From Midway to Guadalcanal: Two Months That Changed World War II | Jon Parshall
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ย. 2024
- www.pacificwar...
In this webinar, Jon Parshall will be looking at the incredible speed with which Earnest King assessed the emergent operational possibilities post-Midway. King grabbed them with both hands and went on to create what would be the decisive campaign for the first half of the Pacific War: the struggle for Guadalcanal.
Jon Parshall saw his interest in the Imperial Japanese Navy develop early in his childhood. As an adult, that passion led him to create the foremost website devoted to the Imperial Navy, combinedfleet.com, which he founded in 1995. Parshall’s book, Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, coauthored with Anthony Tully, is the definitive account of that pivotal battle in the Pacific.
"Shattered Sword" co-authored by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully
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This is a recording from the National Museum of the Pacific War. Copyright 2024.
For more videos, webinars and our mission please visit us online:
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Its real simple folks, when a John Parshall lecture pops up you watch it ASAP
Go to the museum website. They have a webinar every month. Got to chat with him during this one (first question he answers was from me).
@@BrokenFarmerI had an email conversation with Jon and he was generous, thoughtful and witty, just as he is in his presentations.
Absolutely. Even if the host is boring as death.
Only here for the shirts...😅
@@therectorkid9708 lol, do you watch "Unauthorized History of the Pacific War"? I always appreciate the shirts
Parshall is such a great speaker, not only with prepared remarks, but also when unscripted. He makes great use of maps, zooming in and out as needed so we can follow along. He's the most polished and interesting speaker on the Pacific war.
He also wears great shirts.
@@JimRibby My man could rumble for 6 hours about nonsense but if he had the shirt on then ya know its gonna be a masterpiece 🤌
100% agree. I’ll listen to anything he has
He would be even more polished if he didn't constantly say "you know." It's poor English diction. H.L. Mencken traced it to ex-slaves who had difficulty expressing themselves.
Agree.
John is absolutely the best. He and the guys from Unauthorised history of the Pacific War podcast are magnificent!
I’m a simple man. I see John’s wallpaper, I hit the play button.
Ahhhhh.... The wallpaper.... The shirts.... It all means that we're in for a great time!
Totally Agree! He is an exceptional historian and such a gifted speaker.....but sometimes it's hard to see where his Hawaiian shirt ends and his wallpaper starts!!!
I've found more Jon Parshall videos by noticing his wallpaper or shirt in thumbnails than I can recall.
Reminds me of my grandparents parlor back in the early 50's.
Which wallpaper? The one on the wall or the one on his shirt?
One of King's six daughters took newpapers to task for their reports about her father's mercurial temperment saying “He is the most even tempered person in the United States Navy. He is always in a rage.”
Hah! 😁
Must have further boiled his blood as prior to Secretary Knox coaching and cajoling King into befriending the papers, King only wanted to tell them 1 thing and that the war was over and that we won.
😅😅😅.... his fake Latin family motto 'Semper Iratus'.... Drachinfel has a great TH-cam episode on him
@@alanburke1893 Drac's faux family motto is as amusing as on target
Thumbs UP for Mr. Jon Parshall, always!
I was introduced to Jon Parshall's work thanks to Drachinifel, who himself is no slouch when it comes to naval history, and has done yeoman work in sparking and then pouring gasoline on my own interest in that subject. Meanwhile, Jon is just utterly brilliant. His command of the facts is without equal, and has depth of knowledge and insight into the nuances of the Pacific war is breathtaking...and when he gets rolling, his storytelling is spellbinding. Thanks for this video!
Always new insights in every presentation by Jon Parshall - thank you, sir, for your many years of scholarship and public education. And thank you, Ms. Lauren, for a fine job as moderator!
Thanks for your unqualified praises. I find the small nitpicks, well, small. Jon speaks without notes, giving lectures the ambiance of conversation. That's no mean trick. Which explains why he is in demand. He benefits from the frequent encounters on the Unofficial History of the Pacific War with Seth and Bill as much as we do. I, too, await publication of his "1942". It's getting closer. Jon has talked about the completion work, and it's really hard to put it to bed. .
When Jon’s book on 1942 is out, I’m going to read the HELL out of it.
#1 on my wishlist.
