactly what it was like for the men that fought. Keep up the great work and let's get more of these amazing videos out,and to any Servicemen who watch this, thank you for your service, ML&R Scott.
My father fought in New Guinea with the aussies …they said one time they came across a medical camp that was overrun by the Japanese the medical people including nurses were butchered and splattered all over the interior of the tent he said it was horrible they couldn’t identify anyone
Im certain JD will have one. I took him to the exact location. I have a couple on location Basilone videos on my channel. He only received one Medal of Honor. Navy Cross for Iwo Jima.
word also filtered back on Bataan death march to US soldiers and marines. One of my friends father served in pacific from 1942-45as mortar man. He said they didn't take one japanese prisoner the whole war
I lived and worked in Guadalcanal for a year 2010 to 2011. What wasn't mentioned is that a number of the bodies of the Patrol have never been recovered post-war. I can't remember how many are missing but apparently, the American Government has put forward several attempts to locate the bodies but to no avail. I believe they were buried by the Americans at the time on the site where they were killed, but inaccurate record keeping has contributed to the actual site being lost. Some locals believe the burial site is beneath a local church's grounds.
The Japanese threw the remnants of the Goettge patrol (21) into the trenches near the village. Bainbridge was found by the mouth and buried by the US. Just in the area of Pt Cruz to Rove are around 86 Americans in unmarked graves. Hundreds of Japanese. Around the Central Police Station are 65 I’m aware of.
My Father fought against the Japanese in the Philippines,he never talked about it to me or my Mom. Then when I went into the Military (U.S.ARMY) He started talking to me about it by showing me Pictures and telling me a couple stories about what he did exactly.
This is why the Americans had a "No Prisoners" policy until the end of the war. The savage brutality of Asian Pacific warriors was also notable during the Vietnam War. My Uncle fought in the Pacific during WW2 and made me promise never to buy a Japanese car. I have kept that promise.
My grandfather was at Guadalcanal and bougainville with New Zealand forces ww 2 . We had the marines in new Zealand during ww2 training for the assault on tarawa and on leave over a tho NJusand kiwi women married American service men
Like a lot of your videos, I had to look into the incident a little further. It sounds like they didn't find the remains of the patrol until later because they weren't aware they had landed in the wrong spot. Sadly, the grisly remains were found and hastily buried during a later battle, but were never recovered despite several later attempts to locate them.
Something interesting was said about the japanese prisoner saying repeatedly not to go there, and not being listened to by the commander. A very much unfortunate leadership decision, which brought not tactical nor strategical gain. Quite a tragedy for these soldiers ...
It almost certainly is not their fault. All that plastic washes up on Pacific islands from all over the world. How much plastic trash do the Western nations dump.
Good video, just pointing it out though. The title slide when you click on the video looks like troops with Chinese copies of the SKS (its been fixed great video man)
@@ericlarson4829: The Philippines is the same as is most of Asia. The only difference is some of those govts employs groups of people that their only job is to manually clean up everyday all day. Having lived in Asia for 22+ years, living in 4 and traveling through 7 I know.
Of course the Japanese had been mindlessly horrendously cruel just about everywhere they fought in China etc etc prior to Guadalcanal so any sense of ‘fair play’ or mercy was never going to last. They tortured and murdered like fiends.
loved this! was there in 2018, walked that whole area,liked that giant monkeypod tree(didnt know about Custer...)...Edsons Ridge (found barbed wire 'pig tails? used by locals for borders) ,Basilones Coffin Corner(out of breath!) Alligator Creek and Al Schmidts position(bought relics from locals,got some back to Orlando, others confiscated at the airport!) Kukum Beach where my uncle with the Americal Div landed ('Under The Southern Cross' Americal Div book, look at landing pic, my Uncle Ducky, the short guy smiling, wanted to get at the enemy,3 Bronze Stars, Legion of Merit!( took Solomon Airlines plane to Gizo and banana boat to Kennedy Island (incredible him swimming to surrounding islands) stayed at Seafly Green Hotel(THAT was an experience!) also took Fiji Air flight too...TARAWA! another story!! OORAH!
Did the US military ever once accurately predict how many Japanese were on any of the islands in WW2? I have never heard that they ever once knew what they were up against. Of course that led to absolute horrific results on Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Saipan, ....on and on. Oh, and the almost all the "labor forces" on Guadalcanal were of Korean, or other Asian decent and not Japanese.
To my knowledge the only times the Americans were able to get a reasonable estimate of how many Japanese were on any of the islands was if aerial recon photos showed how many latrines were in place. It was known the Japanese required a certain amount of latrines per amount of personnel so X number of latrines would indicate X number of troops. More or less.
Japanese brutality was well known by the Marines, a man who lived near me was in the 4th Marines on the Philippines and experienced the Bataan Death March. They came to the Philippines from Shanghai, China.
@@williamswilliams8164 - Thanks. And yeah, as far as the ads go, UA-cam curated ads to the individual. So you may have watched and saw 2 ads and the next person may have watched and saw none at all.
