The Pacific, ep. 2
Feb. 25th, 2023 09:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerIt's my aim in writing about TV series such as The Pacific not to provide plot synopses but rather to discuss issues or ideas that each episode raises. Sometimes the latter entails a certain amount of the former to set the context.
There are two issues/ideas raised in episode 2 of The Pacific I'd like the address. The first is that war in the Pacific during WWII was brutal. This point was already made in ep. 1 with the Battle of Tenaru. Ep. 2 continues the lesson. Likely it will be a theme for the whole series because the war in the Pacific truly was brutal. A relative of mine fought there and saw it first-hand.
In ep. 2 the Marines are still on Guadalcanal. The Japanese army are still there, too. The Marines have moved to a different position, working to secure an airfield. The Japanese have moved again to another location. The Marines can only wait for their attack. And the Japanese do attack.
They attack again in overwhelming numbers, pouring out of the forest with seemingly no end. Even the Marines operating heavy weapons, the Browning .30 caliber machine guns, can barely keep up. Bodies of Japanese soldiers pile up so high in front of the machine guns that they form a wall the Marines can't see past. One soldier rushes out during a slight lull in the onslaught to push bodies out of the way.
The second issue/thought raised by the episode is inter-service rivalry. Yes, many books and movies about war depict some rivalry between the branches of the military. In this Marines-centric story the targets of scorn are the US Army. They're portrayed as soft and coddled. After the Marines have been on Guadalcanal for days, possibly even weeks, the Army are shown arriving with huge duffle bags and footlockers of personal gear. A few Marines steal their stuff, finding in an Army captain's footlocker such luxuries as a pair of leather moccasins and a box of fancy cigars.
This portrayal irritates me because I don't think it's true— and I know where it comes from. It comes from one person. There is basically one person in Hollywood who advises all war movies and games. I'm virtually certain you've seen him actually, even if you don't know who he is. (I'm not going to name him here.) Part of his standard contract is that he gets cast for an on-screen speaking part. Kind of like Stan Lee's cameos in Marvel movies, except Stan Lee was the creator, not a consultant. Anyway, this individual is a Marines vet and is overwhelmingly proud of his service. Part of his standard shtick in advising writers, directors, actors, and crew is that the Marines did the "real" fighting in WWII and the Army were mollycoddled. I know, because when I worked in Hollywood I received that training from him.
I also know, from my great-uncle John, that that viewpoint is inaccurate. John was Army, serving in the whole of WWII in the Pacific. Yes, Marines were often the first to land on an island, but the Army were not weeks behind; they were more like minutes behind. Sometimes Army landed first. The army were actually the vast majority of the soldiers. And they were not bringing the luxuries of home with them. They lived like animals. John's division was actually restricted to a base in the US for several months after the end of WWII. The returning soldiers had to be taught how to live as civilians again, not savages.
The one combat story John ever shared was one where his division landed first and the Marines came up behind. The overly proud Marines fired on the Army, assuming they were the enemy. "We were watching for the Japs ahead of us and the damn Marines started shooting us in the ass," John recounted. That was the one battle story he every shared from 4 years of combat. It was the least brutal.
There are two issues/ideas raised in episode 2 of The Pacific I'd like the address. The first is that war in the Pacific during WWII was brutal. This point was already made in ep. 1 with the Battle of Tenaru. Ep. 2 continues the lesson. Likely it will be a theme for the whole series because the war in the Pacific truly was brutal. A relative of mine fought there and saw it first-hand.
In ep. 2 the Marines are still on Guadalcanal. The Japanese army are still there, too. The Marines have moved to a different position, working to secure an airfield. The Japanese have moved again to another location. The Marines can only wait for their attack. And the Japanese do attack.
They attack again in overwhelming numbers, pouring out of the forest with seemingly no end. Even the Marines operating heavy weapons, the Browning .30 caliber machine guns, can barely keep up. Bodies of Japanese soldiers pile up so high in front of the machine guns that they form a wall the Marines can't see past. One soldier rushes out during a slight lull in the onslaught to push bodies out of the way.
The second issue/thought raised by the episode is inter-service rivalry. Yes, many books and movies about war depict some rivalry between the branches of the military. In this Marines-centric story the targets of scorn are the US Army. They're portrayed as soft and coddled. After the Marines have been on Guadalcanal for days, possibly even weeks, the Army are shown arriving with huge duffle bags and footlockers of personal gear. A few Marines steal their stuff, finding in an Army captain's footlocker such luxuries as a pair of leather moccasins and a box of fancy cigars.
This portrayal irritates me because I don't think it's true— and I know where it comes from. It comes from one person. There is basically one person in Hollywood who advises all war movies and games. I'm virtually certain you've seen him actually, even if you don't know who he is. (I'm not going to name him here.) Part of his standard contract is that he gets cast for an on-screen speaking part. Kind of like Stan Lee's cameos in Marvel movies, except Stan Lee was the creator, not a consultant. Anyway, this individual is a Marines vet and is overwhelmingly proud of his service. Part of his standard shtick in advising writers, directors, actors, and crew is that the Marines did the "real" fighting in WWII and the Army were mollycoddled. I know, because when I worked in Hollywood I received that training from him.
I also know, from my great-uncle John, that that viewpoint is inaccurate. John was Army, serving in the whole of WWII in the Pacific. Yes, Marines were often the first to land on an island, but the Army were not weeks behind; they were more like minutes behind. Sometimes Army landed first. The army were actually the vast majority of the soldiers. And they were not bringing the luxuries of home with them. They lived like animals. John's division was actually restricted to a base in the US for several months after the end of WWII. The returning soldiers had to be taught how to live as civilians again, not savages.
The one combat story John ever shared was one where his division landed first and the Marines came up behind. The overly proud Marines fired on the Army, assuming they were the enemy. "We were watching for the Japs ahead of us and the damn Marines started shooting us in the ass," John recounted. That was the one battle story he every shared from 4 years of combat. It was the least brutal.
