Captain Toti's Pearl Harbor (Part 2) Episode 230 

Bill, thanks for taking SOOooo much time out of your vacation to produce all of this. Clearly a LOT of time and effort was spent on these episodes. And a special thanks goes to your wife also for the great filming work. This is much appreciated. Thanks to Chuck and Eric also for the tours.

Captain Toti, first let me thank you for your service. I truly enjoyed both of your shows on Pearl Harbor. The tour of the Bowfin was excellent. I look forward to season three.

Absolutely AWESOME video Captain Toti! Thank you for doing this!

Great show gentlemen.

Awesome! I can't believe the material condition of the interior of Bowfin. Even all the brass was polished. I could almost smell the never dull and coffee. We all owe a debt to the men who sailed in the boats in WW2

As an airlift pilot (C-130) it tightened my jaws to hear the C-47 referred to as "not a combat aircraft." The 374th Troop Carrier Group, 5th Air Force was the most decorated Army Air Force unit in the Pacific with 3 Presidential Unit Citations. It is equivalent to saying a LST or a carrier is not a combat ship. You don't get PUCs for hauling kotex and eggs to Freemantle.

Thanks Bill! Great to be on a guided tour with the Captain of a sub.

Really nice show, maybe someday, for those that can't do Hawaii the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB outside Dayton, Ohio is a very good choice till you can, those into Aviation will be mind-blown.

Thank you for taking me along Sir.

Thanks, again, Seth and Bill for another great video! Bill's explanation around 1:06:20 about the use of telegrams instead of chaplains to convey death notices reminds me of a story from my grandfather's memoirs. My grandmother was returning from Easter dinner in 1943 with my 14-year-old uncle and my 2-year-old father in the car when the radio announced that a German U-boat claimed to have sunk the USS RANGER. My grandfather was then in command of the RANGER, so my uncle and then my dad burst into tears while my grandmother told them to calm down. Just as they pulled into the driveway, there was a telegram waiting for them, which my grandmother loathed to open. Fortunately, it was just an Easter greeting from my oldest uncle, then away at college, but it goes to show how people with loved ones serving in the military dreaded telegrams. The RANGER wasn't sunk, BTW, but my grandfather ordered all hands aboard to mail cards home for Mother's Day, which I believe fell two weeks after Easter that year.

Bill, you never cease to amze myself and many others, I'm sure. Thanks so much for the tour and to Chuck and Eric as well! As I would love to visit there my wife's health issues for long aircraft flights prevent us from attending. You all did it proud as your presentation provides every week. ❤

I think y'all should do similar videos but about American shipyards during the war

Great show captain, very interesting, great museums, been over 30 years since I toured the Bowlin she looks shipshape and ready to patrol., more road shows skipper. They are winners.

Thanks Bill, A great 3 part series sub-series and you flew solo. Missed Seth though. The restoration on Bowfin is a wonder. Loved the spit and polish.

An enjoyment for Tuesday evening!

The Australian Light Cruiser that was sunk in the Sundra Strait, along with the USS Houston, was HMAS Perth. The sub base, then was in Fremantle, a small city that adjoins Perth.

Marvelous show, appreciate your dedicated work--

Hello claustrophobia, my old friend ... An outstanding episode.

Incredible job, both of you. Enjoyed every minute. I am being serious. Thank you. Brilliant.

When I see the royal Hawaiian, I always picture Sophia Loren dancing with Marlon Brando. I love that hotel - prices have gone up since I first stayed there in the 60's. One of you best series with a brilliant co-host. I haven't gone back since the 50th anniversary with my family for the survivors convention. Now, very sadly, they are gone to history, my father , then with the 24th ID, died in 1999 . They fired at strafing aircraft from the roof of Schofield Barracks with water cooled machine guns but hit nothing that day.

Absolute gem of a video Bill! Thanks soo much for the comprehensive tour. Made me feel like i was right there with ya. I'll probably never get the chance to visit Hawaii so im thankful the tour was so well done. Now I'm gonna re-visit Castle Air Force Base Museum in Atwater CA as it's the closest thing to me. They have a great display of vintage war planes i cant wait to see again 😊

Very informative bill thank you.. You and seth do amazing work.

Thank you Bill, Chuck and Eric. Nothing beats being there in person but this was as about as close as you can get. All three venues were extraordinary and the knowledge you provided was greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Excellent. I really enjoyed all the knowledge and nuances during the USS Bowfin tour. I can't imagine what those boys/men endured while serving.