@ I love you stuff All of it They showed the adds in the first 5 minutes and I thought the video was a lot longer than it was It was exactly long as it should be Should have just enjoyed it Like I did and just thumbs up and commented great :) Love your work You are the best
why is there black sand and can you show some part where the sandy beach has been and maybe the 4th battle of Matanakau? sadly no good pictures can be found in color where the japanese tanks have been destroyed at. Grüße :)
@@seegurke93I can provide then and now photo of the mouth of the Matanikau. The tanks were not in the 4th battle of the Matanikau. Yes the sand is black.
I know this is true for alot of the theaters of war but what a juxtaposition of the beautiful scenery and this being the worst/last moments for alot of the guys there. Great content sir keep it coming.
4:346:538:00 How can you ignore the one man who knows the most about the area you're heading, especially with a descendant of Custer as part of your patrol? That Japanese POW sounds like a Mitch Bouyer/Half Yellow Face.
Australian forces also suffered the atrocities of the Japanese military. Captured Australian troops were strung up and used for bayonet practice, later on captured Aussies would be strung up and died slowly, in agony and horror as their flesh was cut off and cooked and ate by the starving Japanese soldiers. When this became known, none, or very few Japanese prisoners were taken, they were killed instead.
Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to surprise me. Poor Custer ended up much like his Granddad. Mutilated. Was General George really his Grandaddy? We can look it up. Spent 20 minutes, got bogged on down some sites wanting me to pay. Unable to find it. His name was Steven Alexander Custer, a First Sergeant. May they rest in peace.
JD, is it at all frustrating that there is no remnants of the war left on the Islands? Yes, you get to stand in the spot where these things took place but unlike europe where there are lots of bunkers, fighting positions, before and after photos to look at, in the Pacific, for the most part, there is nothing left to show the viewer. It must be a little frustrating?
It took a while for the overconfidence of the American forces on Guadalcanal to be replaced by mortal fear. The Marines were ill prepared for the brutality and dedication of the Japanese who had no fear of death. But they were warned by Coastwatcher Capt Martin Clements RAN, who gave accurate numbers and locations of Japanese units. At first he was not believed by Vandergrift. But after two weeks and heavy losses, more sober minds prevailed. Then it turned into a six month meat grinder with Japanese being reinforced at night. In total, just the 1st Marines suffered 15,100 casualties (100%) in that period. 22,000 Japanese were killed. Halsey was said to have commented that "it was going to be a long way to Tokyo." My father was a Judge Advocate at the Rabaul War Crimes Tribunal and the bulk of the atrocities occurred in the Solomons, Bougainville and New Britain campaigns. His reports and affidavits were shown to me in 1971 and then he burned his copies. They are accessible in the records at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
So cool you’re here. My great uncle Barney Ross, 2nd Marine Division, was at Guadalcanal until 1943. He was a boxer in the marines, and saved his men under enemy Japanese fire. Lobbing 20 hand grenades at the enemy. I’m so proud of him.
My Father served in the 1st Marine Division and his best friend was a GREAT boxer and he was so great with a throwing knife, I can't remember his name but he was Italian,
Barney’s actions were at the base of Pt Cruz. B/1/8. I know exactly where it was.
Barney Ross was a great boxer.I believe he was 32 when he was on the Canal.An old man for agrunt.He had a rough life.Semper fi Barney.
@thEannoyingE my Father fought with this Italian man and daddy said he was a GREAT boxer and he had a throwing knife and was so accurate with it. So my Father and him were clearing out this pillbox and they saw this Jap bayonet and before my Father could pull the trigger on his M1 Gurrand he was dead by a knife through the heart.
Great video thanks. My Father in law was a Marine on the Canal. He would never talk about it. Lest we forget the suffering and sacrifice of those Brave Men.
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I think you need to look at the order of battle for Guadalcanal. The army presence was hardly "small"
@@tundranomad Who's suggesting otherwise?
Thank you for your father in law. Men like him sacrificed so much and are the real heroes of that time.
@@Crazypapa95 Yeap, lets hope from whatever he is, He is unable to see state of the US nowadays.
My Dad was on Guadalcanal as a Scout Sniper, fought on several other islands including Tarawa. Like many he didn't say much about the war but was the kindest, most decent man I ever knew. What little he did say about the war gave a hint about what was underneath it all.
Sounds like my Dad as well--a gentle giant who saw horrible combat. Didn't mention anything other than his best buddy got "cut in half by a machine gun."
My Father, Alfred Johnson, was a Marine fighter pilot in the South Pacific - and such stories were definitely told. His engine cut out once and he almost hit the water before he restarted it. When asked why he didn't use his parachute, he said they all knew what the Japanese did to prisoners... far better to die quick in the plane crash.
My uncle married a gal whose Dad had been a Marine on the Canal. Later on I worked as a mail boy at the company he worked in. American Seating in Grand Rapids, MI. He worked in the foundry and his co-workers all looked after him. He suffered from what we now call PTSD. Every one said he was insane and acted like a crazy man some times. It was comforting that his friends took care of him. Most of them were WWII vets too. Bless them for watching out for him and making sure he could make a living and support his family.
He was family.