Parshall is THE BEST. Great author and speaker. Keep more of this stuff coming. Thanks!
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Nothings better than a Jon parshall lecture😊
All shirt and wallpaper jokes aside. Jon Parshall is an outstanding historian and lecturer. He has done the dirty work slogging through the primary sources and is an excellent lecturer.
In the community of military historians, Parshall is a national treasure: outstanding historian and writer, compelling speaker and teacher. He has a talent for distilling complex issues down to their essence. I jump at the chance to listen to any of his lectures or read what he writes.
I'm among friends here, and it's really wonderful to hear the real time facts with the flavor of the times. I recall my mother's takes on the felt danger when my Dad was out on shakedown checkouts of Liberty ships out of Kaiser Shipbuilding on the Columbia River. My father was one of those recent graduate engineers that even our government recruiters refused to allow to be put in the cockpit of a B17. I'M in position tobe forever grateful for that hand of God on me. Even with that, one of Dad's check rides was closely inspected by a Japanese submarine in open water. He surfaced and seeing all that
waterline paint decided not to waste a Longlance on an empty boat.
I make extensive use of libraries,but some books I just have to own. Jon's "1942" will be my next one.
Excellent review...
Being 90 years old, any historical & factual discussion of the Pacific War means a lot to me...
Knowing what we know now, it’s kind of funny that we gave two craps what the opinion of the British or French was in the Pacific. This was an awesome lecture and greatly fills in some of the details I never knew! Appreciate your time and thank you to the museum for making this video!
As always a tour-de-force by Jon. I'm glad the Australians came up in the questions. Jon mentions the Kokoda Trail. Also worth mentioning as it is often forgotten is the Battle at Milne Bay, fought at the same time as Guadalcanal. Also important is that the British not only had to contend with Adm. King, but also PM John Curtin who wanted to fight the Japanese--understandably as they were moving toward Australia. This was a major issue because a substantial part of the Desert Army in the Middle East was the Australians.
Yes, and its sad that, given their proud record in holding off the Germans at Tobruk and the respect which Rommel had held for them, that MacArthur treated them so badly over their performance in the battles in New Guinea.
@godfreysanter1565 You are absolutely correct. His behavior was astonishing, but he also treated the Asmertican troops poorly in the initial battles around Buna.
If you haven't read Jon's "Shattered Sword", you should. It's great.
All the research and writing JP has devoted to this period is on full display here. The guy knows the material backward and forward and no question stumps him. He is also correct that 1942 in WW2 history, no matter what the theater, is the most crucial and fascinating period, when the struggle was being decided.
Well done, and thanks.
Shoutout to the National Museum of the Pacific War. Located in the small but picturesque town of Fredericksburg, Texas, a bit off the beaten path in the Texas Hill Country, it would seem at first glance to be an odd place to put a major war museum. But Fredericksburg was the birthplace and childhood home of Chester Nimitz, and if one is interested in traveling for a museum visit, there's no prettier place to visit one than Fredericksburg, particularly in the spring. Lots of other things to see in the area as well.
This is a fantastic museum. When I went in Jan. 2019 I bought a two day ticket. Spent almost a day and a half doing the chronological walk through followed up by the outdoor and outbuilding exhibits along with the Nimitz House. Be prepared for a full immersion experience.
Well worth a visit. Plan on a full day to take it all in
Chester Von Nimitz!! The Germans were so proud of him, they talk about his military background going back to the crusades!!
Always a treat to get a Jon Parshall video notification. I learn something new from every single video, no matter how many of them I've watched. I caught myself a few weeks ago talking about bringing "carriers to the party" and followed that up with an "in the drink" comment. So, yeah, I'm a fan.
Can't wait for the new book!
Always great hearing Jon Parshall speak.
What say you about the shirt?
Seen that shirt before on the Unauthorized History of The Pacific War!
@@frankbodenschatz173 I hope its been washed!
@@ganndeber1621 I was working, so more listening than watching. Did not notice the shirt.
John is a national wealth of knowledge!
Everybody loves John Parshall and his wallpaper
And Hawaiian shirts
And his shirts
That’s funny I wasn’t paying attention to wallpaper until someone commented, heck that’s the same wallpaper we used in Truckee Ca. in our home back 35 years ago. That’s cool I worked with high end decorators back in the day. Great job loved John’s explanation of how things went down in those early years of the war after Midway.
