This entire podcast series needs to be in the National Archives for posterity! These gentlemen have done yeoman's work in preserving our national history!
I do not see an email link, so I will leave my question here. Seth loves the Enterprise (with good cause) but Captain, can you give a perspective on why, culturally Americans are so attached to Enterprise? Is it CV-6, is it Star Trek. I know I was personally upset when CVN-65 was retired, and more irritated that she wasn't the new class (as a good Michigan boy I like the Gerald Ford, but I would have preferred an Enterprise -class set of carriers). Thoughts?
@@shaunprice3922 All of the above, but also Enterprise Car Rental, whose owner was a Big E pilot in WW2. Personally, I think Star Trek has done more than any to endear E to your average Bloke or Sheila. I always hated it when they crashed or blew up E in a movie.
My dad told me that as an Army guy being transported by the Navy in the Pacific during World War 2. The 5 inch/ 38's going off as anti aircraft guns didn't scare him too much. But as they began shooting the 40 mm guns you started to worry. And as the 20mm sprang to life. Then you really began to be terrified.
Thank you for doing this story, my Dad suffered for years from the fear of Kamikazes and at the same time felt guilty for the few hours of the attacks scaring him when many soldiers who had fought 40-60 days at the front 24 hours a day, so he could not talk about it.
These guys, whether they're Sailors, Soldiers, Pilots or Marines! They all dealt with these horrifying aspects of war differently. It can be so complicated and so very conflicting. It was the same way for my dad. After some of the harrowing events he went through on his ship, the USS Montpelier, he had both survivors guilt and ptsd. And this was just the way of the world for him after the war. 🇺🇸⚓️💯🙏💖
My dad sailed aboard the USS Montpelier from early 1944 to the end of the war. He was 17 years old when he first boarded the Montpelier in early 1944. In November of 1944, the Montpelier was attacked by kamikazes at Leyte Gulf and was hit by one plane and then, in return, shot down another four planes that were incoming on them. From what my dad said, they dealt with kamikazes until the end of the war, with the worst being off Okinawa. So not only did they do defensive Shore battery work, offensive work against Japan's navy, but they had to be hyper aware and alert of the Kamikaze threat. This is what caused my father his PTSD that affected him for the rest of his life. Rest in peace, dad. You did your job, and you did it well!🇺🇲⚓️🙏💯💖
@michaelrotman8523 yeah that is a great book for sure. We bought it for my dad for his birthday but, he had dyslexia So reading was very difficult for him. Also I don't think he really wanted to read much about what he had already gone through. But it is a fantastic read. So I left a couple of other replies for you and for some reason, they show up sometimes and sometimes they don't! Anyway if you receive them if you could just give me a thumbs up or thumbs down that would be great!
@michaelrotman8523 So my dad was part of a 40 mm gun tub crew, and from what he said, it was overwhelming for his 17/18 year old body/mind/spirit to comprehend sometimes. After they received that Kamikaze strike to the stern, which didn't cause a hell of a lot of damage, a lot of folks were transferred until they got the ship sorted out. My dad was then transferred to the USS Norton Sound, which was a converted seaplane tender. Their mission off Okinawa was to get some of the planes up for Recon, scouting purposes. Their other missions were to fish downed American Flyers out of the water. They also attempted to fish Japanese Pilots out of the water, but this was always preceded by a dozen Sailors with Tommy guns, BAR's, pistols, grenades, whatever they could put their hands on. My dad said if one of the Japanese pilots moved his hands in any suspicious or unnecessary manner, he was immediately dispatched. Incredibly difficult enemy to deal with for sure. When we're fighting against an ideology, it's a no holds barred, no quarter given or taken fight. After the war, we would awaken in the night to my dad's screams and cries for lost buddies and incoming planes. Being that I grew up in a household with both parents in the service during World War ii, and my dad actively fighting against the Japanese. My mom was in the women's Army Air corps, she was a WAC, and was part of a unit that ferried / flew B-17's, she was a radio operator / Navigator. So they flew their missions from the Seattle plant here to the bases and staging points in Southern California to deploy these planes to the Pacific. She loved her B-17s until her last breath! She loved to fire the 50 cals out over the ocean and actually got are sick one time and hurled out the bombay doors which was a mistake because it all just kind of got sucked out or flew back into the plane! I learned a lot of very valuable life lessons, both good and bad, from my parents. Growing up with two of the Greatest Generation and several of their veteran friends that would pop by for a drink and / or dinner was super educational, inspiring, and sometimes straight up terrifying. Rest in peace, mom and dad. Not a day goes by that I don't miss you, and my love for you guys is still Rock Solid.🇺🇸⚓️💯🙏💖
@Jakal-pw8yq so glad you know about it I read it in the 1960s as a kid and was mesmerized I bought it from the local library and have my own copy now cheers God bless your dad and his service
Appreciate that you don't use a different platform. Wouldn't be able to watch as can't afford to do so. Been with y'all since 2nd podcast. Hope this educational look at S Pacific keeps going. So much left to see and learn. Saved all podcasts. Go back to refresh knowledge. Keep on trucking. Thanks more than you know gentlemen.😊
Thanks again for telling the story of the smaller ships of the war. My great grandfather was a gunners mate on the Fletcher class destroyer USS Howorth (one of the 13 ships mentioned at 43:00) which among other missions was a radar picket ship off Okinawa. His ship was hit by a single kamikaze and luckily didn’t sustain major damage but 7 men were killed. He didn’t talk much about it because he was in turret 2 (which on Fletchers had the best field of fire) and the kamikaze hit the bridge right behind them, so he felt it was his job to shoot that plane down and that he failed to save his shipmates.
1:30:57 One of the ships hit by a kamikaze on May 4, 1945 was also the USS Birmingham. My sainted father was served on-board the Birmingham during the entire war and unlike other veterans, he had no problem talking about the war. He was a boatswains mate and his battle station was a quad 40mm mount on the starboard side. He didn't get into all the specific details but he did give us an overall idea of what he experienced in World War II. It's been 20 years since he passed on and it's unfortunate that we didn't have TH-cam around then so that I could ask him more about his experiences.
@@warwatcher91 He said that during the war, he spent every Christmas at home. He joined the Navy in September 1942 and after basic training, he spent Christmas at home. After the Birmingham was hit by bombs off Bougainville in November 1943, the ship when back to the states and he spent Christmas at home. After Leyte Gulf in October 1944, the ship went back to the states and he spent Christmas at home. After the war ended in August 1945, he was sent home and yet again, Christmas at home. 😄😄😄😄
Bill, Seth, and Jon, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you all have very Merry Christmas’! These lectures/discussions are the best! You’ve given me a much better insight to what my father dealt with during the war and the extent of the overall campaign in the Pacific.
