The Pacific

[Widebrim]

VERY Cool! Do you happen to know what regiment he was in? I had a friend up here who served in the 184th Infantry on Leyte and Okinawa, unfortunately though he passed away about two years ago.

My father was with the 17th Infantry, 7th ID and was on Attu, Kiska (no battle, no Japanese), Kwajalein, Leyte, and Okinawa. Although he considers Attu to have been the worst of them all, he has said that on Okinawa he witnessed the fiercest resistance from the Japanese.

 

[barra063]

My father was with the 17th Infantry, 7th ID and was on Attu, Kiska (no battle, no Japanese), Kwajalein, Leyte, and Okinawa. Although he considers Attu to have been the worst of them all, he has said that on Okinawa he witnessed the fiercest resistance from the Japanese.

This I can understand. I have been to Okinawa and visited the Japanese Naval underground headquarters. The tunnels were all pock marked and I did not know why until you see a sign that informs you that these marks are from grenade shrapnel from when the Japanese comitted suicide. Then there is the cornerstone of peace where the names of something like 200 000 people of all nationalities who perished are inscribed. A very solumn place.

 

[Corto]

Although he considers Attu to have been the worst of them all, he has said that on Okinawa he witnessed the fiercest resistance from the Japanese.

I think the Attu is probably the least known battle of WWII...Is there a written (published) account that your father considered did it the best justice? I'd be curious to know.

 

[Widebrim]

I think the Attu is probably the least known battle of WWII...Is there a written (published) account that your father considered did it the best justice? I'd be curious to know.

Yes, and I had the honor of writing it. The article appeared about six years ago in World War II Magazine. If you do an Internet search under Attu and the magazine's name, you should be able to find it. My father was quoted in the article, and his photograph also appears.

 

[DannyBoy]

Yes, and I had the honor of writing it. The article appeared about six years ago in World War II Magazine. If you do an Internet search under Attu and the magazine's name, you should be able to find it. My father was quoted in the article, and his photograph also appears.

Here's a link to the article:
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-aleutian-islands-recapturing-attu.htm
Wonderful article, thanks for sharing it. I can't imagine going through all of the 7th's campaigns from Attu to Okinawa, your father I'm sure went through the experience of several lifetimes and hell on earth. My gratitude to him for his extensive service to our country.
I can see how Attu might have been the worst of them all just from the lack of experience on both sides. In the comments for the article one person recalled his father's account of, "Their commanders said to just make a run for it when they felt lucky!", and how in the article itself you noted that several times the Japanese, fearing a gas attack from what were really just smoke rounds, fell as they tried to don their gas masks and escape their positions. Amazing stuff.
For further reading I might suggest a book that my Dad picked up for me when he was visiting Canada - "War on our Doorstep" by Brendan Coyle
http://www.amazon.com/War-Our-Doorstep-Campaign-Americas/dp/1894384466/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245496690&sr=1-2
It also has a chapter on Attu, as well as a lot of cool info on the early days of the war in the Pacific Northwest.

Danny these guys should look familar

Lol yeah Dave, that one overfed Japanese guy looks real familiar! lol

"Yeah, but who's gonna be the Japanese? If someone doesn't want to be a GI, they want to be German!"

You hit the nail on the head Lee. *sigh I wish people would just try Japanese, it's really a fun impression...

fftopic: Anyways all very much off topic, saw "With the Old Breed" at Barnes and Noble today, and remembered to get that for my summer reading. Should be interesting comparing it to the series, especially since Timmy from Jurassic Park will be portraying Eugene Sledge.
I guess from doing a quick google search HBO pulled the trailer off the web that was aired at the beginning of this year, odd...

 

[Davep]

Here is it's boys and girls the HBO's offical trailer#1. This one will stick:eusa_clap
[YOUTUBE]QLTdkCB14iY[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Story]

You hit the nail on the head Lee. *sigh I wish people would just try Japanese, it's really a fun impression......

