In Reply to: Gone through five episodes of the Pacific... what crap... posted by Victor Khomenko on April 13, 2010 at 10:48:55:
The US role in the Pacific war was quite fragmented. Unlike the B of B where one regiment essentially fought through the entire US involvement in Europe, no one person or regiment in the Pacific was engaged in every operations. The jungle warfare essentially was a solitary battle where few soldiers could even see let alone grasp the overall nature of the battle. Casualties were so high that after every operations the fighting units had to be pulled back to regroup and retrain.
As such, attempting to tell the story of the war in the Pacific is extremely difficult from a first person narrative. One of the sources used, Sledge, IIRC had written a sensitive although horrific account of his experiences. Still since he served for only two island campaigns, IIRC, his one account can not capture the totality of the war in the Pacific.
Perhaps that is why the Pacific War has largely been ignored by Hollywood film makers. Most Americans and Europeans like their heroes clean cut and to be super men. They like "Hollywood" endings, when the heroes come triumphantly marching home. Many, if not the most of the Pacific War vets, suffered from what we call today PTS. Sledge certainly suffered from it. Fighting an unknown enemy using rules totally unfamiliar to the West, often unseen, and one which accepted fighting to the death, fighting in an environment which was a grueling as fighting the enemy takes a hell of a lot from your corn fed soldier.
You seem to want a nice fairy tale development and plot. Sorry, life in the Pacific did not follow such Euro ideas of war.
Stu
PS. Are you implying that sex never happened in Europe? Read the accounts of the Russian soldiers after the fall of Berlin. Is rape preferable?
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Follow Ups
- RE: Gone through five episodes of the Pacific... what crap... - unclestu 19:46:29 04/13/10 (1)
- addendum - unclestu 13:47:37 04/14/10 (0)