I truly enjoy listening to y’all. Each time I learn something new and it’s truly appreciated. My Father Kenneth McLaughlin served on USS Gambier Bay and survived the sinking.
Drach has done a video of the BPF's first operation and the logistics behind it. Speaking of which, about a few weeks ago, I was digging through my Granddad's service records and found out his deployment on the HMAS Lismore (a Bathurst-Class Corvette) was when it was with the BPF.
My Dad was onboard the USS Monitor (LSV-5) at Okinawa when the USS West Virginia took a Kamikaze on April 1st, 1945. He rarely spoke of it, though my brother said that while watching Victory at Sea one night, he watched Dad tear up as he saw his own ship while seeing the West Virginia getting hit. Also, my Dad's good friend Andy Anderson from childhood was onboard the USS Bunker Hill and for many many years afterward would have shrapnel come to the surface of his back needing it to be removed through his later years. I truly wished I had asked more questions before he passed away. Dad only gave me snippets of what he saw, including bringing home POW's from Japan. He passed away a few weeks after I was promoted to Senior Chief.
425! Thats crazy man I always hope John says "im delightful" again like he did that time when Seth asks how everyoneis doing. The weirdest stuff sticks in my mind. Thanks guys. It was Guadalcanal #2 i think
My father, Joe Simpson, was an EM3 on May 11th. He and some other electrician mates were sent below to reverse the fans that were pulling smoke into the engine rooms. He was over come by smoke and tagged for dead by asphyxiation. He revived and found himself among dead sailors.
Jon, I just caught the video of your presentation at the 35th Annual Admiral Nimitz Symposium. It's rare to find an author who is prepared to take a global view, and try to understand and relay the worldwide interplay between theatres of war. I'm really looking forward very much to the publication of your book. Bon Chance !
On the DVD series called WORLD AT WAR, their was a portion that talked about the divine wind.A navy gunner was being interviewed about an officer who said how beautiful of a day it had been when after saying that he jumped overboard, never to be seen again.He jumped during a short break in the action.That is how stressful it was fighting off these planes.Thanks for the video.
Another excellent episode. Thank you gentlemen. As a Brit I'm not going to blindly wade into the armoured flight deck debate on the British side. However, some fundamental points are missing in the discussion in this episode. The design and concept of American carriers was vastly different to the British ships for many reasons not least of which the theatres in which they were expected to operate. One of the main reasons the British adopted the armoured flight deck was that it was always envisaged that our the fleet would be operating primarily within the range of land based enemy aircraft. Achieving even local air supremacy with carrier based aircraft was extremely challenging. The armoured deck was a defence against losing a ship to shore based aircraft. The American carriers could obviously have had a big impact in the European theatre. However, it is interesting to speculate how many might have been lost in operations had they been deployed in areas such as the Mediterranean. The American fleet could project an awesome amount of air power but it would not have suppressed the Luftwaffe. Given the eventual size of the American groups they could have defended themselves well and covered a battle fleet. The Brits didn't have the industrial resources to produce sufficient carriers to deploy them (and lose them) in the way America did. There weren't enough large shipyards to do it and virtually all the steel would have had to be shipped in
Also, these ships were designed before radar. It was considered that once enemy aircraft were seen it was too late to launch fighters. AA guns and armour was the solution.
@@davewolfy2906 Even so we have to face up to certain facts. How many slipways were available that could have built either a carrier or battleship? Could the UK have built something on the Essex class and been able to maintain them outside of the ETO?
@@douglaskillock3537 we built the Ark Royal and Eagle - so we could have. Consider the Hunt class that was designed wrongly, we did not have the design resources. I do believe that we should have built bigger carriers but we had our backs against the wall and had to produce what we had then. On the positive side, we taught the USN about what are now called CICs, it still did not help them against kamikaze. Then we had a RAF directed FAA up until 1937. I am half way through a bottle of port and have lost track now.
Great episode as always guys. My father's ship USS Estes was in the middle of Kikusui 1, it shot down several of aircraft, one conventional i guess because they observed a chute, one that was diving on the USS Witchita and one that only missed them by a few hundred yards. My father said it came right over them and he hit the deck and screamed for my grandmother.
My Grandpa was on the Witchita at that time as an RDM3 (radar). He served on her from Jan.1944 until Dec. 1945. I never heard him talk about his service at all while he was alive. My Mom passed a few weeks ago, and in going through her things here we have come across some mementos of his service and time on the Witchita. I also found an Elgin pocket watch made in 1925 that had belonged to Grandpas brother. His brother had it with him when he was killed in a plane crash in Oct. 1942. He was a flight instructor in the USAAF flying a Vultee BT-13A. He and a student were killed when they went down somewhere near Minter Field in Shafter, California. The watch probably hadn't seen the light of day for 45 years or so until about a week ago. I wound it, and it took right off. Seems to keep pretty decent time, too. Really neat to see and handle these things. A note with the watch said it had been given to him by his father (my Great Grandpa). Judging by the dates, we think it was given to him possibly when he graduated High School.
This episode was eye opening. Your research and presentation are in a class of thier own. Congratulations to Jon Parshall, look forward to using his book as a door stop after spending years devouring his wisdom.
My Great-Grandfather was on USS William C. Cole (DE-641) off of Okinawa. Cole participated in the air defense in early April, but was directly attacked later on May 24th by two kamikazes off of Le Shima. The first one missed Cole by inches, and bent the spoon of a torpedo tube. The second only missed due to the quick actions of Captain and crew. He did not tell many stories about his service to my family, but he did tell that story, and brought home one of the kamikaze's pins.
Tuesdays are the best day of the week. Long story but all three of my grandfathers served In the pacific theater. I even now possess a pocket watch with a 7th AirForce Sunsetters Iwo Jima engraving on it. It’s priceless to me. Grandpa Amos Wallace Beck was not a pilot but served on Iwo in a support capacity. .
Son of a veteran of LCS(L) 75 "The Fightin' Sixbits". I was ecstatic that the LCS(L) Association were able to bring the 102 "Yankee Dollar" home. I visited her in 2017.
Wow. How to dig into this. Well, first of all, congratulations on achieving 40K subscribers. You guys certainly deserve that and much more. Very sad episode to listen to with the losses sustained by USN and Marines on the fleet, as well as knowing the kind of losses going on in the ground combat. With all our superiority of firepower, aircraft, ships, Air Forces, etc., it is a shame some strategy was not able to be reached to minimize these losses. And people wonder why Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place--not too hard to figure out. Thanks for another excellent program Seth, Bill, and Jon (out of uniform again Jon--incorrect camo pattern again). Thanks to all for the hard work you put into these programs--it shows!