DB,
Is this your crew? http://ija2ndsendai.kk5.org/

http://ija2ndsendai.kk5.org/#/gallery/4520045541

I thought RevWar Hessian was obscure/tough, but I gotta hand it to you guys. :eusa_clap

 

[p51]

A couple of the guys in my WW2 display group (I really don’t like the term “living history” as we don’t do what they do at places like Williamsburg, just showing off stuff and talking to the public in uniform) have been getting into USMC strongly now and a few of the guys over the past weekend event were talking about this new series and what it might do for the hobby. While we all generally agreed it’ll increase interest in USMC stuff and temporarily get people into PTO, we also generally agreed that it would likely be short-lived for the reasons already stated here.
I know they were doing a decent PTO event at the Nimitz Museum in Texas but I’m not sure if they have them anymore to the scale I’ve seen photos of. Here’s the website: http://www.nimitz-museum.org/video-islandassault.htm I found good photos on the 2005 event here: http://www.hardscrabblefarm.com/ww2/iwo2005.htm as well as here: http://www.pbase.com/vernix/iwo_jima_doss_texas&page=all
I toyed around with flying over there to take part (as a Correspondent, to make air travel easier without weapons) but I never did and I don’t think they’ve done that since.. As far as I know, that was the only PTO event of any respectable size in the US. And from the photos I’ve seen, many of the “Japanese” forces looked about as Asian as I do. I’ve read that a group came from Japan with amazing impressions. I assume they were the ones that are closest to the audience.

 

[Davep]

A couple of the guys in my WW2 display group (I really don’t like the term “living history” as we don’t do what they do at places like Williamsburg, just showing off stuff and talking to the public in uniform)

That has always been an issue, as many people lump them all together, when they say we are a World War II reenacting and Living History unit.

Reenactors typically are doing "Private Tactical Battles". That is re-in-acting a skirmish. Living History events are display-n-education events, which may or may not have a "demo battle", which most are nothing like a typical "tactical battle". The primary focus of Living History is "period encampments" which may or may not include all eras. And finally community events like Parades, or local presentations.

Most reenactor units don't participate in all three. And in the case of Axis units they may not even be invited to attend Living History Events or Parades.

This all of course starts the age old debate of reenactor versus living historians.

 

[Cigarband]

Here is it's boys and girls the HBO's offical trailer#1. This one will stick:eusa_clap
[YOUTUBE]QLTdkCB14iY[/YOUTUBE]

ALREADY TAKEN DOWN:rage: :rage: :rage:

 

[DannyBoy]

DB,
Is this your crew? http://ija2ndsendai.kk5.org/

http://ija2ndsendai.kk5.org/#/gallery/4520045541

I thought RevWar Hessian was obscure/tough, but I gotta hand it to you guys. :eusa_clap

Haha thanks. It's really not too bad, there's still original stuff (although it costs an arm and a leg), and reproduction stuff out there, so its certainly do-able. I really need to update that website though ...I'm supposed to be the webmaster - oh well another summer project.
Now a fellow in our group who comes out every once in a while from Colorado, has a Meiji Era Imperial Japanese Army impression, perfect for storming Port Arthur or Mukden! Now that's an obscure impression lol.

...
I toyed around with flying over there to take part (as a Correspondent, to make air travel easier without weapons) but I never did and I don’t think they’ve done that since.. As far as I know, that was the only PTO event of any respectable size in the US. And from the photos I’ve seen, many of the “Japanese” forces looked about as Asian as I do. I’ve read that a group came from Japan with amazing impressions. I assume they were the ones that are closest to the audience.