Bill, thank you for telling on earlier episode about the book HEROES IN THE SHADOWS. I enjoyed and did not enjoy reading that book; and that is how it should be. Thank you authors for all the hard work to bring these stories to light.

I am so happy that the original intro is back. The clips of actual war action in the Pacific are mesmerizing.

Thanks for this great presentation, I knew submarines were complicated but this gives a new perspective. The history of the pacific theater is very fascinating.

Enjoyed both episodes with Capt. Toti, especially the tours of the museums. The work they do in keeping WW2 history alive is invaluable. Would love to see more museums featured on the podcast. If you make it to the PNW I would suggest the Flying Heritage Museum.

I just got back from Hawaii and had a wonderful day with the family at Pearl Harbour. Such an amazing place.

Thank you, gentlemen! My great uncle served as a SM2 in WWII aboard submarines this episode gave me some insight into his service. Since he wouldn't talk about his patrols unless he was intoxicated.

Excellent tour, better than watching all those SILENT SERVICE episodes 50 years ago. And a couple of sub tours. 👍

Great program Captain Bill. Well done. Thoroughly enjoyed it was I have all the other you and Seth have produced. Very inspiring and thoughtful. Thank you so much.

Amazing stuff! Thank you very much, for both episodes. To everyone involved, the time you donated into making this is very much appreciated.

Wow! What a great tour…. Thank you Bill, Capt Chuck and Eric. Seth, seeya soon :)

My wife and I visited the Arizona and walked past USS Bowfin in 1985. Regrettably we didn't tour the sub as we had both been on a couple of other fleet subs back on the mainland. Judging from your video, Bowfin is truly a masterpiece of preservation and I sure hope to visit her someday! You did an amazing job (once again) of revealing more fascinating details and little known historical facts about WWII in the Pacific. Thanks so much Bill!

Bill, I grew up in Monterey, and as my father was an Army officer with Fifth SFG serving in the Vietnam conflict, I got to spend a lot of time as a young kid visiting the Naval Post Graduate School, and the DLI up at the Presidio of Monterey.

Bill, I enjoy all of the episodes that you and Seth produce. I look forward to each and every one. The two episodes you hosted at Pearl Harbor were really interesting and inspiring and just may prompt me to make the trip to the islands. Keep it up.

@ 1:50 Chuck, has a great microphone, you are coming in loud and clear. I am glad that your conversation with him didn't get flubbed up because of device issues, and thank you for your work in creating this content!

Super Episode---good job fellas!

Very nice. Thanks again!

I doubt I will ever have the pleasure of visiting Hawaii. Its a bucket list thing for me. Captain Toti, the tour you just gave over these two episodes was incredible. And exactly some of the things I would want to see if I ever made my way there. Thank you very much for the work, and the tour. And Seth, I am looking forward to season 3, because the BIg "E" is about to finish her refit in Bremerton, and is about to re-join the fleet. Looking forward to getting to some of those stories in the coming weeks.

Blessings to Family and You,. Bill and Seth and all others that have confo. Much Love.!💪

Capt Todi thank you. It was outstanding

Absolutley a fantastic episode.

This guided tour makes O’kane’s descriptions of the daily operations of a Balao class submarine make a lot more sense and seem a lot more alive. I wish I could see what his modifications to the TBT looked like so I could better understand how he did what he did so well.

Thanks for this one. I read an entire book about FM Sonar and this video finally showed me what “Hells Bells” equipment actually looks like.

Great episode Bill! A great way to end the second season. I had no idea that the Pearl Harbor Naval Aviation Museum even existed. It will now go on my wishlist of museums to visit along with the Pacific War Submarine Museum and the Bowfin. The tour you gave of the Bowfin was I'm sure much more comprehensive than the daily tour that is offered to tourists.

Great museums. A fleet boat, a Kaiten, a DC-3, a biplane, an F4F, etc. Great places. What is not to love?!! Thank you.

