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My uncle Alexander Peña was at Saipan and Tinian,He was a member of the 3rd battalion, 6th marine regiment, 2nd marine division, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, he was KIA on the island of Tinian July 30,1944, the island was declared secure Aug 1st, he almost made it home, the greatest generation of all time!!
Pablo, my father, Mario John Giordano, was right along with him in the 39th USNCB. His Sea Bee battalion was attached with the 2nd Marines all through the war. God Bless these men for their service to our great country. My father told me that the saddest thing that he witnessed was when the war ended. They were being transported home and their ship swung around Saipan and they whole crew could see the cemetery. They all went silent.
I'm a USAF Veteran, but what is most interesting to me isn't the film of the battle in the Marianas (even though I was stationed there for four years), but the subsequent films of how the communities came together to produce war goods. I seriously doubt we can do the same today.
The battle for the Marianas was crucial because its airfields put the B29 bombers in range of the Japanese home islands. The intense air command was conducted w/o stop. Virtually all 9d Japan's cities were hit. The battle to take the Marianas was more brutal than even the war films can show. The heat, noise, constant combat & threat of snipers were intense. Credit & honor to our Marines, Army & Navy who took the fight to the Imperial Japanese forces.
God bless America! I cannot thank the men and women in the United States military enough who serve this country and keep it free.That goes for all services present and past.
I second that! I can only imagine how they are spinning in their graves with tRump's modern day fascism threatening our country and our democracy. My late Dad and his buddies were all WW2 vets, RIP.
@@georgemijatovic4060 Verify and find out why?? Gee George. what drugs or booze are you on?? My late father, his buddies and many other Americans fought and died in World War Two. They did it to save democracy by defeating fascist Germans, Japanese and their allies. Are you disputing that?? WTF planet do you live on??
@@ww2remembered983 -- You need to get a grip on reality. In 1964 I joined the Marines to go fight Communism in Vietnam. I'm 74 now and it seems to me that Rachel Maddow, Don Lemon, and a slew of other leftist news pundants have brainwashed you into thinking that the Orange man was bad. Well look again. It is the Biden administration that is pushing this country towards socialism. Trump was hated because he stood against the leftists who wanted to destroy America. Maybe you haven't noticed, but leftists (not fascists) are in control of academia, the media, education, unions, and even have infiltrated into the security agencies. Trump is gone, and the commies are taking control. I hated commies when I was a Marine, and I still hate them. Do you actually believe that Biden, Kamala Harris, and the leftists that have been appointed to high government positions are actually doing this country anything but harm? If you hate Trump, I can only assume you support that senile geezer in the White House. Tell me one thing good he has done for America.
Unfortunately no matter their intentions today's military aren't fighting for freedom, they're mercenaries fighting for the oligarchy billionaires and AGAINST our freedom. As long as the sheeple keep believing in the democrat vs republican paradigm (ehen in truth they're as thick as thieves), you will continue to die for the wealthy's comforts.
My father serve in WWII, marine sargeant in 4th marine division . He on isles if Tinnian Roi Nuir and big one Saipan. The battle was so fierce an personnel that war correspondent Scherrod stated in report to Roosevelt he said the battles were so fierce that bodies on both side were ripped to pieces from shelling and much hand to hand combat. Banzai attacks were all too common, as my father learn first hand
My uncle Adelaide LaChance died taking Guam and I keep watching these documentaries looking to see him. I never knew him, but I've had seen a picture of him. He is buried in Hawaii National Cemetery
Your uncle as well as mine were heroes, my uncle was KIA on Tinian, I also look to see if I see him on these videos about the battles he fought on, I too have only seen a few photos of him, one his marine photo the other when he was younger,I thought I might have seen him in a photo in the book D Day in the pacific battle of Saipan, showed a group photo of k company 6th marine regiment that he belonged to and one marine looked amazingly like him, I wrote the author and asked did he have names of those marines and never heard back, good luck, that was the greatest generation of all time, brave men, brave Marines!!