That's part of Jon's ambiance staging for these podcast interviews.
Paschall’s review is the best analysis of this part of the Pacific war. Thank you.
It's Jon Parschall. And, for fans from the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast, Jon's wallpaper.
I had a supervisor who later became a good friend who had his 16th birthday on Guadalcanal. He lied his way into the Marine Corps at age 15.
May I be allowed to issue an appreciation here? I thank you esteemed Jon P. for your sharing of the detailed analysis. I also want to give you praise for including your analysis of the leadership, their strategy, and their orders. I also want to praise you for something that I feel is rare and reserved for only those with an insight that may result from a determined study. You have let me see the importance of the allied determination to preserve the supply line to Australia, which I had seen in only a few writings, but not appreciated until I viewed your maps. Thanks for this! I feel you bring a unique vision to history, as you consider so many factors and are able to assess the relative contributions to the ongoing "present" situations as they progressed through time. I feel this is a unique gift that you have. I am therefore wanting to hear more of your teaching and I want to say I really appreciate your contributions. Please keep sharing your insights. I love how you gave the assessment of the period in terms of major naval assets. I also especially love how you provided your conclusion of the PERIOD of main importance, based on your considered opinions of many factors, of how this short time is a major "pivot point" (my term) in the war in the Pacific. I see that you have made a valuable contribution in assessment of the timeline of the Pacific war in showing how this short time was a pivotal and crucial phase in the conflict. It is rare that people can see a delimited period in history as so important to our ongoing life, and you are imbued with a special discernment. Thanks for your unique and special contribution to our understanding, dear Sir. May you continue in your studies and continue to bless us, the people of the World, with your intellect, and your insight as you continue to study history and help us see the past. I am so grateful to you!
I swear, every video I see with Jon Parshall in it, he's wearing that exact same shirt! I love it. When his 1942 book comes out, I will be buying it ASAP. Probably at least 2 or 3 times.
Well, it's always some sort of Hawaiian shirt
I'll have you know I have at least *four* different shirts I wear! 🙂
@@jonparshall Then one spread onto everyone while joking about it.
The 1st Marine Div left from New Zealand - minus the 7th Regiment, which was garrisoning Tonga! Still lots of stuff to be found around their camps near NZ's capital, Wellington! They also built a navy hospital at Silverstream in the Hutt Valley - most famous patient, Don Adams (Get Smart) who spent 18 mths there recovering from Black Water Fever (a virulent strain of malaria) contracted on Guadalcanal!
Thanks so much John. Boy I wish I knew all this before I went to Viet Nam on BB-62 we visited a lot to these places or passed nearby. Especially spending a few minutes over Mushashi to pay respects to fellow Battleship Sailors. Thanks once again and love your work on Unauthorized History. Gonna buy your books and read them in detail.
I LOVED Shattered Sword, and this presentation was a really great supplement to it!
Ever since reading Richard Tregaskes’s “Guadalcanal Diary” 40 years ago it’s always kinda bugged me when WW2 aficionados say “well the US land war really started in North Africa in November of ‘42”
Corregidor? Bataan? Guadalcanal? Port Moresby? Dutch Harbor, Alaska? When taken in aggregate these battles, fought in soup bowl helmets and often with WW1 era weapons, touched the lives of millions of Americans
Well said. Timelines for the Pacific War are months earlier than Torch.
The British relations at stake, King is plotting to siphon resources from Atlantic to stop Japanese expansion. Malaya, Singapore, Java, IndoChina all have fallen.
Agreed. Same deal about the 'sitzkrieg' of late '39 to April '40. There was a lot of fighting on the high seas by the Royal Navy.
This is so good. Appreciate you working your passion John! My grandpa, Clive Blaney, was a dive bomber and flew over 100 missions in the Pacific. God bless
The best short summary of the most critical two months of the war extant. The museum is a must see in beautiful country.
Shattered Sword is an incredibly well-written book.
Man, it's worth the time for the shirt and wall paper alone. The excellent lecture is just the icing on the history cake.