That is wild. My grandfather worked for American Seating for 26 years. Every time I would come to visit between deployments he would tell me stories about men he worked with. He would say a name and then add WW2, Korean War veteran. Then he would inquire about my experience (infantryman) and I could only say “absolutely nothing like that”
My uncle was on Kokoda and in northern New Guinea. He didn't talk much about it. He had witnessed the cannibalism of Australian soldiers by the Japanese. In the the area near Popandetta, northern New Guinea He rescued an Australian officer left for dead by the Japanese. He described the torture the officer had suffered. Both my uncles who fought the Japanese carried a deep hatred for them for many decades.
Can you blame them??? Japan is a sneaky treacherous little psychiatric state that pretends to be our ally when in fact they wait patiently for the moment to nuke us back.
I did the Kokoda trial in 2017. It was a very humbling experience to say the very least.
Those men (most were essentially home guard troops) fought in the most awful environment with limited arms, massively outnumbered and in a hell on earth jungle at attitude.
I left with immense respect for those men and still unable to grasp the horrors they faced. They were the first to stop the Japanese.
None were the Chocos that’s for sure. The AIF that came to their relief were astounded. Rightly so.
@Iguazu65 Well done, mate. I've always wanted to do it, but age and health have caught up with me. Mick, my uncle said, the first time he ever saw a Bren gun was 10 minutes before he went up the track, behind the 39th. He got a soldier's "5"on how to operate it and got sent up the track with it for live target practice. So, the first time he got to shoot it, it was in battle with front line Japanese troops. The 53rd battalion was the worst trained battalion of the reserve units. They lost approximately half the battalion on the track, dead and wounded. I could go on. They did the best they could in spite of their massive lack of training. They showed enormous courage. They were fighting for their families and their mates and didn't run away. The 53rd unit history should be mandatory reading at Duntroon as a guide of what not to do. Especially regarding administration and training. I'm afraid that we shall repeat history in the near future. I hope I'm wrong.
Thank you for keeping history alive. It is vital that this history of the greatest generation is told. Especially the little known battles and struggles of WW2. Lest we forget. Cheers 🍻
Thanks again JD for spotlighting a part of the battle that in many ways carried over until the end of the war. Those horrific stories fueled the Americans. I have long said that the Japanese underestimated the American's will to fight and things like this and the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor gave the Americans all the will they needed to win in the Pacific. Great job as always.
Thanks!
And what is unfortunate to the sands of time is contemporary people, most Americans and nearly all Japanese know nothing of the atrocities committed to prisoners of war. And atrocious events need to be remembered and condemned.
And what is unfortunate to the sands of time is contemporary people, most Americans and nearly all Japanese know nothing of the atrocities committed to prisoners of war. Atrocious events need to be remembered and condemned. And, for this patrol, command foolishly was ill prepared and failed to listen to the warnings of the Japanese POWs.
Ronwinsford, a different breed of Americans that would accomplish a job regardless of how nasty/brutal it became. They didn't let their "emotions" interfere with what had to be done. The US won't ever see that happening again.
Wars and battles aren't won by emotions, they're only accomplished by defeating the enemy with every means necessary!
The husband of a cleaner who worked at my old man's office was a "guest" of the Imperial Japanese. Old Jack was blind from malnutrition by the time he was repatriated, and even at 90 still woke up screaming. One tale he told was of an Aussie at the camp who grabbed some leaves on the way back from a slave labour detail for his mate who was dying in what passed as a hospital in the hope it would help him. The Guards found out and he was beheaded after being tortured by the Japanese in front of all the POWS. For a handful of leaves.
Awful….
Thank you and Dave Holland for such a powerful episode and series. You both, have made The Battle of Guadalcanal jump off the page and become real as you describe the events and show the places they occurred -quite powerful indeed-much respect, honor, and remembrance to all who served and are serving now❤️🇺🇸
Brutality really began with the Japanese occupation of Nanking , probably the greatest atrocity of the last century.
It carried on to a lesser degree during the Japanese invasions of Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines etc and as you say got rougher again at the canal
Yeah, for the Japanese, their brutality was already well established. It was this incident that set the tone for how the U.S. soldiers and Marines would respond. I should have made that more clear.
@TheHistoryUnderground hmmmm in that case you better go back to the American civil war and the Indian wars what will Andersonville and wounded knee etc i think the Americans take the prize . At least the Japanese had a marital code which kept them fairly honourable and the didn't make tobacco pouches out of women breasts and hat bands from vaginas
@@TheHistoryUndergroundThink you made that plenty clear JD
@p.moore: Actually back up to the invasion of Manchuria in 1933. Nanking was just an add on (footnote) to the Japanese conquest of Asia and the Pacific in general.
If the Japanese weren't forced into a pause at the Coral Sea no telling when they would have stopped but probably Hawaii. Midway was a decisive victory that turned the tide but the Coral Sea set the stage. If they weren't stopped at the Coral Sea we would have lose the Canal & the Solomons for sure.
The Pacific war was very brutal for sure.
and now american bombs fall on children in Gaza.
Thank you for sharing this story, JD. This is part of the war that not many people have heard of.
