South Pacific Campaign, WWII - Good Recommendations for Military History Buffs

[homersapien 11,336]

I thought Memorial Day would be a good time to post this for fellow military history buffs.

I have been reading military history for over 60 years.  While having a generalized knowledge of the WWII Pacific theater I have overlooked it compared to Europe. (I suspect this is generally true for many of us.)

But one of the things I most love about history is that they keep writing it. There is never a shortage of new histories, especially on relatively recent events such as WWII. 

(I borrowed a humorous phrase from a business associate who was an alcoholic and thus had stopped drinking all together.  He said "They were making it faster than I could drink it".  I feel the same way about history - They are writing it faster than I can read it. )

Anyway, my first recommendation is a podcast I've been watching on Youtube, called "Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast" - Youtube. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEcARkk8d1XdLbo2koY_UA/videos

This is a series of podcast lectures conducted by Seth Pardon, Bill Toti and the occasional special guest.  Each podcast typically covers a particular action or battle in the theater and lasts a little over an hour. 

Even though they are essentially lectures with limited graphics and photos, I have found them immensely entertaining and I highly recommend them.  (Although some of the later episodes include map graphics, I strongly suggest you have a map handy to consult when listening.)

My other recommendation is a book which was actually recommended on the above podcast:

Fire In The Sky: The Air War In The South Pacific by Eric Bergerud

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Sky-Air-South-Pacific-ebook/dp/B001ELJY6U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AMXST8TPLRCG&keywords=fire+in+the+sky+South+Pacific&qid=1685210229&s=movies-tv&sprefix=fire+in+the+sky+south+pacific%2Cmovies-tv%2C152&sr=1-1-catcorr

This is a serious, very detailed work of history that is well over 600 pages long. Apparently, it is out of print and fairly expensive, but my local library had a copy.  I still reckon it's worth buying for the serious buff though.

Both the podcast and (especially) the book paint a detailed description of the theater which was characterized by huge distances (scale) and some of the most inhospitable terrain and disease-ridden climate on the planet. 

One comes away with a profound respect for all U.S. fighting men on land, air and sea - as well as our ANZAC allies - for braving these deadly conditions while fighting an extremely brutal war in which neither side took prisoners. 

[slot canyon 1,327]

I would agree that the Pacific theater is generally overlooked compared to the European battleground.  Thanks for the link to the podcast.  A number of years ago I watched Band Of Brothers and The Pacific.  I especially took interest in the later because of Eugene Sledge from Mobile, Alabama being a prominent character.  I got his audiobook With the Old Breed : At Peleliu and Okinawa.  In my opinion a tremendous read or listen.  Unbelievable description of the horrible conditions these men endured.  After the war he earned a biology degree at Auburn and a Masters then a PhD at Florida and later taught at Montevallo.

When he enrolled at Auburn University, the clerk at the Registrar's office asked him if the Marine Corps had taught him anything useful. Sledge replied: Lady, there was a killing war. The Marine Corps taught me how to kill Japs and try to survive. Now, if that don't fit into any academic course, I'm sorry. But some of us had to do the killing—and most of my buddies got killed or wounded.

He was troubled as to why he came through the war basically unscathed when so many of his fellow marines were wounded or killed.  These thoughts apparently persisted long after the war ended and he did not write his book (With the Old Breed) unril 1981 (publish date).  His wife had encouraged him to do so as a way to deal with his experiences.  

I liked this book much better than Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie.  

[augolf1716 21,091]

My Dad was in the Philippines during WWII, he never spoke about it but a few times in his lifetime. History was one of my three majors at Auburn

[homersapien 11,336]

On 5/27/2023 at 7:09 PM, slot canyon said:

I would agree that the Pacific theater is generally overlooked compared to the European battleground.  Thanks for the link to the podcast.  A number of years ago I watched Band Of Brothers and The Pacific.  I especially took interest in the later because of Eugene Sledge from Mobile, Alabama being a prominent character.  I got his audiobook With the Old Breed : At Peleliu and Okinawa.  In my opinion a tremendous read or listen.  Unbelievable description of the horrible conditions these men endured.  After the war he earned a biology degree at Auburn and a Masters then a PhD at Florida and later taught at Montevallo.