@@paulloya5 thanks for your story, I knew I wasn't the only one watching these videos looking for men who died and never got to live their life. The day they sent the death notice to my grandparents they also received a letter from him. It said all I want to do is win this war get home kiss my girl and drive my car. He was 20 years old
@@zenolachance1181 Zeno, that is heartbreaking,I found my uncles Marine history on the site Together We Served, don't know if you've been on there but I would highly recommend checking it out, that's how I found out his battle history and what battalion ect. he belonged to, I e mailed the marine that put his page togeather and sent his photo, now instead of a blank there's his photo plus a few more, my grandparents never knew just how close he was to coming home, he was KIA day before island was secured, anyway I could go on and on, check that site out though, your uncles whole marine history is there to see, good luck and God bless you. Paul Loya
@@paulloya5 while I was researching my uncle's grave I knew he was buried directly to the side of Ernie Pyle my mother had told me this but when I read the story of Ernie Pyle he had requested to be buried with the common soldiers just happened to be my uncle Dell but it makes it very easy to find his grave in Hawaii because everybody that works and knows where Ernie Pyle Grave is
My dad, a 19 year old enlisted Marine, was there for way too many battles...what a wreck his experiences made of him. What this chipper narrator doesn’t say (and he muddles up the action, going back and forth between islands out of sequence) is that, on Saipan, the Japanese soldiers were ordered to fight to the last man, as there was no hope of being resupplied. On an island roughly 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, the Marines and Army infantry slaughtered 29,000 Japanese soldiers, mostly by flame throwers into caves, pillboxes, and dugouts. Just sit and think about that for a minute. My dad suffered from severe PTSD, and drank to numb his memories. We’re all told a lot of BS about the “Greatest Generation,” but I knew many dads who were WWII vets, and they seemed a lot like my dad.
They are called the greatest generation because they answered the call both on the battlefield and in the factories and rallied together like we haven't seen before or after. The mobilization and industry between the US and Soviets will never be redone again.
They were the greatest generation. No doubt about it. I also was around many a man who went through that war as I was a child myself as it went on. The nation as a wholle rallied to the call and help the war effort however they could, men and woman, all races, religions and creeds. Of course a few exceptions but damned few.
My grandfather was at DDay, and he was loathe to talk about his experiences in the war. When he got back he got rid of his uniform, medals, insignias, and any other trace of it, never went to any reunions, and never kept in contact with anyone he knew from his army days. But he did very well after he came back, so his way obviously worked. Though it hasn't been studied in depth, I bet a whole lot of WW2 vets had PTSD.
@@MondoBeno Exactly! My dad never went to a single reunion and he also refused to use VA services bc he said he thought it was only for men who had been wounded, and he miraculously hadn’t been; his survivor’s guilt was also intense. He had earned two unit valor citations equal to the Distinguished Service Cross, and one unit citation equivalent to the Silver Star, and none of his 7 kids ever saw them, because he gave them to some kids he knew when he got home. He wore his dress uniform to marry my mom in 1946 and there’s not a single medal or ribbon on him, anywhere. He did not do well in his life, unfortunately, but his children have.
My grandfather was an officer on an LST for the whole war in the south Pacific, its touching to see what he made possible. Without those ships this tactic of marine landings wouldnt have been able to be pulled off
For your grand dad to make that contribution took the contribution of countless others to make that possible. Their effort was just as valuable. The women manning the factories including Rosie the Riviter, the peope who purchased war bonds, the farmers growing the textiles and food to be shipped over, the oil field workers, and a myriad of others including the ones who made the landings and fought the direct battles. No one was that much more important than the others, including those making it possible.
My grandfather: 8th Army/Leyte Gulf/Philippines. His greatest story was, during a bounding maneuver he no sooner stood up to sprint to different cover, when he took an enemy hand grenade to his forehead. The impact knocked him out. When he opened his eyes again he discovered that the grenade was a dud. "Jesus... with an arm like that, who needs it to work."
When I was a kid I mowed lawns in my neighborhood. I mowed one lady's lawn and my friends said don't go there, a weirdo guy lives in there. It was her brother he was a marine who had fought on Iwo Jima I still have the knife he gave me. He was a good guy but he was so sad his whole squad had been killed.
Andrew, your story sounds similar. My uncle was in the 4th MD and he was the one survivor in his squad. This was on June 7th 1944. On June 9th the Island of Saipan was declared pacified. It underscores the old saying about being a day late and a dollar short.
99% of Americans do NOT appreciate how easy we have it, we have grown weak in our comforts. We now did not have to pay any price, so we literally don't care.