"not many people have heard of"??? Don't confuse enemy with friend. Japan ain't no friend. They just waiting patiently to nuke us back.
Wow !! I have never heard of this story before this video !! What an eye opening tale !! Your channel is "The Absolute Best History Channel on UA-cam... Bar None !!" Thank you for all your hard work !!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
I agree 100%
My Dad was a Marine Raider. After The Canal, he said they (Marines, not just the Marine Raiders) took very few prisoners. He never talked about the fighting. He did say once when I expressed disappointment that my friends Dad told war stories of fighting the Germans: "Anyone that has seen and experienced real combat has nothing to say about it. They just wish they could forget it."
My father was of the same opinion. US Army Infantry in the Pacific from beginning at Guadalcanal to waiting to land on Kyushu in the first wave. Solomon Islands, New Guinea and Leyte. The only things he was willing to even mention was being in New Zealand and Australia when they got replacements and a bit of R&R. He would say anyone who talked of his combat exploits was most likely a REMF who never heard a shot fired in anger.
Not all combat veterans deal with it the same. It might be cathartic for some to relate experiences. I used to work for a WW2 Marine vet, 2nd MARDIV, who talked quite a bit about combat on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. He didn't talk about any glory, or anything. He was very matter-of-fact when telling his experiences. I think he knew since I was going in the military, he thought I needed to know how bad things can be.
My Father was in the 1st Marine Division during WWII, he missed the Guadalcanal invasion but joined up with the 1st Marine Division in Australia after the invasion and he told me those Marines on Guadalcanal had it ruff, they went through HELL on that island. But he was with the 1st Marine Division on Cape Goulester New Britain, Pelielu and Okinawa and none of them were easy. And he would talk about some of his experiences without a problem and you can't say he never was in Combat because he could talk about it, some people can and some people can't, doesn't make one better or one worse they just do it their way.
@@kennethcaine3402 I agree with you. Dad was at Pelielu and Okinawa. If you ever have an interest. Looking up The Marine Raiders of WWII. They had a little bit different of a job. Everyone is different. I was saying what my Dad said. That's all.
@benkanobe7500 I agree with everything you said, I apologize for being rude.
Your Guadalcanal piece might be the best work yet.
Appreciate that! Much more info on Dave's channel (linked in the description).
Agreed!
Everywhere in the background there is trash. Great video. Just a shame about the current conditions.
Just noticed the same thing. Terrible..
Much of the Pacific and parts of Asia are the same. Not a lot of national pride I guess.
@ItsAlwaysRusty: I have lived in SE Asia for close to 23 years now. I have lived in 4 countries total and have visited seven.
Over here, the environment is their garbage can. Everything that's discarded is just thrown on the ground or out the window of a moving vehicle or from a moving motorbike.
We in the west can't "clean up the environment" until this behavior is stopped.
Look up videos of Tarawa [Betio] if you think this is bad. Peleliu, on the other hand, is near pristine.
It's Honiara, the dirty capitol. Get away from the city like in the Western Provinces and things are much cleaner. But those plastic bags are given free at the markets and they are a big problem. They are weak and stretch and tear easily so the locals double or triple bag. They are colored by size, the blue bags are the little ones, the pink bags are medium and the yellow bags are large. They end up in the creeks and rivers and shorelines by the thousands. If they stopped using those damned bags it wouldn't be so bad.
The Goettge Patrol story's told in Richard Tregaskis' book "Guadalcanal Diary" and in a semi-fictional way shown in the WW2 era movie of the same name.
The massacre did set the tone for the way the Marines would fight the Japanese for the duration of the war as in:
"OK, you wanna play hardball? You wanna play dirty? So be it!"
The hate level in the Pacific war was probably only matched by the Eastern Front war in Europe, and don't kid yourselves, from both sides, American AND Japanese.
Dave is top notch, the best source on the Canal.
100%
Thank you for covering this, so very very interesting. I think that the Pacific Theater is soooooo largely overlooked and just as important as the European Theater. My grandfather served in the Pacific the Phillipine liberation and the Okinawa campaign in the Army. He too never talked about his war experiences. Yes the brutality and the hatred of the Japanese definately stemed from Guadalcanal. I have done a lot of reading about the Pacific Theater and I understand why now my grandfather and others didn't talk about their war experiences.
@diabapippin6658: There was still a modicum of civility displayed in the ETO, with the exception being the SS.
That didn't exist with the Japanese at all. Their code of "honor" was the fuedel one of 14th Century Japan.
@@skipperclinton1087 Very true!
Not really, they took the Philippines and Singapore in early 1942 before Guadacanal in late 1942 and treated those prisoners with absolute brutality. I knew some survivors of the Bataan Death march (the New Mexico National Guard was there).
Eugene Sledge mentions the Goettge patrol in his battle memoir “With the old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. He said it was one of the blaring stand out events of the pacific that brought home truly how brutal & merciless & savage the Japanese were. Great post thanks!
You and Dave did a really good job on this series can’t wait for the next
@@riverisland111 - Thanks!!!
I hope this series just keeps going. Thanks JD!
Much more to come!