When he enrolled at Auburn University, the clerk at the Registrar's office asked him if the Marine Corps had taught him anything useful. Sledge replied: Lady, there was a killing war. The Marine Corps taught me how to kill Japs and try to survive. Now, if that don't fit into any academic course, I'm sorry. But some of us had to do the killing—and most of my buddies got killed or wounded.

He was troubled as to why he came through the war basically unscathed when so many of his fellow marines were wounded or killed.  These thoughts apparently persisted long after the war ended and he did not write his book (With the Old Breed) unril 1981 (publish date).  His wife had encouraged him to do so as a way to deal with his experiences.  

I liked this book much better than Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie.  

I read "With the Old Breed" when it was first published. (That was actually one of the books I was thinking about when I referred to the history I've read over the last 60 years and how new history is constantly emerging.)

Sledge's book is a classical personal account while the sources I referenced above present a more strategic perspective.  It's all good and necessary to appreciate the ordeal and sacrifice these soldiers endured.

 

[AUloggerhead 2,225]

On 5/27/2023 at 4:09 PM, slot canyon said:

I would agree that the Pacific theater is generally overlooked compared to the European battleground.  Thanks for the link to the podcast.  A number of years ago I watched Band Of Brothers and The Pacific.  I especially took interest in the later because of Eugene Sledge from Mobile, Alabama being a prominent character.  I got his audiobook With the Old Breed : At Peleliu and Okinawa.  In my opinion a tremendous read or listen.  Unbelievable description of the horrible conditions these men endured.  After the war he earned a biology degree at Auburn and a Masters then a PhD at Florida and later taught at Montevallo.

When he enrolled at Auburn University, the clerk at the Registrar's office asked him if the Marine Corps had taught him anything useful. Sledge replied: Lady, there was a killing war. The Marine Corps taught me how to kill Japs and try to survive. Now, if that don't fit into any academic course, I'm sorry. But some of us had to do the killing—and most of my buddies got killed or wounded.

He was troubled as to why he came through the war basically unscathed when so many of his fellow marines were wounded or killed.  These thoughts apparently persisted long after the war ended and he did not write his book (With the Old Breed) unril 1981 (publish date).  His wife had encouraged him to do so as a way to deal with his experiences.  

I liked this book much better than Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie.  

I would like to recommend some books by John C. McManus:  Trilogy of US Army in the Pacific    He's written quite a few other WWII books from the American perspective (D-Day, Market Garden, etc.)  

I'm waiting for my local library to stock his latest book, To the End of the Earth, the third in the trilogy.  Another trilogy of books written on the Pacific campaign is by Ian Toll.  Highly recommended.    

[AUloggerhead 2,225]

On 5/27/2023 at 4:09 PM, slot canyon said:

I would agree that the Pacific theater is generally overlooked compared to the European battleground.  Thanks for the link to the podcast.  A number of years ago I watched Band Of Brothers and The Pacific.  I especially took interest in the later because of Eugene Sledge from Mobile, Alabama being a prominent character.  I got his audiobook With the Old Breed : At Peleliu and Okinawa.  In my opinion a tremendous read or listen.  Unbelievable description of the horrible conditions these men endured.  After the war he earned a biology degree at Auburn and a Masters then a PhD at Florida and later taught at Montevallo.

When he enrolled at Auburn University, the clerk at the Registrar's office asked him if the Marine Corps had taught him anything useful. Sledge replied: Lady, there was a killing war. The Marine Corps taught me how to kill Japs and try to survive. Now, if that don't fit into any academic course, I'm sorry. But some of us had to do the killing—and most of my buddies got killed or wounded.

He was troubled as to why he came through the war basically unscathed when so many of his fellow marines were wounded or killed.  These thoughts apparently persisted long after the war ended and he did not write his book (With the Old Breed) unril 1981 (publish date).  His wife had encouraged him to do so as a way to deal with his experiences.  

I liked this book much better than Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie.  

One more recommendation which I think you might like:  Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser (my favorite author, btw.)  It's a personal recollection of his time in Burma with the British Army.  The title is a line from Kipling's poem, Gunga Din.