Congratulations Jon! I can't wait to embark on the journey of 1942 with you at the helm. Thanks Seth and Bill ever so much for starting this quest. You are informing the world today about the important lessons to be learned from history.
I don't know if I watch all the episodes but the ones I have are very well enjoyed very informative I do wish you thank you and everybody has been involved in these series
My father served as a signalman onboard the USS Purdy (DD-734) during the Okinawa campaign. On April 12th 1945, Purdy was assigned to Radar Picket Station #1 along with USS Cassin Young (DD-793) where the action was the most intense. On this day, both Cassin Young and Purdy fought off multiple incoming raids by kamikazes. When Raid #8 came that day, it was on attack run #7 -- the final attack --- that an Aichi D3A Val dive bomber got through the anti-aircraft fire smoking and splashed 20 feet off Purdy's starboard bow. It impacted the ship where the bomb broke loose from the plane and penetrated around Frame #63 and exploded killing 15, seriously wounding 25, and causing extensive damage. Purdy made it back to Kerama Retto, underwent temporary repairs there and at Guam, and arrived at San Francisco 28 May. My father said he saw the Japanese pilot before the plane splashed and that he was lucky not to be in that part of the ship where his berthing was. He never was gleeful when recounting this experience to me.
As a kid I went past the Bunker Hill tied up at North Island whenever we were on the water in San Diego harbor. Recall her very distinctly - but of course didn't know the history. She was being used as a test platform by the then-Naval Electronics Laboratory on Pt Loma. The history that was all around you when you were young. And like so many of the WWII vets who were the grown-ups at the time, you didn't know their history, as I was unaware of Bunker Hill's incredible past.
I recently read the latest edition of Norman Friedman's "US Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History". Those Essex-class carriers could take a lot of punishment, and their unarmored wood-on-metal-backer flight decks made them extremely quick to repair after taking hits (though at the cost of allowing hanger and gallery-deck personnel to be wiped out, as happened to Franklin). A couple additional remarks: - Friedman also describes design studies for Essex-sized carriers with armored decks, but as Jon says they would have had smaller air groups (though not necessarily as small as the British as we presumably would have continued to use deck parks). - If you armor the flight deck then that weight is higher in the ship than and "counts" more than a similar thickness on the hanger deck. Making the hanger deck the strength deck allows you to use thicker armor, and thereby protect the ship's vitals against larger weapons. IIRC the Essex class had 3" hanger decks that could withstand 1000 lb bombs from considerable altitude, while the UK carriers had ~1.5" flight decks that could be penetrated by smaller bombs. In the event the Kamikazes didn't deliver bombs with terribly high velocity and the British flight decks held, but if the Japanese had been delivering AP bombs instead of 2000 lb fertilizer bombs then the UK carriers might have come off looking rather worse. - Modern US carriers have something like 2.5" of HY steel (better than WW2 STS steel) between the flight and gallery decks, and then a couple more inches in the hanger and lower decks. They also have very deep torpedo defense systems. Those ships can take a heck of a lot of pounding. Friedman shows pretty thorough protection diagrams for Forrestal, and we know what has changed since for the most part.
1:09:49 To be fair to the British if American carriers had to operate in the Mediterranean they would have been torn apart, by land based aircraft which was their biggest concern
Have been following your Podcast since almost the beginning, well done and thank you! I thought you might find this of interest: I am looking at a "zippo" style lighter on my desk that was made by a USN Machinist Mate off Okinawa in 1945. It is fabricated from aluminum from a downed Kamikaze. It was sent by my Great Uncle, John C. Daniel, then a Captain commanding of a destroyer division on picket duty off Okinawa to his Brother-in-Law Thomas C. Barton. It is inscribed; "JCD to TCB Thanks for "VT" on other side; Kamikaze Okinawa May 1945". My Grand Father, Thomas C. Barton was Managing Director of the Johns Hopkins, Applied Physics Lab from 1943-1946, responsible for the development of the Proximity Fuse. - Tom Barton III
Outstanding Episode. Was surprised at the number of Tokkō (Toku be tsu Kō geki tai) raids and the huge number of sunk and damaged ships. It was hair raising watching you guys do the same math the Japanese Admirals & Generals undoubtedly did.
Jon Parshall is a man of all seasons. I love the guy! Minnesota Jon. confidant. mellow. always smiling. Profession: Renown author and accomplished historian of Pacific theatre WWII, social media influencer, luau organizer, Polynesian party consultant, tiki torch safety advisor.
Earned a Bs.c in geology as well. Harry Hess (Rear Admiral USNR), one of the geologists involved in the development of plate tectonics, thought geologists made the best intelligence officers. They know how to get the most from limited data.
My dad was on Okinawa. On April 7th 1945 he saw a Kamikazes hit the USS Maryland. He saw some shit there. All this after he’d been on Peleliu in the fall of 1944.
Now watching for the second time. To make note of Seth mentioning the pilots killed from the ready room out into the corridor. I was about 15 years old when listening to my father sharing a story with his best friend war buddy. Dad said the worst duty he ever had was helping to remove pilots bodies from a corridor. Dad said the medical staff was overwhelmed so the Captain asked for volunteers of which my father did.
Thank you, gentlemen, for yet another excellent episode. I am wracking my brain to come up with an example of a poetic tool, but all the puns seem out of reach this morning.
My late father said what frightened him and his fellow sailors most were the kamikaze attacks. Before listening to this episode, I envisioned single plane assaults- serial attacks. Now I know much better. I don't recall my father having ptsd, but honestly, I don't know how every sailor didn't. May they all rest in peace.
Part of the PTSD is not talking about it many veterans medicate themselves either by overworking, alcohol, withdrawal, or dangerous activity. The Vietnam veterans suicide rate hovers at 22 a day still. A danger point is when they stop working or connecting with others all comes to the surface.
My brother-in-law was a sailor on a troop ship. Standing off from Okinawa, he manned a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun and one night, as he was climbing out of his gun tub, a flash of gunfire from a neighboring ship illuminated a Kamikaze whizzing past. He said it was so close he could have touched the wing and he could clearly see the pilot's face. It crashed into the water between his ship and the next. He lived to the ripe old age of 87.
My father served as a radio man on LST's during the war. Like many he rarely talked about what he went thru, but did mention one time how scared he was during a Kamikaze attack when the ship in front and behind his were both hit. Must have been during this battle.
My Uncle was the dentist on the Belleau Wood. He had enlisted in 1941 before Pearl Harbor. He and his best friend were on deck when general charters was called off Layte. They were subsequent hit by a kamikaze. He had to identify many of the almost 100 dead by their dental records because of burns . . . Including his best friend. He somehow after that experience finished the war and went on with his life. Living to 96. He had a large framed picture of the Belleau Wood that he kept on the wall of his office and was one of the few things he took with him to assisted living late in his life.