I saved this in my watch later list. Anytime I went back to YT this popped up. It is 3:30 am and I begin watching. The psychological take, what you walk away from this very well told story is “Savagery”. It is as you stated, “this story gets around”, the impact removes the Geneva convention specificity of conduct and we are stripped to basic survival of the fittest. Recently I’ve been greatly admonished for my opinions on the two theaters of war WWII. I said the gentleman’s war was Europe, while the brutality of war was the South Pacific. You clearly have established what I’ve believed.
Japan never signed the Geneva Convention. They did not feel bound by those rules.
I’m going to become a Patreon this Saturday. It can’t be cheap for J.D. to travel to give us history most others are not able to. And it’s never a bad thing to show some kindness.
@@Crazypapa95 I appreciate that! Thank you.
This was the direct result of gross incompetence mixed with arrogance and stupidity.
Officers at their finest.
Fabulous. Can’t wait for Tenaru/Alligator creek site.
I know. Revenge!
Went up the “Slot” on Nov 10, 1976, USMC birthday, aboard the USS Vancouver. We Marines fired a 21 gun rifle salute. The ships in line dropped a wreath and fired their guns as we passed Guadalcanal. Very moving ceremony.
JD your episodes are fabulous and very informative. Again, wish you had a TV show on the History Channel
Really enjoyed the video mate
Outstanding video of a piece of history most don't know about. Thank you.
I went their to train with the NZ Army in 1988. I'm only just learning of the Japanese attocities learning of the horrific things that occurred in that theatre. We found lot's of stuff including US dogtags. They were flown back to the States (special C130 flight) along with other things.
My dad was with the USMC 1st division and a combat veteran of the Guadalcanal campaign. He never talked about his combat experience to anyone other than his fellow leathernecks from his platoon and company at their reunions.
Glad to show a bit of where he fought. Hope that your family enjoys the rest of the episodes.
ONE OF THE BEST WWII DISCUSSION WITH ON THE SPOT IN SITU THEN AND NOW COMPARISON EVER!!!!!!
Thank you for this video JD - I don't recall hearing about this particular incident previously, so it is a very good education for me. Sounds like our troops learned, right where you were standing, exactly how the Pacific war was going to be fought.
I watch dave hollands videos all the time lol. Great collab
Dave is the man.
We have been told : "Do Not Forget," but, I think we have forgotten, especially where the Japanese are concerned. Today, mostly, all that is talked about is Hitler and the Germans, sadly overlooked is the barbarism of the Japanese military. We certainly need more great, informative videos like your JD, so that we are reminded of what was and what can be again should we forget!
Thank you. Hope that people will consider sharing this video out.
Terry, the Japanese were responsible for at least 20M civilian deaths in Asia. When you consider the population of Asia/Pacific back then 20M is a lot.
The sad thing is the Japanese don't teach this history to their kids. They're led to believe the US started the war, and then nuked them, like some Kaiju [radioactive dinosaur], for no reason. Not payback for Bataan, Pearl, and an untold number of other atrocities.
They also used biological warfare against the Chinese. And the Japanese involved in that program (Unit 731) were recruited by the USA.
These sublime series keeps us warm during wintertime :) Keep them coming JD!
More to come!
Another awesome episode! Thank you JD and crew!
Thanks again!
Nice you and Dave Holland!
Dave is the man.
Sad event--glad you had Dave with you again. Man looks like somebody needs to police the beach or whatever you want to call it. Thx!
@@dave3156 - Yeah, the conditions of the beaches and rivers in the city are an issue. Once you get outside of it, it’s quite nice.
The execution of Lark Force soldiers in the Tol Plantation massacre (approx 160) in New Britain that happened in early Feb 1942 set a pretty low note in south pacific before this campaign.
History does not repeat itself but it often rhymes. The lost of a Custer in battle is a bad sign for the enemy- it means nothing short of total destruction followed by unconditional surrender.
0:11 and you had me hooked. Another great book “The Village.” Love to come across videos like this. I have been searching for good ones and here I am! Keep up the good work!
Edit: The Village is a Vietnam book. I just meant another good military read.
Thanks!
It is a great book. Marine CAP platoon in Vietnam.
Thank you J.D. the details here are brutal. That being said the Imperial Japanese force's made their brutality crystal clear in China long before the Island campaign.
Excellent videos and research, thoroughly engaging. Always wondered how the ground looked from reading With the Old Breed - your videos bring Sledge’s words sharply into focus with an impression of the terrain and the fighting. Fascinating talks.
This guy’s accent is fascinating. It’s like a mixture of Louisiana drawl, Aussie inflection and a sprinkle of Landan geezer. Pls cure my curiously and reveal what it is.
You're close. He was raised in Alabama, did 8 years in the Marine Corps and then moved to Australia. He's been there for 20 years (I think) and it's resulted in the most unique accent ever.
Amazing thanks! Love your videos btw.
I first read about this in "Guadalcanal Diary" from Dick Tregaskis. It definitely set the tone for the rest of the Pacific War....