If not for the United States, all of those islands would be speaking Japanese. The Philippines and Indonesia are lucky that we took care of the Japanese.
Watching the one on Dayton Ohio as another city in that state that's lost so much of it's population and today are shells of what they once were. They should show these old films in high schools all over America.
Not going to lie, as a life long ohioan, this really got me sucked in with the youngstown and Dayton segments. Happy to see my state get some of the recognition it so rightfully deserves, yet so often overlooked.
a time when EVERYONE was proud to be an american , when EVERYONE did their part to protect our freedom, god bless our veterans past, present and future , the woke and me too generation of today would have never made it back then…
Well it’s not the worst place for sure,but if you are unlucky it can be a worse place to live like everywhere else. America is not the garden eden or the paradise
I love that around 25:00 they tell the story of an Italian immigrant and how he is happy knowing that his kids and grandkids could grow up just like everyone else's in the country. People thought like that in the 40's so those that feel there is still institutional racism in this country are wrong.
I'm presuming you're referring to Mr. Milli [spelling] He was in a union more than likely, and therefore protected by the collective bargaining agreement including he and his families' benefits; medical, dental, vision care and union funded secondary education. FDR strengthened these workers rights benefits, no matter if they were Caucasian, "Negro" female etc. However, Ronald Reagan vowed to dismantle the programs set forth by FDR, along with those protections and benefits and he did. So, NO people that experience disparate treatment present day because they are of a marginalized group are not wrong.
@@hugbug4408 You are right it just seems people will not stand up for a country that gives them freedom of speech and liberty. As a black guy it still makes me angry. I am originally from Nigeria and for a huge portion of our history freedom of speech was heavily restricted. My country till today suffers from corruption and instability and a 40% poverty rate.
Freedom of speech or not , no doubt about it , all of them , born losers within their mind . At that moment in time when all countrymen are required to stand up and greet the sting of battle with grit and determination , lest , thou Nation parish , yeah , it is the act of a loser mind set .
When I think of the Japanese in world war II, I am reminded of the words from the great philosopher, Little John. "Don't start no s***, there won't be no s***"
As much as I love to remind everybody that the Eastern Front in Europe was the main event of WW2, the Pacific Ocean is bigger and Japan was a very formidable opponent there, even if we did decide on a "Germany first" approach to the war at large.
God bless all the servicemen who fought in the Pacific . All heroes. I enjoyed watching the two documentaries about American industry and how it coped with the huge demand for war materials , they reminded me of my home area during the ‘70s before it all shut down
My uncle, Thomas M Gutowski, PM3 was a Navy Corpsman involved in the initial invasion of Saipan. Wounded on June 15th, he continued to treat wounded Marines until he succumbed to his own wounds. For this action he was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart, posthumously.
It's weird watching all these people fighting and running and working and living and yet they're all dead now... Oh Lord teach us to number our days...
A great nation with a proud, brave, intelligent and cultured people. They were the best in the history of mankind, They could not defeat them on the battlefield. That is why their enemies perverted women, blacks, and indigenous people and attacked them from within the nation. Poor nation. Poor America, may God have compassion on them and give them strength to defeat those enemies who are inside and those who are outside.
"Real men" apparently don't understand what is going on. This is kindergarten talk. Googoogaga. That's not how winners talk. And you can bet your bottom dollar the smart people who won the war didn't talk like this.
Silly old man. Stop screaming at the clouds. Dont be so afraid of change baby. Its here, it's now and you and the rest of your maga crowd led by the grand puba of sedition the Mango Mussolini cant turn back the hands of time. Either roll with the changes or get rolled over and left behind. Take your meds, and breathe. Stay hydrated.
When I watch true Americans sacrifice and Sacrifised, to realize the state, of our country is becoming, seaply SADENS ME! GOD BLESS THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Now, try to imagine tiny women "soldiers" trying to take Saipan. Or becoming a POW under the Japanese. Imagine these guys having to take classes about white guilt or LGBTQ (whatever) rights. It's SICK.
@@Ian-mj4pt Perhaps English is not your first language. Let me help you most /mōst/ determiner greatest in amount, quantity, or degree. all /ôl/ predeterminer · determiner · pronoun used to refer to the whole quantity or extent of a particular group or thing.