Those interested in reading a Japanese torpedo-bomber pilot's account of the battles for Midway and Guadalcanal (and much more...) should read 'The Miraculous Torpedo Squadron', the autobiography of Juzo Mori. Only recently translated into English, Mori vividly describes his life in pre-war Japan, training to become an IJN pilot, flying in China, training for and carrying out the attack on Pearl Harbor and more. This is a must read for students of the Pacific War.
Didn't know about this, and appreciate the head's up!
Everyone shouldv read Herman Wouk's wonderful Midway Narrative in War and Remembrance.
Thank you. Always learn something new when Jon presents.
Another excellent John Parshall presentation.
Shattered Sword was the best ww2 book I have ever read.
Really interesting presentation. Great point about the limits of intelligence.
What I think is overlooked also is 1) the addition of the T3 tankers fulfilling the oiler role for the USN and 2) the rapid construction of those bases at Bora Bora, Fiji, New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo and Efate, etc. Vital surveillance and supply points.
Without the T3 oilers the USN has WWI-era oilers. Slow. Low capacity.
The construction of the twelve T3 tankers gives the USN three large and fast ones in '39 and the other nine are acquired from the civilian fleet in '40 and '41 prior to Pearl Harbor. For Midway, AO Cimarron (T3) and AO Platte (T3) were assigned to the task forces 16 and 17. AO Guadalupe (T3, owned by Esso first and acquired by USN in June '41) was assigned to Midway Relief Refuelling Unit, tasked with delivering fuel to the island to supply the ground aircraft. Let's not ignore that Midway Island itself was a quasi aircraft carrier. Immobile, yes. But unsinkable too. The carrier raids from 1 Feb to 18 April '42 including Doolittle's raid on Japan happen because the T3 oilers are there. Can they pull these raids off with WWI-era oilers?
For Guadalcanal, Operation Watchtower was accompanied by five oilers. They were AO Kanawha (old, commissioned June '15), AO Platte, AO Cimarron, AO Kaskaskia (T3, owned by Esso first and acquired by USN in Oct '40), and AO Sabine (T3, owned by Esso first and acquired by USN in Sep '40). Further, Naval Base Noumea on New Caledonia was established as a fuel depot for the USN and was operating prior to Watchtower. Many of these fleet sustainment facilities had to be developed from square one (docks, roads, level ground by blasting, housing, hygiene, life sustainment of water, food, medicine, labour, construction equipment and materials) _before_ the storage tanks were constructed. For Bora Bora this came from the continental US (East Coast, iirc). Prep work took about two months and the construction of storage tanks by 725 men to hold 80k barrels of fuel took just under two months (11 April to 09 June 1942); another 145k bbl storage was added in short order.
Great comment, fully agree. As the old quote goes, "amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics". Kind of an oft-repeated cliche, but because it's true.
One of the key episodes of the Coral Sea was the first-day IJN strike which couldn't find the US carriers and had to (rather disgustedly) "settle" for attacking the oiler Neosho, as that's all they could locate before running out of gas. I'd argue that Neosho was actually a pretty high-value target herself, almost as critical as a fleet carrier in her own right. The carrier and her escorts can't do anything without gas (something which Fletcher understood and had to deal with under wartime conditions earlier than most other at-sea US admirals...and I think was overlooked, misunderstood - or just flat-out misrepresented - in a lot of postwar history about his conduct of 1942 operations).
@@cragnamorra By later in the war, there was so many support ships to service the fleet that Fletcher would have been able to be more aggressive if he'd of had those resources available to him in '42.
One thing that boggles my mind logistically, are the Japanese, they were slower than King to understand the need for escorts. Joking aside, at the break of war they lost roughly 1/3 of their shipping as those ships were flagged with countries they just declared war on. And they didn't have the yard capacity to replace them. Granted the US went and created several ship yards to build escorts of various types as well as they merchant ships to supply the armies and navies of the Allies.
@@cragnamorra Indeed. Neosho was one of the fast Cimarron-class T3 oilers. The WWI-era fleet oilers were capable of 10.5-11 knots whereas the T3s were at 17-18 knots. Having all those T3s in service and manned by trained personnel _prior to_ Dec '41allowed the USN to do things it couldn't do otherwise without taking on much greater risk using much older and slower ships. Then in late Jan '42 the first batch of T2 oilers, just slightly slower than T3, began to arrive.