A good friend of mine, Dale Rawson, was on the USS Robley Evans when she was hit. He was a 20mm gunner stationed behind the aft 5" gun mount. He said they were doing good until they switched the guns to local control. When the first kamikaze hit he was reloading his gun. He got his gun loaded and spotted another kamikaze following their wake 10 feet high. He said he was really mad that nobody was shooting at him. He tried to fire his gun but it jammed. Cleared and tried again with another jam. Then he realized the first hit had blown quite a few sailors overboard. He had tears in his eyes and said thank God for the jammed gun. "I would have killed those guys if my gun had fired." He always sang the praises of the marine corsair pilots that stuck around, out of ammo beating the Japanese off of them. He is truly missed.
Old gentleman I grew up with was on a carrier that was hit by a kamikaze, don't recall which one, during this period. He said it was pure hell. At the time, I was 16, I didn't appreciate what he and his shipmates endured.
I had a good friend (RIP Warren) who served on the Cabot at Okinawa. He said he was operating a gun on the fantail when the kamikaze hit the ship. He said he had his station moved to the opposite end of thr carrier the next day.
I did not realize that there were so many kamikaze attacks . I thought maybe five hundred planes tops . This is amazing . I do not know what i think of the Navy giving the Japanese pilot a Burial see . I kind of understand . Great talk guys . Thank you .
I think more US war history should be taught in our schools. At that time I likely wouldn't have paid but little attention but if presented as you 3 do hopefully my appreciation of what our armed forces have and continue to provide to average Americans!
I found out from looking up his records recently that one of my uncles served on an assault cargo ship unloading (and presumably stationary) off Okinawa during the first 10 days of April. He must have seen some of those LSTs and Victory ships being hit. As far as I know, he never said a word about what he experienced.
My grandmother's brother was killed on the Emmons. George was tall but the body in the closed casket was 5'6. My great grandmother put her hand on top of the casket and said that's not George. The Navy shut the casket with nails because of burns and mutilation to the body which i understand. But my dad and grandmother told me that story decades ago and I still get a shiver down my spine.
I'm afraid to tell you that if the sailor was killed aboard ship, especially after a kamikaze attack, he would have been buried at sea. He would not have been sent back home in a nailed casket.
@ no doubt. Many “memorial” markers exist across this country for that very reason. The body was either unrecoverable or buried at sea. Families wanted something to remember their fallen serviceman, hence the markers with nothing underneath them but painful memories.
Mr Parshall, your books will never be door stops. Indeed they are must reads and yes re-reads. There are only a few books that I re-read and yours are among them, My greatest fear is that I missed some detail ( I am not very smart). How wonderful that you also mention Shelby Foote's 3 volume series on the Civil War. It is also a yearly re-read. The 2 others that come to mind are General Grant's memoirs and The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman.
Not enough praise has been given to USN personnel in the Pacific. Please do not forget these heroes. My thanks to the discovery of the many ships which have been discovered. Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it. That day is growing nearer, unfortunately.
Field Day: Growing up in the in the 1980's, one of the last days of elementary school each year (frequently the second to last) was a fun day where we were outside playing on the play fields in organized events the whole time. This day was called a "Field Day". I don't know if that's the origin of "Field Day", but I think that makes more sense than cleaning ships, since ship cleaning day doesn't sound like a great day.
I'm glad Jon brought up the ammunition point - I've always been curious about that myself. Like how close did they come to depleting their 20mm, 40mm, and 5 inch stores onboard during these attacks off Okinawa? Did specific guns have specific policies for when they could open up and for how long they could sustain fire? I assume they did, but I'd be curious how they operated in that regard. The amount of tracers alone that were thrown up during these Kamikaze attack runs was insane - it's like watching an X-Wing Fighter running the guantlet on the Death Star. In fact, I always wondered if George Lucas had seen any of the Kamikaze footage and used any of that to influence the artistic direction of the Death Star attack scenes.
Go see the USS LAUFEY IN Charleton SC . She is next to the carrier CVA-10, go inside the aft 5 inch 38 mount and Thank God for the crew that was lost there .
This entire podcast series needs to be in the National Archives for posterity! These gentlemen have done yeoman's work in preserving our national history!
Hear hear.
Yes, indeed
This podcast is a national treasure.
I do not see an email link, so I will leave my question here. Seth loves the Enterprise (with good cause) but Captain, can you give a perspective on why, culturally Americans are so attached to Enterprise? Is it CV-6, is it Star Trek. I know I was personally upset when CVN-65 was retired, and more irritated that she wasn't the new class (as a good Michigan boy I like the Gerald Ford, but I would have preferred an Enterprise -class set of carriers). Thoughts?
@@shaunprice3922 All of the above, but also Enterprise Car Rental, whose owner was a Big E pilot in WW2. Personally, I think Star Trek has done more than any to endear E to your average Bloke or Sheila. I always hated it when they crashed or blew up E in a movie.
My dad told me that as an Army guy being transported by the Navy in the Pacific during World War 2. The 5 inch/ 38's going off as anti aircraft guns didn't scare him too much.
But as they began shooting the 40 mm guns you started to worry. And as the 20mm sprang to life. Then you really began to be terrified.
@@JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey The smaller the caliber the closer they are. Yikes.
There’s nowhere to run and hide on a ship.
Thank you for doing this story, my Dad suffered for years from the fear of Kamikazes and at the same time felt guilty for the few hours of the attacks scaring him when many soldiers who had fought 40-60 days at the front 24 hours a day, so he could not talk about it.
These guys, whether they're Sailors, Soldiers, Pilots or Marines! They all dealt with these horrifying aspects of war differently. It can be so complicated and so very conflicting. It was the same way for my dad. After some of the harrowing events he went through on his ship, the USS Montpelier, he had both survivors guilt and ptsd. And this was just the way of the world for him after the war. 🇺🇸⚓️💯🙏💖
My dad sailed aboard the USS Montpelier from early 1944 to the end of the war. He was 17 years old when he first boarded the Montpelier in early 1944. In November of 1944, the Montpelier was attacked by kamikazes at Leyte Gulf and was hit by one plane and then, in return, shot down another four planes that were incoming on them. From what my dad said, they dealt with kamikazes until the end of the war, with the worst being off Okinawa. So not only did they do defensive Shore battery work, offensive work against Japan's navy, but they had to be hyper aware and alert of the Kamikaze threat. This is what caused my father his PTSD that affected him for the rest of his life. Rest in peace, dad. You did your job, and you did it well!🇺🇲⚓️🙏💯💖
You must read Pacific War diary by James Fahey who is on the Montpelier great narrative read it as a kid for the first time
@michaelrotman8523 yeah that is a great book for sure. We bought it for my dad for his birthday but, he had dyslexia So reading was very difficult for him. Also I don't think he really wanted to read much about what he had already gone through. But it is a fantastic read. So I left a couple of other replies for you and for some reason, they show up sometimes and sometimes they don't! Anyway if you receive them if you could just give me a thumbs up or thumbs down that would be great!