Captain Toti, thank you so much for bringing these Pearl Harbor episodes to us. So very informative. I hope to get to Pearl myself someday. I've been on the USS Drum in Mobile several times. Incredible tight quarters. Even if you aren't 6'5" like me 😅. My nephew served as an officer on the Key West a few years ago. Part of that tour was during a lengthy refit period. During Covid no less. 😮

This is great stuff. Real stuff. The combat only is great but how our warriors lived is a necessary underpinning to understand in depth

Wow, such a great episode! These three sites you visited and filmed are going to be on my bucket list for sure. They are national treasures, as are you, Bill! You too, Seth! Thanks for all you do. I particularly enjoyed the Bowfin and Sub Meuseum. It's the branch of the Navy I am least familiar with since I was a Parachute Rigger.

Another great program and I look forward to your next. Watching this program made me remember something you may be interested and relates to a segment of the video. I work for California State Parks and was involved in the restoration and development work of the Immigration Station at Angel Island State Park, also known as the Ellis Island of the West Coast. The island was predominantly a military installation through the 1960s and the Detention Barracks of the Immigration Station was used as a POW facility during the war. Part of State Parks interpretation of the barracks has to do with Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, the sole survivor of HA-19. Per the interpretation, as the first captured Japanese combatant, Mr. Sakamaki spent some of his time as a POW in that barracks.

What an awesome series Capt. Toti thanks so much for taking the time to highlight all there is to see and do in the PH area. What you’ve shown in these two videos merits a visit to Oahu if only to see these places.

Great job again Captain Toti. I'm still thinking about the previous episode. Why were you prohibited from descending the stairs and visiting Station Hypo. Even if there is nothing left but four walls I would have liked to have seen it.

I really, really enjoy your videos/podcasts on specific battles. Looking forward to more of them!

Fantastic job, Bill! Learned so much submarine information ,and I enjoyed hearing about your career experiences!

That was completely awesome !!!!!!

Thank you Captain and all who took the time to talk to us followers. Much appreciated.

Fun watching the channel grow

Thanks so much. I have been on USS Pampanito. It was great to hear Bill and Chuck's commentary on the submarine, as their insight makes it "come alive". The level of "high finish" on these boats is pretty amazing to me, as they were wartime boats that we were cranking out quickly. Yet the condition of the components, beautiful brass work, and clean routing of the electrical lines and pipes says volumes about the ability of American shipyards to produce quickly and with high quality. The American boats are the best subs of the war (wish we could say the same for the torpedoes). I know you guys served on post "sub-safe" boats which have fanatical attention to detail and engineering, which have a little fleet boat DNA in them.

Great job captain

I concur on supporting any museum that preserves WWII (or any military history). My go to has been Planes of Fame in Chino CA. My first visit in the 80s found WWII vets, maney pilots sitting at Floe's Cafe. Note, the have a flying Zero with the original engine. On flying demonstration last year you could walk around, touch it and all but climb in the cockpit. Steve Hinton the pilot gave his impression and answered all questions. Great video.

Thanks,the fist thing I do once the day is gone .definitely the Wednesday night highlight. Best regards from the far north of NewZealand.

The craftsmanship on the sub’s instruments is incredible. Beautiful pieces of history.

Bravo,,,,, thank you so much for the time and effort that you put forth... On this very meaningful and historic Topix thank you.....

Bill I committed earlier, before I was able to view the aircraft section ,absolutely stunning content, my closest friend his father was a B24 captain out of Fenton field, and later a 747 captain, bravo Zulu

Interesting episode. Thank you.

Great job Captain.

Very good tour of a boat I'd only read about. I mavel at the equipment spaces, lack of space. The camera work was great for a tour and a difficult photography endeavor. I could hear nearly everything Bill said on the other mike, so kudos to all for this treat, once again.

The first I've heard the tale of USS Billfish's second patrol, I had to read more. How the senior officers chose to lay down on the deck instead of at least fight for their own lives is incomprehensible.

Awesome video thank you so very much.

It is truly amazing how complex the whole submarine package is. Excellent job explaining all of this. It’s hard to think about doing all of this without navigational aids. You hardly ever knew exactly where you were. A lot of chart plotting and dead reconning. This was very interesting! Great job guys!!! Thank y’all so much !!