@Sidecar 771 no its my first of a some I can speak and write. Just don't understand how if outside influences like a robbery for instance is the one getting robbed yo blame so your pedantic reply doesn't make any sense.
You two are INSANE. It was a war of survival. A war against enslavement and extermination. There is no "besides the war". If you wishfor such terrible days of death and carnage to return, for the sake of " national unity" then you are dangerous
The strategy in the Pacific is/was fascinating. Very different from the European theatre. Losing the Marianas for the Japanese effectively meant losing the war. Given that fact, it's surprising to me they didn't fight even harder to hold on to them (I say that understanding that the Japanese did fight doggedly in this venue).
Every time I see that one Marine say, get up go that way! I always wondered if he was talking to a fellow Marine or the cameraman and did, he survive the war?
This entire compilation is one of the broadest, most informative series of shorts I've seen concerning the WW2 war economy in North America (Canada mirrored the US as it so often does). It also presages the 'Permanent War Economy' that had to keep chugging along after 1945. I'm most fascinated with how these trends relied on DOMESTIC industrial production, coupled with an intense focus on as close to full employment as possible. It WAS possible because of the lurking knowledge that a war on 2 fronts (and several sub-fronts, or 'theatres' like North Africa, and then the Italian campaign north) exhibited the real danger of z reversal that would see combat IN North America if the combat abroad was unsuccessful. Us today knowing what happened during and after does not contribute to empathy for the real insecurity that fighting an existential Total War imposed on people on 'The Home Front'. Last, observe the po-labour tone of he last vignettes of this series. How Labour retention, all encompassing social services, as well as a tone of respect and dignity for he worker was communicated. 'Lest we foget' is a refrain we've allowed to slip into almost a meaingless refrains. We HAVE forgotten, which is why the North American economy is now 'post industrial'. Allowing that to happen by the greedmongers of globalisation should be considered a crime equivalent to treason. Unfortunately, many of those perpetrators are the people in Government who think that short term greed i a way to run a country, as well as safeguarding that country. Thwymshould be treated to the Mussolini Effect, right down to the post mortem facial urination.
How could The History Channel let itself be the worthless channel it is today?? It was so educational when I was little. Instead of watching predominantly more cartoons; I'd watch The History Channel instead.
My grand uncle, PFC. Walter Cline Scalf died July 25th in this engagement. He was only 19 years old. 2ndBn, 9thMarReg, 3rdMarDiv. Immortalized through deeds.
My dad was in the Marines that invaded Saipan and then Tinian. He had an 8x10 photo of his unit at Camp Pendleton and could tell every ones name, and where they died or were wounded. The only ones that survived in his "outfit" were the wounded ones he once told me. He spent months in the hospital in Hawaii and California. Too bad today's Marine "leaders" are more interested in proper pronouns and CRT than protecting the country that gave them everything they have. Might as well turn Bridgeport into a MWR campground and 29 Palms into an off road park.
Every single boot on the ground belonged to a hero. The people leading them may, or may not be a different story. We always hear this side of it, but was it necessary to sacrifice so many men, to liberate every island, or could we have done, say every other one, and cut off the ones in between? Maybe not good enough, maybe the civilians would have suffered? Dunno, but before accepting the US losses, the management should have been held accountable.
I've seen the iron or pits in the state of Alabama . One I found was over a mile wide and about a half mile deep and lots of little ones 1 or2 akers wide would fill with rain water over the years .
After watching the last 2 segments of this video I just wanna ask. WTF happend to our country? Schools actually taught real skills. And companies actually catered to the employees needs. Now I know this was all during war time. But honestly we been at war since 2001 some where in the world. So I don't wanna hear we aren't at war BS.
We'll please explain what happened in VIETNAM YOU MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN EITHER THAT YOU TOOK THE PLACE OF THE JAPANESE YOU MUST BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF JUSTICE TO WIN YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN
With the landslide naval victory against Japanese aircraft carriers and airmen by the US Navy at the Naval Battle of Midway. With the US Naval Superity, because they did not block and attack by sea and air, the supplies to the Japanese army in the Pacific islands. The war against Japan would have been shorter and the deaths of all US troops would have been less. US Marines alone in total deaths 41,592 (Rip)