@michaelrotman8523
So my dad was part of a 40 mm gun tub crew, and from what he said, it was overwhelming for his 17/18 year old body/mind/spirit to comprehend sometimes. After they received that Kamikaze strike to the stern, which didn't cause a hell of a lot of damage, a lot of folks were transferred until they got the ship sorted out. My dad was then transferred to the USS Norton Sound, which was a converted seaplane tender. Their mission off Okinawa was to get some of the planes up for Recon, scouting purposes. Their other missions were to fish downed American Flyers out of the water. They also attempted to fish Japanese Pilots out of the water, but this was always preceded by a dozen Sailors with Tommy guns, BAR's, pistols, grenades, whatever they could put their hands on. My dad said if one of the Japanese pilots moved his hands in any suspicious or unnecessary manner, he was immediately dispatched. Incredibly difficult enemy to deal with for sure. When we're fighting against an ideology, it's a no holds barred, no quarter given or taken fight. After the war, we would awaken in the night to my dad's screams and cries for lost buddies and incoming planes. Being that I grew up in a household with both parents in the service during World War ii, and my dad actively fighting against the Japanese. My mom was in the women's Army Air corps, she was a WAC, and was part of a unit that ferried / flew B-17's, she was a radio operator / Navigator. So they flew their missions from the Seattle plant here to the bases and staging points in Southern California to deploy these planes to the Pacific. She loved her B-17s until her last breath! She loved to fire the 50 cals out over the ocean and actually got are sick one time and hurled out the bombay doors which was a mistake because it all just kind of got sucked out or flew back into the plane! I learned a lot of very valuable life lessons, both good and bad, from my parents. Growing up with two of the Greatest Generation and several of their veteran friends that would pop by for a drink and / or dinner was super educational, inspiring, and sometimes straight up terrifying. Rest in peace, mom and dad. Not a day goes by that I don't miss you, and my love for you guys is still Rock Solid.🇺🇸⚓️💯🙏💖
@@michaelrotman8523see second reply below that was meant for you.
@Jakal-pw8yq so glad you know about it I read it in the 1960s as a kid and was mesmerized I bought it from the local library and have my own copy now cheers God bless your dad and his service
Great news, Jon! Great to be announced on the Podcast with your good friends, Seth and Bill!
Appreciate that you don't use a different platform. Wouldn't be able to watch as can't afford to do so.
Been with y'all since 2nd podcast. Hope this educational look at S Pacific keeps going. So much left to see and learn. Saved all podcasts. Go back to refresh knowledge. Keep on trucking.
Thanks more than you know gentlemen.😊
THE Oxford University Press? Excellent, Jon, congratulations!
Thanks again for telling the story of the smaller ships of the war. My great grandfather was a gunners mate on the Fletcher class destroyer USS Howorth (one of the 13 ships mentioned at 43:00) which among other missions was a radar picket ship off Okinawa. His ship was hit by a single kamikaze and luckily didn’t sustain major damage but 7 men were killed. He didn’t talk much about it because he was in turret 2 (which on Fletchers had the best field of fire) and the kamikaze hit the bridge right behind them, so he felt it was his job to shoot that plane down and that he failed to save his shipmates.
The first thing on my feed at 4.30 am.Thank Bill and Seth.
I'm very much looking forward to getting Jon's book! Congrats to Mr. Parshall.
1:30:57 One of the ships hit by a kamikaze on May 4, 1945 was also the USS Birmingham. My sainted father was served on-board the Birmingham during the entire war and unlike other veterans, he had no problem talking about the war. He was a boatswains mate and his battle station was a quad 40mm mount on the starboard side. He didn't get into all the specific details but he did give us an overall idea of what he experienced in World War II. It's been 20 years since he passed on and it's unfortunate that we didn't have TH-cam around then so that I could ask him more about his experiences.
You father saw a lot. Birmingham seems to have taken a hit every year she was in the war.
@@warwatcher91 He said that during the war, he spent every Christmas at home. He joined the Navy in September 1942 and after basic training, he spent Christmas at home. After the Birmingham was hit by bombs off Bougainville in November 1943, the ship when back to the states and he spent Christmas at home. After Leyte Gulf in October 1944, the ship went back to the states and he spent Christmas at home. After the war ended in August 1945, he was sent home and yet again, Christmas at home. 😄😄😄😄
Anyone that can’t recite Bill’s full intro from memory just hasn’t watched enough episodes of this podcast yet.
Yes, Jonathan Ferguson's is harder.
I can’t wait to recite Seth’s intro for Capt Toti, if I ever meet him!!!
Bill, Seth, and Jon, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you all have very Merry Christmas’! These lectures/discussions are the best! You’ve given me a much better insight to what my father dealt with during the war and the extent of the overall campaign in the Pacific.
Congrats to Mr Parshall on getting to publish 1942! Looking forward to reading it, put my email on the mailing list soon as I heard
The production quality in these podcasts is first rate. These guys do it so smoothly and so well. Compulsive viewing on You Tube.
I truly enjoy listening to y’all. Each time I learn something new and it’s truly appreciated. My Father Kenneth McLaughlin served on USS Gambier Bay and survived the sinking.
Would be nice if you include the British Pacific Fleet into the Okinawa series by inviting Dr. Alex Clarke and Drachinifel.
Drach has done a video of the BPF's first operation and the logistics behind it. Speaking of which, about a few weeks ago, I was digging through my Granddad's service records and found out his deployment on the HMAS Lismore (a Bathurst-Class Corvette) was when it was with the BPF.
Just Drach would be good IMO
@@James-hd4ms worthless responding to this
Not Clarke.
Insufferable.
You guys rock....thank you for all the time effort and soul that you have placed in this series...incredible...
My Dad was onboard the USS Monitor (LSV-5) at Okinawa when the USS West Virginia took a Kamikaze on April 1st, 1945. He rarely spoke of it, though my brother said that while watching Victory at Sea one night, he watched Dad tear up as he saw his own ship while seeing the West Virginia getting hit.
Also, my Dad's good friend Andy Anderson from childhood was onboard the USS Bunker Hill and for many many years afterward would have shrapnel come to the surface of his back needing it to be removed through his later years.
I truly wished I had asked more questions before he passed away. Dad only gave me snippets of what he saw, including bringing home POW's from Japan. He passed away a few weeks after I was promoted to Senior Chief.