I always enjoy John's excellent dissertations, along with his friends at "Unauthorised History" Thank you !
A recent article in World at War (Kelly Bell) about what John spoke of. "Tulagi, The First Step". It also covers the landings at Tanambogo and Gavatu.
This has much better context than anything I've ever seen before.
Thanks for this appearance and video John. We all appreciate your ability to pass on so much knowledge.
The matching wallpaper and shirt lives!!!!
Parshall has some great points and agree with him. The Pacific War and North Africa in WW2 is a lot like the US Civil War in the West. A military campaign generates its own momentum. Those two campaigns jump started the US effort in WW2. Just like Grant's attack on Fort Henry and Fort Donelson set the campaigns in motion that would end the war. The invasions of Guadalcanal and North Africa get the US Army, Navy and Air Force moving. In addition, those campaigns taught hard lessons needed for future campaigns. As the fictional Captain Henry said in the Winds of War, you have to get on the field to win.
No mention of the Marines? Kinda got them moving also…
I just love the way he tells his story. I read his book on Midway and it is absolutely outstanding
ANOTHER Jon Parshall masterpiece! Cheers
Parshshall can put it together and articulate it so well, make it understandable for the average guy
Jon is the man. The shirt, the wallpaper. Right on.
As always Jon brings brilliant strategic perspective to key PTO initiatives
I was impressed with John Parshall the first time I have seen or heard from him was in the series Battle 360 the ten part series on the USS Enterprise. He was so knowledgeable on the subject. Thank you
Jon has been a regular guest host on the “unauthorized history of the Pacific war” podcasts/video casts
Jon Parshall and his wallpaper? I'm in!!!
And his shirts, don't forget the shirts!
Wow, I almost ended this video after the first 20 seconds. But the presentation was outstanding. I learned so much about the period between midway and Guadalcanal that you can never learn anywhere else. Thank you.
There are many authors I have read, starting in my early teens....all wrote about the Pacific War. John may be my favorite....but I love them all. Turns out his live presentations are the best. I grew up gazing at the Pacific on the west coast.
First saw Jon present at the 2011 WW2 Conference in NOLA on Midway. It was so good! Looking forward to his coming book on 1942. His talks are always top notch. He is also a great moderator at conferences.
Another outstanding video. Great summary of events in South Pacific during that time span
Very interesting presentation. John is a great speaker and is extremely knowledgeable on the subject matter. Thx!
Happy to see John anytime!
I'd love to see another Parshall book on Guadalcanal and the Solomons campaign.
I see John's shirts are as magnificent as usual....
Oh.. wait.... wasn't this about history?
But that shirt!
I loved those photos with quotes. It made his points very easy to follow.
Jon is the man. Rock on Jon.
Glad to see John’s office wallpaper on a different TH-cam channel. Great talk.
Fantastic interview and Q&A session. Thank you.
How fun! Always a pleasure to hear Jon.
I've watched so many of Jon Parshall's interviews and podcast guest spots that his office is starting to feel like home.
Great! John, thank you so much and thanks to the Nat. Museum of the Pacific War!
Open TH-cam, see Jon, must watch.
Awesome video thanks.
Enjoyable presentation by Jon, excellent questions from the participants and Jon's responses. Well done persuasive show.
I simply cannot imagine Marshall believing we would be prepared for "Early Europe" nor reacting impetuously to placate Roosevelt. In 22 July meeting it seems to me that Marshall's proposal for Europe invasion in 1943 was negational feint to cede the initiative for the British to suggest North Africa. Thus JOINTLY AGREED that the US needs a moderated time table for more modest ambitions, the unilateral South Pacific move has the appearance and plausibility as being both subsidiary to and not conflicting with "Europe First".
Can you back up this theory somehow?
The South Pacific had to be first. The Japanese were on the verge of cutting off Australia. Before that happens all those Aussie troops in North Africa are heading back to defense the homeland. Then the Afrika Corp kick the remaining Brits out, close the Med and the Suez to British shipping.