I have a 1st edition copy of this book. Was given to me by my father-in-law and he got it from is father. His father was prohibited from serving in active duty during the war. He was an MIT grad that wrote his thesis on a little thing called "radar" in 1939 and it was promptly classified by the military. This preventing him from serving in the military. He regretted for the rest of his life that he couldn't fight for his country. Although his work he did during the war aided immeasurably, He was upset that he couldn't fight.
@@Chris...66 He wasn't the only one, there were many young men in vital industries who wanted to go but couldn't. The father of a friend of mine in high school was working for Curtiss-Wright as an engineer, enlisted in the Air Force and was on his way to basic training when Curtiss-Wright had him brought back! As he put it "Man! Was I sore! But there was nothing I could do about it!"
The father of another friend was ready to deploy with his National Guard unit and got pulled out. As a Black Seal boiler technician and steamfitter he was needed to keep vital factories going. He wasn't very happy about it either. I'm sure there are plenty of stories like that.
Wow JD just amazing stories and love this type of history (sad but true that it happened) but need to be told ! I know you have been all over but it would be cool ( if it could be done) to show where we fought the Germans through Africa and through that fight ! Thanks for the great history lesson ! 😎👍🏻🇺🇸🦅😇🙏
going into Libya, Egypt, French Chad, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia would not be a good plan for anyone currently. those countries are either a level 3 or 4 travel restriction for Americans. I looked into going to where the afrika corps had action back in 2022 and realized it wouldn't be good to go tramp around a desert just to see whats left which is mostly bulldozer tracks. and well its a desert.
The Pacific was great but we get so much more information because of J.D. doing the investigating, and doing the leg work to get the facts for us.
🙂
Wow. None of the literature whether in books or online ever mentioned remains being found of the Goettge Patrol, especially that of Custer's. Thank you for this.
Several books mention finding the remains. On The Canal is one. McEnerys book is another. Steel Soldier by Messina mentions it. Richard Franks Guadalcanal history has it. Hammels and Griffiths books along with Stan Jersey’s. Missingmarines website has a detailed write up. Including pictures and the stories of all 25.
@@guadalcanal-walkingabattle5349 Thank you Dave. I must've missed them.
Thanks again for sharing our history with Dave at your flank !
Yes “that set a precedent of dealing with Japanese in combat” … interesting that after the bloody taking of Iwo that ammo was turned in except for salty combat Vets that new better and we lost AAC personnel to a last ditch banzai attack . It was stopped but with more loss of life !
SF
Dave is the man.
Well done. I had believed that the surrendering Japanese were part of a ruse but that wasn’t the case. I had a friend who had served in the Marines in the Pacific. He was looking to buy a new car. I suggested a Honda and he said “I fought on Iwo Jima and I’ll never buy anything made in Japan.”
Thanks for the video.
Appreciate that!
My Aunt (who just died at 104), remembers seeing US personnel who had been at Guadalcanal, at a dance in Coolangatta (which is a beach town in on the Queensland New South Wales border, Australia), she said a lot of them were wild and traumatised, not surprised.
It seems that the Custer family has a lot of difficulty in not getting killed in any war.
Better procreate early.
Interesting and a beautiful place, it was a shame to see all the garbage laying around, I guess you can never escape it.
Everyone copies America and everything is plastic. Going around the world in 1975, it started about 30 miles out from any port....Garbage. Most cultures just toss garbage on the ground. No one ever cleans it up. Africa, South America, Pacific basin...everywhere.Mass insanity? Group suicide? Something is very wrong with the human genome.
It’s pretty bad in the city there
Was thinking about the same thing 🤔?
So much Garbage 🗑 WHY❓️
I started reading that book, thanks for the recommendation.
👍🏻
Great episode. I read the book you mentioned. It's a very good read. I spent time in the south pacific during the 70s at Okinawa. Thanks for sharing. Great story.......
❓❓ I’d Dave Hollands book up for preorder?
Not yet. I’ll definitely send out an all call when it becomes available.
Probably in 3 months. Release date in October
Another great video. The brutality was real. I saw the PTSD in my father for as long as I could remember.
Great video and I highly recommend reading reading With the Old Breed, its one of the best novels about the Pacific and the Marines,definitely not a book for the faint of heart, its brutal and thats exactly what it was like for the men that fought. Keep up the great work and let's get more of these amazing videos out,and to any Servicemen who watch this, thank you for your service, ML&R Scott.
It's a novel?
I have dads first edition. EVERYTHING Dad told me he lived though was as in the book.
I guess they were both lying.
It’s not a novel. I think he just misspoke.
@@TheHistoryUnderground
He said something in last week's episode that p.o.ed me.
These men went through hell or died so he could have a platform.
@@Ghostofachance-iw8pr - I’m a bit confused right now.
@TheHistoryUnderground
No worries!
I'd never see the places dad was at, without your hard work.
Thank you!
I had heard and saw on the movie Guadalcanal Diary , well done again JD !
My father fought in New Guinea with the aussies …they said one time they came across a medical camp that was overrun by the Japanese the medical people including nurses were butchered and splattered all over the interior of the tent he said it was horrible they couldn’t identify anyone
Cant wait for that Dave Holland book.
It’s going to be good.