That looked like an amazing event from the pictures I've seen. Sadly I think it was right when I had started out reenacting, and hadn't had any PTO impression together yet . I believe a good size contingent flew out from Japan for that one, and would have been really fun to reenact with them. As for non-Asians doing Japanese, I think this is what trips most people up. I think anyone who wants to do a Japanese impression should do it regardless of what their ethnicity is. People are too self-conscious that they'll "look silly" or some such non-sense. Honestly if you have a rockin' impression nobody will care. There's so much more farby stuff out there, that if done correctly a non-Asian doing Japanese doesn't even compare. Honestly PTO reenacting will never grow if people don't get over the fact that it's just reenacting, and no one really cares what the color of your skin is as long as you're having a good time. *steps off soap box

ALREADY TAKEN DOWN:rage: :rage: :rage:

Cigarband - try this link: http://www.pacificfans.com/trailer-videos

 

[Davep]

Here is the video - this one WON"T be taken down. I dare to say the fansite one may

http://www.hbo.com/events/pacific/index.html :eusa_clap

Also this site will have a complete inventory of all the future and present clips

 

[President_CHG]

I got lucky and was able to work as an extra for 3 days when they had come back to Southern California for re-shoots. I'll share with you what I saw.

We were sent on a separate day for fittings and haircuts. Happily, the hair stylists said my hair was perfect and left it alone. They had poster boards with black and white photos of servicemen featuring their haircuts as well as a collection of photos of main characters for the re-shoots (Sledge, Puller, Basilone, etc.).

Also there in the warehouse was racks and racks of Marine and Navy uniforms in varying degrees of cleanliness (bloodied and ripped to newly issued). There was also one room full of boxes of Marine field gear and even original tanker helmets. Some of the field gear looked original, some were clearly repro and a few were rubber stunt props.

Speaking with one of the wardrobe guys, they already had bidders from various wardrobe and prop houses to purchase this stuff for production rentals so I don't know if we'll see huge caches of used, repro Marine shoes to enter the reenactor stream, but you never know.

Day 1 was shot at the Ebell theater in Los Angeles in a small room. Scene was December 1941 and Chesty Puller (William Sadler) gives a us NCOs in Winter Service Uniforms a holiday speech. I am not good at determining if my uniform was period or not but they definitely were old. I had an issue with the ties: they were tying them full Windsor. I thought they should've been single knots. I talk to the wardrobe guys (who were pretty cool) and they said they had gone back and forth about it with Dale Dye. Eventually Dye won and went with the fuller tie knot.

Day 2 was in Marine HBTs. They were definitely repro and I am pretty sure they were correct as they went direct to the same vendors we use. But I'm not a Marine uniform expert. Scene is set in the galley of a ship (shot on stage at Sony Studios), packed with Marines eating steak and egg breakfasts prior to assaulting Guadalcanal. If ever I make it on camera for the series, it'll be here.

At lunch of Day 2, the cast and crew were invited to watch a 10-12 minute trailer of the entire series. Let me tell you, this is not going to be another Band of Brothers. The combat is going to be a lot more fierce and violent and brutal... for both sides. It looks very well shot, the combat scenes shocking and gnarly. We were all bummed when at the end of the Trailer it read Spring 2010. Even some of the crew were surprised.

Day 3 was shot on a hillside at Disney Ranch. These scenes were extra combat footage for the fight on Guadalcanal, so 03s for everyone. Some of these were later 03s, I think, but I really didn't check. They had us in ponchos in foxholes firing into the darkness with a rain maker dumping cold water on the coldest night in December. So, it was hard to find my motivation, but once the trigger pulling started, and the water-cooled 30 started ripping to my left, I found it fairly quick!

On Dale Dye, I know some guys think he is a jerk and he hates reenactors. He was actually very nice to me (although I wasn't hired because I was a reenactor). He was very, very ardent about making sure we wore and represented the uniforms with respect and distinction. I was with a bunch of military vets, so Dale wasn't worried about us. He saved his focus on the Hollywood types who were hired as fillers. He also made sure the crew and production took care of us.