@@Fulcrum205 If the Japs had been stupid enough to invade Australia, it would have gone badly for them. Even Guadalcanal proved a logistical defeat for them. If they couldn’t defend G’canal, how could they defend distant Australia? Don’t forget one reason their army didn’t send more troops to G’canal, was the mess they were in in China.
Great video :D always great to here from John Parshell :D
Mr. Parshall is fantastically knowledgeable. I have caught a couple of things that he has done with Drach.
This is fascinating. Well done!
Outstanding! So much information on here!
Awesome stuff, I love it
Great talk by Jon Parshall, as always. Admiral King had to get both MaArthur and the Brits to agree to invading Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
In Richard Frank's outstanding book about Guadalcanal, he talks about how King had to convince Nimitz too (or order him). Does Frank's book overstate Nimitz's hestiation? It was a bold move to switch to the offensive so rapidly. But Jon's talk emphasizes how the Japanese occupation of Tulagi and Guadalcanal would inevitably lead to a US reaction, so maybe it was not as bold as it seems, and Nimitz would've agreed that invading Guadalcanal was the correct move?
King didn't have to get the Brits or MacArthur to agree to anything. He had the green light from FDR. Didn't need to convince Nimitz, either. He sent Kelly Turner to brief Nimitz and then run the operation, with the instruction to Nimitz that the plan wasn't a concept or open to debate.
I LOVE this video, and the talk-bubbles used to convey attitudesof the Combined Chiefs of Staff, C-n-C Navy/Pac...and I like the MacArthur digs in the intel reports...this is a very very non-historian-friendly presentation, well done sir!!
Great this is one of the best description I’ve seen
Coral Sea set up the possibility for a victory at Midway as two Kido Butai were not included due to damage inflicted and air wings depleted. Guadalcanal, the New Guinea campaign thru Operation Olympic did break the back of the IJN JIA. I and others refer to iy as the battle for Australia.
Brilliant synopsis.
As usual great stuff; thanks Jon.
It also should be pointed out that in this same time frame Stalingrad and El Alamein and the North African invasion were also happening. At the start of 1942 it could be said the Axis was winning. At the start of 1943 the only question was how long it was going to take to defeat the Axis and the cost in treasure and lives lost.
Thanks John and Great Slides
Parshall is the THE BEST PERIOD. END. OF. STORY.
Jon Parshall is EXCELLENT. Thanks ¡
Very, Very insightful. Cass.
Good show. Informative lecture. Thank you, Jon.
Thank you very much for a fabulous and informative video!
Speaking at the numbers level (rather than of human suffering), the two key loss imbalance numbers in the chart at ~19:15, IMO, are probably soldiers lost and aviators lost. Japan's population was much less than the US, making replacing >25K men more difficult. Many of those 1200-1900 aviators were the cream of Japanese aviators, well trained and experienced. Japan's training programs could never replace those losses, while US training programs were massive and brought experienced airmen home for rest, training new aviators, and becoming the core of new squadrons.
@KMN-bg3yu - YES! I've seen so many documentaries of the Pacific war. John Parshall's narrative and perspectives are a godsend to help us all much better understand and give us all much better perspective of what happened.
Interesting analysis. Excellent.
This was a great and informative presentation. Mr Parshall knows his stuff.
Great, greater, greatest, Parshall
A well presented and informative video but ohh the shirt, the humanity of it
Another excellent presentation by Parshall. Great job pulling out those nuggests from the Graybook. Would have liked to have seen them presented side-by-side with equivalents from the Japanese side - granted, not as much has survived. Operation FS (Fiji, Samoa, New Caledonia) had been planned to be executed in July 1942. It was canceled due to Midway, but the IJN still wanted to take New Caledonia (now operation NK) with land airbases filling the void left by the loss of the carriers, and hence Guadalcanal assumed greater importance.
At the same time the IJN and IJA were both obsessing over whether to go west instead of SE and invade Ceylon. Meet up with the Germans and Italians (our allies!) reaching the Indian Ocean vai N Africa and/or the Cacausus and/or through Turkey. It was an amazing two months on the Japanese side.
Wow! No obnoxious TH-cam ads. Thanks!
First saw Jon on The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast, and he's awesome! 🍻 Super super interesting vid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My first introduction was when he appeared on Drachinifel's channel.