I am pretty sure that both the SBD Dauntless and the F4F Wildcat were lost in Lake Michigan during the war. Both were restored at the Kalamazoo Aviation Museum (Air Zoo) in Kalamazoo MI. They do great restoration work there. I am a proud member of the Air Zoo. If you ever dare to come north, I would enjoy meeting you and show you around. Back in the 1990s, Kalamazoo had a military airshow. The highlight was the Flight of the Cats. F4F, F6F, F8F, F9F, and F-14. Quite a sight! Captain Toti, you and Seth should do a bit on the USS Wolverine and USS Sable. These were our carries in Lake Mission that trained so many of our naval aviators including President Bush (41). These were our "secret" weapons to train aviators safe from enemy submarines. It also kept our fighting carriers on the line instead of being tied down doing training. Captain Toti, I am going to brag here. I attended the 2006 Doolittle Raider Reunion at the USAF Museum in Dayton OH. With the help of my GF, I got the autographs of all 8 Raiders that were able to attend plus some others. Almost too much standing in lines for 2 days to do it. The USAF Museum had a B-25 set in a diorama of the flight deck of the USS Hornet. One of the Raiders signing autographs was sitting just in front of it. While he was signing, I asked him if the diorama brought back memories? He turned and looked at it for a moment and told me, "You can't begin to imagine."

I was at a Blue Angels airshow in San Angelo, TX in the mid 1970's and they had an A6M-2 Zero. It was a remarkably fast and extremely nimble airplane. They did a mock dogfight with the Zero vs a P-51 Mustang and an F4U Corsair and it was an unbelievable sight to behold. Definitely it was one of the great warplanes in history. The dogfight started with a flyby of a B-17 and a B-25 with the Zero jumping them and then the American escorts coming to the rescue. I remember that more vividly than the Blue Angels routine which was remarkable, and they were then flying A-4 Skyhawks.

Ref' The F4F: We had the same surfacing PSP matting for a runway at Peiku, Vietnam. We flew OV-10s, O2As, and C123s off that surface in the 1960-70s.

Thanks! As any who ever worked with critical systems knows Murphy is alive and well :-) You & I Bill are within months of being the same age, I'm thinking we were going to High School at the same time very close to one another, our schools may even have played each other

I was garrisoned at Schofield Barracks between 1992-95. I used to go down to PH and whip out my military ID and get tours of USN surface warships, submarines, and auxiliaries. USS Bowfin, been there and done that, as well as the Arizona memorial, and the Utah. That bridge to Ford Island wasn’t there then, used to take a ferry to Ford Island.

Thank you Bill and Seth.

Amazing work and great video!! Historycal museums should be better rewarded by all the administraitions! Not only on the US but also in Europe

Great video

“Mechanical Battle Short” - Says so much.

Great content! The only thing I'm wishing you'd have shown was a shot or 2 of the interior of the Royal Hawaiian. Maybe I'll have to go for myself!! Also my hat's off to this community! What a wonderful bunch of replies. I especially enjoy the personal histories the community provides in their comments. These stories give me a sense of connectedness to the larger community of those who served and are still serving, and reminds me that military service is very much a family affair. My thanks to all!!

What a great tour!! Thanks Bill!!

Thank you so much for doing this

@ 1:54:51, Tom Griffin was navigator on plane 9. He survived the war but was shot down over North Africa where he spent the rest of the war as a German POW

These are a great filler between your seasons. Great for an Australian who is a long way from Hawaii. Looking forward to Season 3 as well.

My family and me visited a U-boat that I think was captured during the war in Hoboken, NJ (I may be wrong it was so long ago) and as impressive a vessel as it was the Bowfin is even more impressive. So much bigger than its German counterpart. This is a wonderful tour.

A great little video keep up the great work on video.

Hi Bill. Great podcast. Thank you. Cheers

Bill you outdid yourself, I enjoyed this episode, I toured the Bowfin in the early 80s ,as a Young sailer in drydock I still recognized valve body's that were still in use 40 years later

Wow! This is one you have to watch three or four times because you keep seeing new things. Great job!!!

Excellent content Bill. Much appreciated. The sound issue was minor as you came through on Chuck’s microphone.

Read a great account of the Swamp Ghost B-17 in the aviation museum. Great to see it. Read that Australian Military Helicopters years after would visit the site and sadly remove souvenirs. From the wreck.

I'm learning a lot about the sub community. I was in aviation when i was in the US Navy.

Fantastic! Thanks so much!

Great job! Very interesting and informative for us land lubbers.

just to let you know it was the Light Cruiser HMAS Perth that was with the USS Houston

Thank you. I really can not thank you enough.

San Francisco has a few “well worth it” attractions that would interest fans of this podcast: the aforementioned USS Hornet (across the Bay in Alameda), the Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien, and the Balao class USS Pampanito.

Holy Smokes what an awesome video!!!!