Me too of my Dad. He was on Guadalcanal and spoke in snippets as well but never spoke of the bad times.
425! Thats crazy man
I always hope John says "im delightful" again like he did that time when Seth asks how everyoneis doing. The weirdest stuff sticks in my mind.
Thanks guys.
It was Guadalcanal #2 i think
My father, Joe Simpson, was an EM3 on May 11th. He and some other electrician mates were sent below to reverse the fans that were pulling smoke into the engine rooms. He was over come by smoke and tagged for dead by asphyxiation. He revived and found himself among dead sailors.
Wow.
@@briancooper2112 Me too. Wow
Jon, I just caught the video of your presentation at the 35th Annual Admiral Nimitz Symposium. It's rare to find an author who is prepared to take a global view, and try to understand and relay the worldwide interplay between theatres of war. I'm really looking forward very much to the publication of your book. Bon Chance !
Congrats on the book deal Jon! Looking forward to its release!
Great news on your book Jon! Looking forward to diving into it when it arrives!
On the DVD series called WORLD AT WAR, their was a portion that talked about the divine wind.A navy gunner was being interviewed about an officer who said how beautiful of a day it had been when after saying that he jumped overboard, never to be seen again.He jumped during a short break in the action.That is how stressful it was fighting off these planes.Thanks for the video.
I remember that now- use to watch Victory at Sea every chance I got 👍
I remember the interview. The gunner wanted to stress that every man has a breaking point.
Yes, that is exactly right.Thank you.
Another excellent episode. Thank you gentlemen.
As a Brit I'm not going to blindly wade into the armoured flight deck debate on the British side. However, some fundamental points are missing in the discussion in this episode. The design and concept of American carriers was vastly different to the British ships for many reasons not least of which the theatres in which they were expected to operate. One of the main reasons the British adopted the armoured flight deck was that it was always envisaged that our the fleet would be operating primarily within the range of land based enemy aircraft. Achieving even local air supremacy with carrier based aircraft was extremely challenging. The armoured deck was a defence against losing a ship to shore based aircraft. The American carriers could obviously have had a big impact in the European theatre. However, it is interesting to speculate how many might have been lost in operations had they been deployed in areas such as the Mediterranean. The American fleet could project an awesome amount of air power but it would not have suppressed the Luftwaffe. Given the eventual size of the American groups they could have defended themselves well and covered a battle fleet. The Brits didn't have the industrial resources to produce sufficient carriers to deploy them (and lose them) in the way America did. There weren't enough large shipyards to do it and virtually all the steel would have had to be shipped in
Also, these ships were designed before radar. It was considered that once enemy aircraft were seen it was too late to launch fighters.
AA guns and armour was the solution.
Also, the UK carriers were strictly Treaty limited.
Thanks Treasury.
@@davewolfy2906 Even so we have to face up to certain facts. How many slipways were available that could have built either a carrier or battleship? Could the UK have built something on the Essex class and been able to maintain them outside of the ETO?
@@douglaskillock3537 we built the Ark Royal and Eagle - so we could have.
Consider the Hunt class that was designed wrongly, we did not have the design resources.
I do believe that we should have built bigger carriers but we had our backs against the wall and had to produce what we had then.
On the positive side, we taught the USN about what are now called CICs, it still did not help them against kamikaze.
Then we had a RAF directed FAA up until 1937.
I am half way through a bottle of port and have lost track now.
Published just before I board a 2 hour flight... awsome😊😊 Thanks guys...
Great episode as always guys. My father's ship USS Estes was in the middle of Kikusui 1, it shot down several of aircraft, one conventional i guess because they observed a chute, one that was diving on the USS Witchita and one that only missed them by a few hundred yards. My father said it came right over them and he hit the deck and screamed for my grandmother.
My Grandpa was on the Witchita at that time as an RDM3 (radar). He served on her from Jan.1944 until Dec. 1945. I never heard him talk about his service at all while he was alive. My Mom passed a few weeks ago, and in going through her things here we have come across some mementos of his service and time on the Witchita. I also found an Elgin pocket watch made in 1925 that had belonged to Grandpas brother. His brother had it with him when he was killed in a plane crash in Oct. 1942. He was a flight instructor in the USAAF flying a Vultee BT-13A. He and a student were killed when they went down somewhere near Minter Field in Shafter, California. The watch probably hadn't seen the light of day for 45 years or so until about a week ago. I wound it, and it took right off. Seems to keep pretty decent time, too. Really neat to see and handle these things. A note with the watch said it had been given to him by his father (my Great Grandpa). Judging by the dates, we think it was given to him possibly when he graduated High School.
Outstanding news about Jon's book.
And now time to hear about USS Bunker Hill. My father was on board as a signalman (skivvy waver) at that time.
Can't wait for the book. Love the podcast. The focus on the Pacific is often an overlooked part of the war.
Consistent University level history dissertations. The best I've ever come across and every single episode, time after time.
Thanks!
This episode was eye opening. Your research and presentation are in a class of thier own.
Congratulations to Jon Parshall, look forward to using his book as a door stop after spending years devouring his wisdom.
Starting my morning with a cup of Jo and the UHPW podcast. Thank you gentlemen.
Me too!
My Great-Grandfather was on USS William C. Cole (DE-641) off of Okinawa. Cole participated in the air defense in early April, but was directly attacked later on May 24th by two kamikazes off of Le Shima. The first one missed Cole by inches, and bent the spoon of a torpedo tube. The second only missed due to the quick actions of Captain and crew.
He did not tell many stories about his service to my family, but he did tell that story, and brought home one of the kamikaze's pins.
Tuesdays are the best day of the week. Long story but all three of my grandfathers served In the pacific theater. I even now possess a pocket watch with a 7th AirForce Sunsetters Iwo Jima engraving on it. It’s priceless to me. Grandpa Amos Wallace Beck was not a pilot but served on Iwo in a support capacity. .
Son of a veteran of LCS(L) 75 "The Fightin' Sixbits". I was ecstatic that the LCS(L) Association were able to bring the 102 "Yankee Dollar" home. I visited her in 2017.
I have been reading stories and watching tv about the divine wind for over SIX DECADES. Best show yet guys. 👍
Wow. How to dig into this. Well, first of all, congratulations on achieving 40K subscribers. You guys certainly deserve that and much more. Very sad episode to listen to with the losses sustained by USN and Marines on the fleet, as well as knowing the kind of losses going on in the ground combat. With all our superiority of firepower, aircraft, ships, Air Forces, etc., it is a shame some strategy was not able to be reached to minimize these losses. And people wonder why Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place--not too hard to figure out. Thanks for another excellent program Seth, Bill, and Jon (out of uniform again Jon--incorrect camo pattern again). Thanks to all for the hard work you put into these programs--it shows!