Please tell me there is going to be an episode of this series on John Basilone and the first medal of honor he received
Im certain JD will have one. I took him to the exact location. I have a couple on location Basilone videos on my channel. He only received one Medal of Honor. Navy Cross for Iwo Jima.
🙂
word also filtered back on Bataan death march to US soldiers and marines. One of my friends father served in pacific from 1942-45as mortar man. He said they didn't take one japanese prisoner the whole war
Thank you, Jd, for covering this unknown pice of history ( for most). It would seem that being a Custer in war is not a good place to be.
I lived and worked in Guadalcanal for a year 2010 to 2011. What wasn't mentioned is that a number of the bodies of the Patrol have never been recovered post-war. I can't remember how many are missing but apparently, the American Government has put forward several attempts to locate the bodies but to no avail. I believe they were buried by the Americans at the time on the site where they were killed, but inaccurate record keeping has contributed to the actual site being lost. Some locals believe the burial site is beneath a local church's grounds.
The Japanese threw the remnants of the Goettge patrol (21) into the trenches near the village. Bainbridge was found by the mouth and buried by the US. Just in the area of Pt Cruz to Rove are around 86 Americans in unmarked graves. Hundreds of Japanese. Around the Central Police Station are 65 I’m aware of.
My Father fought against the Japanese in the Philippines,he never talked about it to me or my Mom. Then when I went into the Military (U.S.ARMY) He started talking to me about it by showing me Pictures and telling me a couple stories about what he did exactly.
Great series, I feel like I have been to these places through your channel.
@@idotroger88 🙂
This is why the Americans had a "No Prisoners" policy until the end of the war. The savage brutality of Asian Pacific warriors was also notable during the Vietnam War. My Uncle fought in the Pacific during WW2 and made me promise never to buy a Japanese car. I have kept that promise.
We Need More JD…..
Extremely interesting…….
That Op was a mess…. Especially not listening to the Japanese folks they had with them.
More on the way!!!
@ 👌. Thank You….
Such a amazing book
My grandfather was at Guadalcanal and bougainville with New Zealand forces ww 2 . We had the marines in new Zealand during ww2 training for the assault on tarawa and on leave over a tho NJusand kiwi women married American service men
Like a lot of your videos, I had to look into the incident a little further. It sounds like they didn't find the remains of the patrol until later because they weren't aware they had landed in the wrong spot. Sadly, the grisly remains were found and hastily buried during a later battle, but were never recovered despite several later attempts to locate them.
Sad to think that a lot of those guys are resting under pavement now.
Something interesting was said about the japanese prisoner saying repeatedly not to go there, and not being listened to by the commander. A very much unfortunate leadership decision, which brought not tactical nor strategical gain. Quite a tragedy for these soldiers ...
It is a real disgrace to see all the plastic and trash along the water line. Apparently, the people that live there have not learned yet.
It almost certainly is not their fault. All that plastic washes up on Pacific islands from all over the world. How much plastic trash do the Western nations dump.
Good video, just pointing it out though. The title slide when you click on the video looks like troops with Chinese copies of the SKS (its been fixed great video man)
Fixed it. Also reduced the pay of the thumbnail artist. 😅
@@TheHistoryUndergroundall good happy to help!
The beach looks like a garbage dump.
It's a 3rd wourld island , got to expect it
@@ericlarson4829: The Philippines is the same as is most of Asia. The only difference is some of those govts employs groups of people that their only job is to manually clean up everyday all day. Having lived in Asia for 22+ years, living in 4 and traveling through 7 I know.
The world is a ghetto
Of course the Japanese had been mindlessly horrendously cruel just about everywhere they fought in China etc etc prior to Guadalcanal so any sense of ‘fair play’ or mercy was never going to last.
They tortured and murdered like fiends.
Awful.
loved this! was there in 2018, walked that whole area,liked that giant monkeypod tree(didnt know about Custer...)...Edsons Ridge (found barbed wire 'pig tails? used by locals for borders) ,Basilones Coffin Corner(out of breath!) Alligator Creek and Al Schmidts position(bought relics from locals,got some back to Orlando, others confiscated at the airport!) Kukum Beach where my uncle with the Americal Div landed ('Under The Southern Cross' Americal Div book, look at landing pic, my Uncle Ducky, the short guy smiling, wanted to get at the enemy,3 Bronze Stars, Legion of Merit!( took Solomon Airlines plane to Gizo and banana boat to Kennedy Island (incredible him swimming to surrounding islands) stayed at Seafly Green Hotel(THAT was an experience!) also took Fiji Air flight too...TARAWA! another story!! OORAH!
@@michaelmaxwell1523 nice!
Did the US military ever once accurately predict how many Japanese were on any of the islands in WW2? I have never heard that they ever once knew what they were up against. Of course that led to absolute horrific results on Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Saipan, ....on and on. Oh, and the almost all the "labor forces" on Guadalcanal were of Korean, or other Asian decent and not Japanese.
To my knowledge the only times the Americans were able to get a reasonable estimate of how many Japanese were on any of the islands was if aerial recon photos showed how many latrines were in place.
It was known the Japanese required a certain amount of latrines per amount of personnel so X number of latrines would indicate X number of troops. More or less.