Speaking with his cadre members and about their "mini-boot camp" was very interesting. They gave no slack to the actors and I didn't hear much gossip, but the real noteworthy story was the Japanese actors they hired who also partook in the bootcamp, but did so in Japanese uniforms. Most spoke little to no English and were highly disciplined and dedicated and their own cadre really ran them like a Japanese WWII unit (maybe not as harsh). When they graduated, they were filled with tremendous pride and many cried as they sang Japanese songs. It was a big day for them and Dale Dye's cadre said they earned it, for sure.

Unfortunately, I only got a few pictures. Day 1, I brought my Kodak 35 with B&W film and took a group photo with my friends and Dale Dye. On Day 3, I snapped a photo of me in the helmet and HBTs while standing in a porta-potty. Don't worry, I'm fully clothed. I'll post them when I get home from work. I'm typing this from my BlackBerry.

Anyways, sorry for the long winded, not so interesting story but I figured maybe some of you folks might like to hear a little something since the production has been keeping a tight lid on it for some time.

 

[FinalVestige79]

Thanks for that Anthony!...I got some friends who work in prop houses...I'll be looking for the uniforms and gear ur talking about.

 

[Widebrim]

Yeah, thanks for all the great info, President CHG!

 

[Story]

Anyone need a Japanese Type 38 75mm howitzer? A bargain at $15k!
http://www.guncollectorsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5078

See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_38_75_mm_Field_Gun

 

[Story]

A book appearing at the 66th anniversary of the February-March 1945 battle includes the recollections of Miller and Howard McLaughlin Jr., who also served in the 5th Marine Division at Iwo Jima. Rather than a detailed and technical history of the battle, the stories are personal in nature.

And in a way no movie can, they reflect the true nature of combat and its impact on troops, its gruesome side and how those who are constantly inches from death manage to cope over days and weeks.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IWO_JIMA_REMEMBERED?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

[Chas]

I thought that "The Pacific" was dreadful.

First beef: Lack of clear character development. I watched the first three episodes, thinking that I would at least get an idea about how I felt about the characters- and become interested in their fates; but I just wasn't in it. In my opinion the screenwriters failed to make me care about the characters. Contrast this with "Band Of Brothers" which was an example of how it should be done, writing-wise.

Too many scenes of guys sitting around, reading letters from home with the sombre music playing in the background. Horrible.

For my money "Band Of Brothers" and "Generation Kill" are the best military miniseries to come out in recent years. I consign "the Pacific" to the "yeah, whatever" bin.

 

[Gene]

First beef: Lack of clear character development. I watched the first three episodes, thinking that I would at least get an idea about how I felt about the characters- and become interested in their fates; but I just wasn't in it. In my opinion the screenwriters failed to make me care about the characters. Contrast this with "Band Of Brothers" which was an example of how it should be done, writing-wise.

I think people give way too much credit to Band of Brothers. Sure, I liked it okay, but it had all the character development of an 80's sitcom. The Pacific did have character development in the form of Leckie, Sledge, and Basilone. I do think they tried to do too much for 10 episodes and it gets a little muddled, but repeat viewing shows a lot more to the characters than just watching them through once. Heck, BoB didn't even get as huge as it is until people bought the DVD.

Too many scenes of guys sitting around, reading letters from home with the sombre music playing in the background. Horrible.

And BoB didn't??? That whole miniseries was one huge orchestra swell.

 

[Chas]

I think people give way too much credit to Band of Brothers. Sure, I liked it okay, but it had all the character development of an 80's sitcom. The Pacific did have character development in the form of Leckie, Sledge, and Basilone. I do think they tried to do too much for 10 episodes and it gets a little muddled, but repeat viewing shows a lot more to the characters than just watching them through once. Heck, BoB didn't even get as huge as it is until people bought the DVD.

And BoB didn't??? That whole miniseries was one huge orchestra swell.

I should have to watch a series several times through to absorb the characters? I think not.

I disagree with your comparison to BoB- in The Pacific I counted four scenes in three episodes where the characters are sitting around reading letters from home. It was painful.