Thank you Bill Seth and Jon.
Congratulations Jon! I can't wait to embark on the journey of 1942 with you at the helm.
Thanks Seth and Bill ever so much for starting this quest. You are informing the world today about the important lessons to be learned from history.
Oh shit another Tuesday. Another episode and I’ll be listening to this on repeat all day at my work.
I don't know if I watch all the episodes but the ones I have are very well enjoyed very informative I do wish you thank you and everybody has been involved in these series
As always an informative and well presented video, nice one.
GREAT episode guys! Thanks for all your hard work. I cannot fathom the fear that these sailors and Marines experienced facing these horrific attacks.
My father served as a signalman onboard the USS Purdy (DD-734) during the Okinawa campaign. On April 12th 1945, Purdy was assigned to Radar Picket Station #1 along with USS Cassin Young (DD-793) where the action was the most intense. On this day, both Cassin Young and Purdy fought off multiple incoming raids by kamikazes. When Raid #8 came that day, it was on attack run #7 -- the final attack --- that an Aichi D3A Val dive bomber got through the anti-aircraft fire smoking and splashed 20 feet off Purdy's starboard bow. It impacted the ship where the bomb broke loose from the plane and penetrated around Frame #63 and exploded killing 15, seriously wounding 25, and causing extensive damage. Purdy made it back to Kerama Retto, underwent temporary repairs there and at Guam, and arrived at San Francisco 28 May. My father said he saw the Japanese pilot before the plane splashed and that he was lucky not to be in that part of the ship where his berthing was. He never was gleeful when recounting this experience to me.
As a kid I went past the Bunker Hill tied up at North Island whenever we were on the water in San Diego harbor. Recall her very distinctly - but of course didn't know the history. She was being used as a test platform by the then-Naval Electronics Laboratory on Pt Loma.
The history that was all around you when you were young. And like so many of the WWII vets who were the grown-ups at the time, you didn't know their history, as I was unaware of Bunker Hill's incredible past.
Great episode. Thank you!
Seth, Captain Toti and Jon, thanks much, appreciated.
I recently read the latest edition of Norman Friedman's "US Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History". Those Essex-class carriers could take a lot of punishment, and their unarmored wood-on-metal-backer flight decks made them extremely quick to repair after taking hits (though at the cost of allowing hanger and gallery-deck personnel to be wiped out, as happened to Franklin).
A couple additional remarks:
- Friedman also describes design studies for Essex-sized carriers with armored decks, but as Jon says they would have had smaller air groups (though not necessarily as small as the British as we presumably would have continued to use deck parks).
- If you armor the flight deck then that weight is higher in the ship than and "counts" more than a similar thickness on the hanger deck. Making the hanger deck the strength deck allows you to use thicker armor, and thereby protect the ship's vitals against larger weapons. IIRC the Essex class had 3" hanger decks that could withstand 1000 lb bombs from considerable altitude, while the UK carriers had ~1.5" flight decks that could be penetrated by smaller bombs. In the event the Kamikazes didn't deliver bombs with terribly high velocity and the British flight decks held, but if the Japanese had been delivering AP bombs instead of 2000 lb fertilizer bombs then the UK carriers might have come off looking rather worse.
- Modern US carriers have something like 2.5" of HY steel (better than WW2 STS steel) between the flight and gallery decks, and then a couple more inches in the hanger and lower decks. They also have very deep torpedo defense systems. Those ships can take a heck of a lot of pounding. Friedman shows pretty thorough protection diagrams for Forrestal, and we know what has changed since for the most part.
Congratulations on landing the publisher Jon! Looking forward to the release of your book.
I repeat: Bravo Zulu the broadcast. You guys are the best.
I can't hear about this combat and emerge happy. However, I am enlightened. Thank you.
Thanks!
1:09:49 To be fair to the British if American carriers had to operate in the Mediterranean they would have been torn apart, by land based aircraft which was their biggest concern
You don’t think our naval aviators were good enough to fight in the Mediterranean?
Awesome news John ! I can't wait to order it.
This series is THE very Best PTO treatise ever! Hope you feel better soon Seth!
Have been following your Podcast since almost the beginning, well done and thank you! I thought you might find this of interest: I am looking at a "zippo" style lighter on my desk
that was made by a USN Machinist Mate off Okinawa in 1945. It is fabricated from aluminum from a downed Kamikaze. It was sent by my Great Uncle, John C. Daniel, then a Captain commanding of a destroyer division on picket duty off Okinawa to his Brother-in-Law Thomas C. Barton. It is inscribed; "JCD to TCB Thanks for "VT" on other side; Kamikaze Okinawa May 1945". My Grand Father, Thomas C. Barton was Managing Director of the Johns Hopkins, Applied Physics Lab from 1943-1946, responsible for the development of the Proximity Fuse. - Tom Barton III
Thank you, very informative. Good job folks.
thanks guys, looking forward to this.
Watching your series inspired me to do more reading on the subject. Stated John Toland’s “The Rising Sun.” Fascinating book!
Outstanding Episode. Was surprised at the number of Tokkō (Toku be tsu Kō geki tai) raids and the huge number of sunk and damaged ships. It was hair raising watching you guys do the same math the Japanese Admirals & Generals undoubtedly did.
Great episode!!!
Great show gentlemen.
Outstanding content, thank you!
Another great episode, thank you.
Jon Parshall is a man of all seasons. I love the guy!
Minnesota Jon. confidant. mellow. always smiling.
Profession: Renown author and accomplished historian of Pacific theatre WWII, social media influencer, luau organizer, Polynesian party consultant, tiki torch safety advisor.
Earned a Bs.c in geology as well. Harry Hess (Rear Admiral USNR), one of the geologists involved in the development of plate tectonics, thought geologists made the best intelligence officers. They know how to get the most from limited data.
@sundiver137. like Da Vinci approached his canvas:
My dad was on Okinawa. On April 7th 1945 he saw a Kamikazes hit the USS Maryland. He saw some shit there. All this after he’d been on Peleliu in the fall of 1944.
Now watching for the second time. To make note of Seth mentioning the pilots killed from the ready room out into the corridor. I was about 15 years old when listening to my father sharing a story with his best friend war buddy. Dad said the worst duty he ever had was helping to remove pilots bodies from a corridor. Dad said the medical staff was overwhelmed so the Captain asked for volunteers of which my father did.
Thank you, gentlemen, for yet another excellent episode. I am wracking my brain to come up with an example of a poetic tool, but all the puns seem out of reach this morning.
My late father said what frightened him and his fellow sailors most were the kamikaze attacks. Before listening to this episode, I envisioned single plane assaults- serial attacks. Now I know much better. I don't recall my father having ptsd, but honestly, I don't know how every sailor didn't. May they all rest in peace.