Wow. Thank you.
Understand now why my grandpa who fort in WW2 hated the Japanese. That story was pure barbarism. 🇬🇧
I’ve noticed a big difference between the veterans who fought in Europe vs. those who were in the Pacific.
How about editing your closed captions? guad canal, pelu, okanawa, gety, ect?
You need to take up your argument with UA-cam. That’s their automatic captioning.
@@TheHistoryUnderground Thank you for the info. BTW, your video is very good
Will we be seeing some alligator creek coverage?😎
@@trumangrimm308 - On the way. 🙂
Japanese brutality was well known by the Marines, a man who lived near me was in the 4th Marines on the Philippines and experienced the Bataan Death March. They came to the Philippines from Shanghai, China.
thanks for sharing the trip I can no longer make on my own
The Goettge patrol is also a great 'how not to' story of attacking the Japanese
Definitely.
Such a great unknown incident Love your content but the adds were rough for some reason in this
Am be just my watch
2 in 5 minutes
@@williamswilliams8164 - Thanks. And yeah, as far as the ads go, UA-cam curated ads to the individual. So you may have watched and saw 2 ads and the next person may have watched and saw none at all.
@ I love you stuff
All of it
They showed the adds in the first 5 minutes and I thought the video was a lot longer than it was
It was exactly long as it should be
Should have just enjoyed it
Like I did and just thumbs up and commented great :)
Love your work
You are the best
Wow! ❤ great episode-I need to pull out my copy of With The Old Breed again- You inspired me! ❤
why is there black sand and can you show some part where the sandy beach has been and maybe the 4th battle of Matanakau? sadly no good pictures can be found in color where the japanese tanks have been destroyed at. Grüße :)
I could show you what the mouth of the Matanikau looks like today, but you wouldn’t like what you see.
:( but still it would be great to just have a today view. think as a short it would be good.
@@TheHistoryUndergroundbtw can you confirm that the sand there is dark? I am currently building a model diorama with a chi ha. Grüße
@@seegurke93I can provide then and now photo of the mouth of the Matanikau. The tanks were not in the 4th battle of the Matanikau. Yes the sand is black.
I know this is true for alot of the theaters of war but what a juxtaposition of the beautiful scenery and this being the worst/last moments for alot of the guys there. Great content sir keep it coming.
Love "With the Old Breed!"
Too bad the TV series didn't include Gunny Haney's unusual bag washing technique!🤣
Thanks for this presentation 👍
My pleasure
4:34 6:53 8:00
How can you ignore the one man who knows the most about the area you're heading, especially with a descendant of Custer as part of your patrol?
That Japanese POW sounds like a Mitch Bouyer/Half Yellow Face.
Australian forces also suffered the atrocities of the Japanese military. Captured Australian troops were strung up and used for bayonet practice, later on captured Aussies would be strung up and died slowly, in agony and horror as their flesh was cut off and cooked and ate by the starving Japanese soldiers. When this became known, none, or very few Japanese prisoners were taken, they were killed instead.
Man's inhumanity to man never ceases to surprise me.
Poor Custer ended up much like his Granddad. Mutilated. Was General George really his Grandaddy? We can look it up.
Spent 20 minutes, got bogged on down some sites wanting me to pay. Unable to find it.
His name was Steven Alexander Custer, a First Sergeant. May they rest in peace.
He was a far distant relative.
JD, is it at all frustrating that there is no remnants of the war left on the Islands? Yes, you get to stand in the spot where these things took place but unlike europe where there are lots of bunkers, fighting positions, before and after photos to look at, in the Pacific, for the most part, there is nothing left to show the viewer. It must be a little frustrating?
The series will later show evidence of the fighting. My channel shows plenty. ua-cam.com/video/W6flNORHxLk/v-deo.htmlsi=KlVSPc0ppxV7UFwd
Yes there are,I have visited the Solomon’s 3 times doing battlefield archeology and if you know where look you find remnants.
@kiwiboy1962 Ok, good for you. Most of us are not "battlefield archeologists" and would like to have something there to look at besides a palm tree.
The Custer line really was cursed weren't they?
It took a while for the overconfidence of the American forces on Guadalcanal to be replaced by mortal fear. The Marines were ill prepared for the brutality and dedication of the Japanese who had no fear of death. But they were warned by Coastwatcher Capt Martin Clements RAN, who gave accurate numbers and locations of Japanese units. At first he was not believed by Vandergrift. But after two weeks and heavy losses, more sober minds prevailed. Then it turned into a six month meat grinder with Japanese being reinforced at night. In total, just the 1st Marines suffered 15,100 casualties (100%) in that period. 22,000 Japanese were killed. Halsey was said to have commented that "it was going to be a long way to Tokyo."
My father was a Judge Advocate at the Rabaul War Crimes Tribunal and the bulk of the atrocities occurred in the Solomons, Bougainville and New Britain campaigns. His reports and affidavits were shown to me in 1971 and then he burned his copies. They are accessible in the records at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Clemens was not RAN. He was a captain in the BSIPF. He always made a point of that. Those 1st Marine Division numbers are way off.
Bataan "Death March"?