Part of the PTSD is not talking about it many veterans medicate themselves either by overworking, alcohol, withdrawal, or dangerous activity. The Vietnam veterans suicide rate hovers at 22 a day still. A danger point is when they stop working or connecting with others all comes to the surface.
My brother-in-law was a sailor on a troop ship. Standing off from Okinawa, he manned a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun and one night, as he was climbing out of his gun tub, a flash of gunfire from a neighboring ship illuminated a Kamikaze whizzing past. He said it was so close he could have touched the wing and he could clearly see the pilot's face. It crashed into the water between his ship and the next. He lived to the ripe old age of 87.
It's always better to be lucky than smart. Congrats to him.
My father served as a radio man on LST's during the war. Like many he rarely talked about what he went thru, but did mention one time how scared he was during a Kamikaze attack when the ship in front and behind his were both hit. Must have been during this battle.
My Uncle was the dentist on the Belleau Wood. He had enlisted in 1941 before Pearl Harbor. He and his best friend were on deck when general charters was called off Layte. They were subsequent hit by a kamikaze. He had to identify many of the almost 100 dead by their dental records because of burns . . . Including his best friend. He somehow after that experience finished the war and went on with his life. Living to 96. He had a large framed picture of the Belleau Wood that he kept on the wall of his office and was one of the few things he took with him to assisted living late in his life.
A good friend of mine, Dale Rawson, was on the USS Robley Evans when she was hit. He was a 20mm gunner stationed behind the aft 5" gun mount. He said they were doing good until they switched the guns to local control. When the first kamikaze hit he was reloading his gun. He got his gun loaded and spotted another kamikaze following their wake 10 feet high. He said he was really mad that nobody was shooting at him. He tried to fire his gun but it jammed. Cleared and tried again with another jam. Then he realized the first hit had blown quite a few sailors overboard. He had tears in his eyes and said thank God for the jammed gun. "I would have killed those guys if my gun had fired."
He always sang the praises of the marine corsair pilots that stuck around, out of ammo beating the Japanese off of them. He is truly missed.
Congratulations John
Old gentleman I grew up with was on a carrier that was hit by a kamikaze, don't recall which one, during this period. He said it was pure hell. At the time, I was 16, I didn't appreciate what he and his shipmates endured.
Great podcast. Have you covered the kamikaze attacks on the B-29s? My dad talked about losing friends to such attacks.
They were technically not suicide attack, kinda like German's Sonderkomando Elbe.
I had a good friend (RIP Warren) who served on the Cabot at Okinawa. He said he was operating a gun on the fantail when the kamikaze hit the ship. He said he had his station moved to the opposite end of thr carrier the next day.
Congrats on the book contract Jon!!
Thank you 🙏
My grandfather certainly helped build the USS Mannert L. Abele at Bath Iron Works here in Maine.
Can't thank you guys enough!
I did not realize that there were so many kamikaze attacks . I thought maybe five hundred planes tops . This is amazing . I do not know what i think of the Navy giving the Japanese pilot a Burial see . I kind of understand . Great talk guys . Thank you .
Way to go John can't wait to read it
Good morning from SC! I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving!
Great show. Rock on.
Congratulations, John.
If it's half as good as Shattered Sword, it will be a masterwork.. .
I think more US war history should be taught in our schools. At that time I likely wouldn't have paid but little attention but if presented as you 3 do hopefully my appreciation of what our armed forces have and continue to provide to average Americans!
Congratulations John!
I found out from looking up his records recently that one of my uncles served on an assault cargo ship unloading (and presumably stationary) off Okinawa during the first 10 days of April. He must have seen some of those LSTs and Victory ships being hit. As far as I know, he never said a word about what he experienced.
My grandmother's brother was killed on the Emmons. George was tall but the body in the closed casket was 5'6. My great grandmother put her hand on top of the casket and said that's not George. The Navy shut the casket with nails because of burns and mutilation to the body which i understand. But my dad and grandmother told me that story decades ago and I still get a shiver down my spine.
I'm afraid to tell you that if the sailor was killed aboard ship, especially after a kamikaze attack, he would have been buried at sea. He would not have been sent back home in a nailed casket.
@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar true. But a cemetery marker does exist in Michigan.
@ no doubt. Many “memorial” markers exist across this country for that very reason. The body was either unrecoverable or buried at sea. Families wanted something to remember their fallen serviceman, hence the markers with nothing underneath them but painful memories.
@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar your show and Woodys show are the best!
@@briancooper2112 Yes indeed he's an excellent host who has even better guests.
Mr Parshall, your books will never be door stops. Indeed they are must reads and yes re-reads. There are only a few books that I re-read and yours are among them, My greatest fear is that I missed some detail ( I am not very smart). How wonderful that you also mention Shelby Foote's 3 volume series on the Civil War. It is also a yearly re-read. The 2 others that come to mind are General Grant's memoirs and The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman.
Agreed. But we wait a year for his book, so in the meantime, we can enjoy his guest star appearances.
I have read Shattered Sword about three times so far!
I read Foote’s civil war books, then realized he was not a historian, just a phoney. Do some research before wasting your time.
@@georgeburns7251 There were definitely some interpretational issues there, yeah...
Not enough praise has been given to USN personnel in the Pacific. Please do not forget these heroes. My thanks to the discovery of the many ships which have been discovered. Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it. That day is growing nearer, unfortunately.
Congrats Jon!!!!
Field Day:
Growing up in the in the 1980's, one of the last days of elementary school each year (frequently the second to last) was a fun day where we were outside playing on the play fields in organized events the whole time. This day was called a "Field Day".
I don't know if that's the origin of "Field Day", but I think that makes more sense than cleaning ships, since ship cleaning day doesn't sound like a great day.
Well done Jon
Seth gave us a tease to Damage Control, possibly with Tony Tully.
There are so many episodes you had to skip over. God Bless America.
I'm glad Jon brought up the ammunition point - I've always been curious about that myself. Like how close did they come to depleting their 20mm, 40mm, and 5 inch stores onboard during these attacks off Okinawa? Did specific guns have specific policies for when they could open up and for how long they could sustain fire? I assume they did, but I'd be curious how they operated in that regard. The amount of tracers alone that were thrown up during these Kamikaze attack runs was insane - it's like watching an X-Wing Fighter running the guantlet on the Death Star. In fact, I always wondered if George Lucas had seen any of the Kamikaze footage and used any of that to influence the artistic direction of the Death Star attack scenes.
Thank you
Go see the USS LAUFEY IN Charleton SC . She is next to the carrier CVA-10, go inside the aft 5 inch 38 mount and Thank God for the crew that was lost there .